How to Get Through Disability Insurance Underwriting
It is one of the most difficult types of insurance to obtain today, disability insurance has the potential to pay out millions of dollars in claims to you during your working years.
It is not a policy an insurance company offers lightly to anybody.
So before I show you some tips on getting an individual disability insurance policy I want to put this into perspective for you.
The state mandates that you have coverage for your car.
This is an asset somewhere between $5,000 and $100,000 depending on the kind of car you drive.
You also have to have homeowners coverage for your house or apartment.
This is an asset that is going to be up to several hundred thousand dollars in case it burns down, gets hit by a natural disaster, or floods.
However your most valuable asset is not your car or your home, it is your natural ability to get up and go to work every day in order to bring home an income for you and your family.
Believe me, when you are suffering through cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, or ALS, you will understand just how important your ability to earn an income is.
If you can not perform in your occupation like you once did, your income is bound to suffer, and it is a disability insurance policy that can save you from financial devastation.
A DI policy can pay you up to 60% of your income on a tax-free basis every month you are disabled until the age of 65, or until you recover from your illness or accident.
It is the keystone to any successful financial plan, and without a high quality DI policy you are susceptible to financial devastation should you become too sick or injured to work.
So now that you understand the need for it, and just how important it is to you and your family, we can talk about how to get the best offer from the disability underwriters at the insurance company.
The truth is almost everything can be negotiated on your behalf by your agent, so it benefits you to team up with an experienced disability insurance agent.
The more policies an agent has written, the more underwriting scenarios he has dealt with, and there is a better chance the underwriter knows the agent and may feel comfortable making an exception or offering something better than the manual says to do.
Most "financial planners" sell an average of 2 DI policies a year and have very little experience in DI underwriting.
If I was going to buy a policy I would do it from a disability insurance specialist who knows the underwriters personally at the insurance company, and has a report with them that he can use to benefit you during the underwriting process.
You are most likely going to have to get a blood and urine test completed depending on the amount of coverage you are looking to obtain.
I recommend you schedule this exam for the morning, and fast for at least 12 hours before this exam to obtain the best possible readings.
Do not eat anything high in sugar anytime close to the blood test, you do not want any high-end glucose readings.
If you smoke, smoke your normal amount before the exam, but not within the 2 hours immediately prior to the exam.
If you drink caffeine, drink your normal amount of caffeine, but not within 2 hours immediately prior to the exam either.
The insurance company may also require a blood pressure reading, this is also another reason for having the exam earlier in the day before you have a chance to become stressed during the day.
If you know you are going to have a BP test, feel free to close your office door, turn out the lights, and relax for awhile before you see the examiner to make sure that reading is low.
Once all of the examinations have been completed, it is all up to the agent and the underwriter.
The last piece of help you can offer is assistance with your personal physicians.
The disability insurance company is going to request medical records from physicians you have seen.
If you can talk to your physicians ahead of time and ask them to send the requests back quickly it will help a lot during the underwriting process.
It is not a policy an insurance company offers lightly to anybody.
So before I show you some tips on getting an individual disability insurance policy I want to put this into perspective for you.
The state mandates that you have coverage for your car.
This is an asset somewhere between $5,000 and $100,000 depending on the kind of car you drive.
You also have to have homeowners coverage for your house or apartment.
This is an asset that is going to be up to several hundred thousand dollars in case it burns down, gets hit by a natural disaster, or floods.
However your most valuable asset is not your car or your home, it is your natural ability to get up and go to work every day in order to bring home an income for you and your family.
Believe me, when you are suffering through cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, or ALS, you will understand just how important your ability to earn an income is.
If you can not perform in your occupation like you once did, your income is bound to suffer, and it is a disability insurance policy that can save you from financial devastation.
A DI policy can pay you up to 60% of your income on a tax-free basis every month you are disabled until the age of 65, or until you recover from your illness or accident.
It is the keystone to any successful financial plan, and without a high quality DI policy you are susceptible to financial devastation should you become too sick or injured to work.
So now that you understand the need for it, and just how important it is to you and your family, we can talk about how to get the best offer from the disability underwriters at the insurance company.
The truth is almost everything can be negotiated on your behalf by your agent, so it benefits you to team up with an experienced disability insurance agent.
The more policies an agent has written, the more underwriting scenarios he has dealt with, and there is a better chance the underwriter knows the agent and may feel comfortable making an exception or offering something better than the manual says to do.
Most "financial planners" sell an average of 2 DI policies a year and have very little experience in DI underwriting.
If I was going to buy a policy I would do it from a disability insurance specialist who knows the underwriters personally at the insurance company, and has a report with them that he can use to benefit you during the underwriting process.
You are most likely going to have to get a blood and urine test completed depending on the amount of coverage you are looking to obtain.
I recommend you schedule this exam for the morning, and fast for at least 12 hours before this exam to obtain the best possible readings.
Do not eat anything high in sugar anytime close to the blood test, you do not want any high-end glucose readings.
If you smoke, smoke your normal amount before the exam, but not within the 2 hours immediately prior to the exam.
If you drink caffeine, drink your normal amount of caffeine, but not within 2 hours immediately prior to the exam either.
The insurance company may also require a blood pressure reading, this is also another reason for having the exam earlier in the day before you have a chance to become stressed during the day.
If you know you are going to have a BP test, feel free to close your office door, turn out the lights, and relax for awhile before you see the examiner to make sure that reading is low.
Once all of the examinations have been completed, it is all up to the agent and the underwriter.
The last piece of help you can offer is assistance with your personal physicians.
The disability insurance company is going to request medical records from physicians you have seen.
If you can talk to your physicians ahead of time and ask them to send the requests back quickly it will help a lot during the underwriting process.
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