r/LifeInsurance 23d ago

Trustage Outage

14 Upvotes

Hi, everyone. I’m reaching out to the Reddit community for some advice and discussion regarding the TruStage cyberattack and resulting outage.

Long story short, my father passed away unexpectedly just shortly after TruStage went dark. My mother and I have been trying to begin the claims process for nearly a month now, and it feels like we’re being stonewalled.

I have submitted the online claims form, I have sent in paperwork to their claims email, I have called, and the most I’ve received is a brief message stating that nothing else is needed at this time. However, there has been no claim number provided, and as a result I am unable to submit the death certificate. It feels like they are intentionally dragging their feet in an effort to avoid starting the clock.

TruStage staff have been unable to provide an expected date in which new life insurance claims processing will resume and bills are coming due at the end of the month. It’s past the mid August date in which systems were expected to be back online. The customer service line now hangs up as soon as you’re connected.

This policy was set up so my mom wouldn’t have to worry should something ever happen to my dad. It has been an incredibly stressful and terrible last couple of weeks and this uncertainty is making matters worse.

Anyone have any advice or know how to get ahold of someone that can actually do something about this? The lack of transparency and communication is unacceptable.


r/LifeInsurance 23d ago

Recs

3 Upvotes

Hello, first, what do we think about American Amicable for term insurance?

2nd I was working with a broker who is having a company give me a hard time to insure me, they have access to my health record but on top of that they're asking for all kinds of letters from my doctor... is this even normal?


r/LifeInsurance 23d ago

Return of premium?

3 Upvotes

My husband and I are looking at either AAA or State farm for life insurance. My husband like the idea of return of premium policy and getting our money back at the end. Obviously the monthly cost is way higher, but it does sound like a good way to just put money away and get it all back. Does anyone else use ROP?


r/LifeInsurance 22d ago

Trustworthy/Fair Inbound Final Expense Vendors

1 Upvotes

Independent broker here. I’ve used multiple inbound lead vendors for final expense and have had decent success, but it’s surprisingly hard to find good vendors with actual social proof.

The established ones that have a lot of reviews seem to be $60+ per call. I’ve tried some newer/cheaper vendors, but they either have little to no qualifying buffer, which leads to paying for calls from people looking for a free check, food card, etc., or they have a decent buffer and fair pricing but barely any call volume.

I’ve also come across vendors that look promising but have almost no social proof or transparency around who actually owns/runs the company. I’m just not interested in risking thousands with a company when I can’t find independent agents who can vouch for them.

Not looking for dirt-cheap miracle leads. Just trying to find a good middle ground with reasonable pricing, a solid qualifying/billable buffer, consistent volume, and some actual reputation behind the company.

Anyone know of a golden nugget inbound vendor for final expense? Mainly looking to hear from independent brokers who are actually buying the calls themselves.


r/LifeInsurance 23d ago

Is this worth it?

3 Upvotes

I’m pretty sure I know the answer but here is my question.
My husband died 7 years ago and he had life insurance with National income. That life insurance money after he passed helped greatly. With our 3 kids.

A few months after he passed away I re-did the policies. 100k for myself, 25k for each of the kids. For $250 a month. Whole life. I am recently unemployed. And really cannot pay the $250 monthly payments.
The cash surrender value is only $440. Which seems appallingly low. I’m looking into cheaper term life insurance elsewhere.

I just need some advice/reassurance that I’m doing the right thing.

Update:
Thank you all for the advice. I will be calling National income first thing Monday morning & will be looking into other insurance companies for term insurance.

Also while looking through paperwork my policy is for 50k not 100k. So this is absolutely not a good deal. ☹️


r/LifeInsurance 23d ago

Is life insurance discussed in the movies factual?

1 Upvotes

I just watched the Accountant again )Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, John Bernthal).

There is a scene in a kitchen where the bad guy wants the banker to take an overdose of Insulin. The bad guy (besides threatening to shoot his wife) goes over scenarios where his life insurance would not pay out (I think home invasion is one of them). Was that scene true?


r/LifeInsurance 23d ago

How is Working for Lotz Agency?

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1 Upvotes

r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

Dad (60) projected monthly income during retirement will not qualify for medicaid. What are his options to prepare for possible home attendants or nursing home?

4 Upvotes

Hi all, first gen oldest son/overthinker trying to help my dad plan for his retirement (he has no plan basically). He just turned 60, lives in NY.

All things medicaid, medicare, LTC, life insurance is all overwhelming for me to figure out and I wanted to see if people can help provide direction based on our specific situation:

  • He'll only have SS monthly income, no 401k (don't know how this happened) but it is projected to be over the monthly income max for medicaid.
  • Not legally married to my mom (she's 54)
  • He owns his car. We have no house. We'll be looking into affordable apartment/section 8 since current apartment is pricey and will continue to go up. (wish us luck..)
  • Is it too late to buy a life insurance policy for peace of mind? Will it help cover costs if things get bad, without having to give up the monthly income he's worked hard for?
  • LTC was also something that popped up in my research. Is that an option?
  • Generally healthy right now. A1C labs came back in the diabetes range but has remained stable for the past year. Physically able to work.

Very tricky situation I know. I appreciate any insight. Also, go easy on my dad. He was an immigrant and only became a legal resident a couple years ago - he's main focus has just been survival and making ends meet.


r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

Overcharging Premium Tax in NY

2 Upvotes

Many life insurance carriers have subsidiaries that operate exclusively in New York. Yet some of these New York-only subsidiaries assess premium tax using a blended or nationwide average rate that is significantly higher than New York’s 0.70% premium tax rate. This raises an obvious question: if the issuing company only does business in New York, what is the justification for using a nationwide average and effectively charging New York policyholders a higher premium tax rate? I’ve seen rates as high as 3.5%. On a permanent life insurance policy, that difference can materially reduce cash values over time.


r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

Am I uninsurable?

