Life Insurance and Scuba

[FIXXERVI6]

Has anyone on this board had problems with life insurance and Scuba?

I recently signed up for life insurance, and of course I told them I was a diver, I figure if I ever kicked the bucket on a dive they could come back and not pay up "because I didn't say so" or something like that.

Anyway my rep made me fill out a big scuba questionaire, I'm also a climber so I have a lot of questions coming at me, I have already filled out a few forms on this for them and they are still asking questions then I got an email that scared me.

What type of scuba do you use? -- ok valid question, but I have answered this twice already, then the climbing question, on a scale of 1 to 5 how difficult are the climbs you do?

OMG 1 to 5? If there are any other climbers on this board you may understand my alarm when life insurance asks me on a scale of 1 to 5 about climbing, it tells me these guys no JACK about this stuff

So my question is has anyone got their insurance hiked up because "your a diver so your dangerous" ? Its been two months and I have not heard from them, they are still "running the numbers" on me

 

[pasley]

I have not purchased life insurance since I was certified. But when I bought my last policy, I had the "interest" and asked the question. The answer was that being an "adventure" sport it would not be looked upon favorably. Some companies will write the policy, others will not, or you may have to pay a higher premium.

You are also right to not withhold the information as that could be grounds the insurance company would use to not pay off as the policy was obtained by fraud. That could possibly even be true if your demise was not directly connected to SCUBA. But an attorney (I am sure there are a few on the boatd) is qualified to answer that question. The preceeding is just my oponioin and does not consitiute legal advice.

 

[Wildcard]

DAN offers policys that cover EVERYTHING...Im signing up.

 

[baitedstorm]

As a former financial/insurance agent ( I HATE the biz) A few heads-up rules to follow when filling out questionnaire.

1. Never give any information that's not asked. (You’d be surprised at what people will tell you, that as an agent, I really didn't need to know but because I was told I must factor it)

2. With diving, don't ever tell them your deepest dive you've ever dove is the diving you do all the time. Depth plays a major factor in weather you'll be approved or denied, or even approved at a higher premium. Remember, "they" are only trying to figure out how much of a liability it will be to insure you. They'll need info like how deep, how often, where at, ect. Same thing with riding a motorcycle or a speed boat, if its not you’re usually form of transportation, then it should be stated just that way.

I think the form reads something like "If you *intend* to engage in any hazardous sports such as" then there's a slew of stuff to check. If you check ANY of them in that area, you'll be red flagged right away.
I am, in no way, saying to lie on your application, just don't offer any info that is not "specifically" asked

3. If you haven't had an exam/test or a medical expert’s diagnosis, then it is yet to exist. (Don’t assume anything)

4. Smoking will jack up your policy and there's no way around it. Most companies will do a swab test to detect nicotine.

5.Never buy whole life insurance (its crap for everyone except the one getting the commission for it..... big$$$$$ commission) Buy term insurance for the greatest length of time you can afford (20 yrs is perfect), you’ll save tons of money this way in which you can invest in your mutual fund , 401K, CD, ect. (whatever is yielding the highest interest rate at the time. You’ll also get more $$ coverage for less money.


Just because you do any of the extreme sports doesn't necessarily mean "they'll" deny you. And the post above mine is absolutely right. If you don't disclose that information about such sports, "they" might default on a pay out. On a lighter note, once your policy is written, your questionnaire is good for that allotted time frame. So if you decide after 5 years to learn how to sky dive, you'll be covered even though
it wasn't disclosed in the original application in the event of your death.


Hope this info will help someone else down the line, pm me if you need any help.

Vickie

BTW..... most agents don't know jack about the so called hazardous sport, it will be the poilcy Underwriter(not like they know all that much about it either) making the finale decision as to weather or not your to much of a risk to insure.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

To add to the discussion, carefully answer the question that was asked. It's surprising how often folks don't do this.

A typical diving question might be "How deep is your average dive?". Lots of ways to answer this, and it's not entirely clear what they want. Do they want the average maximum depth of your dives; or do they want the average depth of all of your dives? Different answers, with the second one being shallower. This is one question where all of those training dives that an instructor does works to his advantage.

 

[miketsp]

1. Never give any information that's not asked. (You’d be surprised at what people will tell you, that as an agent, I really didn't need to know but because I was told I must factor it)

When I started diving again about 4 years ago I looked at the fine print in my policies and they specifically excluded payment of benefits in the case of scuba diving, horse riding(!) and a list of other sports. After searching around I found one that pays 50% of the benefits due in the event of death or injury caused by participation in any adventure sport.

Just because you do any of the extreme sports doesn't necessarily mean "they'll" deny you. And the post above mine is absolutely right. If you don't disclose that information about such sports, "they" might default on a pay out. On a lighter note, once your policy is written, your questionnaire is good for that allotted time frame. So if you decide after 5 years to learn how to sky dive, you'll be covered even though
it wasn't disclosed in the original application in the event of your death.

I recently rechecked the situation where I am and found that all the major insurers removed the list of adventure sports and replaced it by a clause that says that death due to any undisclosed risk is not covered. Much worse from the consumers point of view.

As far as I am concerned life insurance in itself is the risk.

 

[FIXXERVI6]

Wow, kinda sucks cause I could really use it, don't want to leave people behind not able to make payments on the house and such but this is turned out to be a super super pain, thanks for your replies!

 

[miketsp]

Just about your only chance of getting cheap insurance is if you can say that you only do recreational diving within recreational diving limits.
If you can't state this (or even if you can) go and look for a specialised policy like DAN.

Many UK insurers still use diving accident rates from the mid 90s to calculate policies.

PS. If you use an international policy and live outside first world regions you also need to check whether your dependants will actually receive all the money, it may be subject to withholding/transfer taxes in various forms and at various levels.

 

[Hank49]

JACK about this stuff
So my question is has anyone got their insurance hiked up because "your a diver so your dangerous" ? Its been two months and I have not heard from them, they are still "running the numbers" on me

Two years ago I bought a term life policy and the agent asked if I scuba dived. I said yes, and he asked at what level I was certified. I told him open water instructor and he said that it didn't matter at that level. I presumed that open water divers must have a premium hike. ?? Hank

 

[baitedstorm]

There are still several group in the states that will insure scuba divers. If your having issues finding one pm me and I'll tell you who to go with (no plugs on the board) If your a frequent deep diver (130+feet) you'll be SOL, when I did my application I had just been certified, so it was pretty easy. Max depth 60 feet, average depth 45. And I left it at that. I know my policy inside and out, and the only way they will default on the pay out now, is in the event I killed myself. All policies have a suicide discloser in them, mine happens to be 2 yrs. So if I killed myself within the 2 years, my family wouldn't receive the pay out, but they would receive all premiums that I had paid into the policy. After 2 yrs, they would receive full benefit.

Miketsp, you’re right on about reading your policy to the fullest, most people don't. If there's something you don't understand, call your agent; make them break it down for you. Remember that if it’s not in the original policy, it doesn't exist, so if there's any incorrect information, the original policy needs to be amended to reflect the change.

Good luck.