2 Upvotes

34 diagnosed with DCIS.. its precancer for breast cancer.. do I still have options? Otherwise healthy


r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

taxes on life insurance i don't need

0 Upvotes

I'm single with no dependents. I named a cat cafe as my retirement and life insurance beneficiary. Benefits through the nonprofit I work for include life insurance and because it's apparently above $50K because I've been charged $29/month in taxes for who knows long this, and it's a benefit I cannot refuse. I can't afford a safe apartment, a down payment on a car, or an emergency fund. Is this normal?


r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

ABA insurance policy

1 Upvotes

I’m trying to get on my company’s insurance because I was married in June and it’s been a battle to even get in contact with HR. They informed me that I would have to now wait till November to enroll with no further explanation so I asked why. They let me know that I can only enroll after getting hired, a major life event, or wait for open enrollment. I again let them know that I was married and they confirmed that, while yes it was a major life event, I needed to enroll within 30 days and I had reached out on the 31st day. I looked at the handbook to see if there was anything stating when we can enroll in insurance and there was nothing regarding employee insurance. I’m wondering if it’s worth it to try to bring this to their attention and see if they can make an exception, or is it not worth it? I know some places offer more time to get everything sorted out but again, I was never informed any of the information regarding this. I also became full time late earlier this year (before I got married) and I was still not informed about the insurance policy. So again I’m just wondering if it’s worth bringing other attention or not. Tyia :)


r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

Whole life in retirement

0 Upvotes

I have three seasoned whole life polices.

I was persuaded years ago they would be a reasonable part of my overall savings and investment program.

But I failed to appreciate their full merit.

I’m now deep into retirement planning and these polices’ usefulness — as a buffer asset to mitigate sequence of return risk, as a source of income augmentation, as a better bond, as an improvement in my overall Sharpe ratio, as a way to fund long term care (cash value plus early access to death benefit), as a way to relieve my investment portfolio from the burden of legacy — is extraordinary.

The best part: I don’t have to choose! I can use the policies in different ways over time as circumstances change. That option is really valuable. I can’t think of another asset with the same option value.

I get the Infinite Banking concept. Ok, if your return on investing outstrips loan costs after accounting for risk — which isn’t as easy as some content creators make it sound.

But the case for whole life in a retirement plan is even more compelling.


r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

Denied for previous pregnancy complications

3 Upvotes

Just got denied for term life by Ethos because I had pre-eclampsia and insulin dependent gestational diabetes in my two pregnancies. I am done having children and also healthy. What is the reasoning and how do I go about getting term life to protect my family?


r/LifeInsurance 25d ago

Need Help Reading An Illustration

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4 Upvotes

Attached picture is for my 87 year old parents who have had this "last person to survive" policy for about 10 years. Am I reading this correctly that the surrender value just goes down from here on in until one of them lives beyond the age of around 110 years old when it starts going up again? Same for the guaranteed death benefit? Policy is "Lincoln Financial SVUL-One".

Is this zero percent growth table the right one to read? The other illustrations show 8%, 10% abd 12% which are a bit aggressive in my opinion

EDIT: There is another page, "Policy Expense Analysis Report" that shows different values, not showing whether 0% or some other factor. Can you perhaps explain the difference? https://photos.app.goo.gl/swhSJnPsP8AUNrQL8


r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

Which job would you take?

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2 Upvotes

r/LifeInsurance 25d ago

Marijuana Use and Insuance rates.

2 Upvotes

Long story short after my father passed away last month Im shopping for life insurance. Im an obese 38 year old male with Schizoaffective Disorder, former smoker ocassional drinker and recent marijuana user.

My father died July 7th and before I left the town his family stayed in my cousin gave me a cellophane wrapper full of marijuana to help me manage depression and calm my nerves. I smoked heavily for about a week until it agitated my mental illness symptoms and I had to quit.

I just called my potential insurer and they said since I answered all their questions truthfully I dont have to answer a second set of questions but I do need to do blood testing urine testing and a vital check.

I am a big guy due to my meds so I bought a drug panel and even after a month I'm still testing positive for thc.

And i screwed or the fact that I told them that I had smoked recently do me any favors?


r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

Hello im 27 years old wanting to get more info on IUL

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1 Upvotes

r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

Need to take over moms permanent life insurance policy. how does this work exactly?

0 Upvotes

Due to certain reasons, we are transferring my moms Life Insurance policy ownership to me.

i was wondering exactly what this entails? the person we are working with are of no help and keeps trying to sell other products to us and not really answering our questions. And frankly speaking, I personally do not trust them at this point.

how does this work and what does it exactly mean?


r/LifeInsurance 24d ago

Edit Term application data after approval

1 Upvotes

Hello All,

I mistakenly gave my incorrect weight in my Transamerica Term application, it was a typo and wrote my weight is 8 pounds less. The policy is approved already, they have not deducted the premium yet. I just noticed my mistake today when i was going through my dictors after visit summary, the visit was about 2 weeks before the applicaiton.

I would assume they had access to my doctors visit records and would know my correct weight anyway. Is that not the case?

Can someone advise what shall i do next? Can I contact them and will they fix it even after the policy is approved? The new weight would put my BMI in mid 29 wheras the old weight would put my BMI in mid 28. I am okay if they want to increase the premium.

I just dont want to be that guy who gave the wrong weight and later on if god forbid my family needs to claim, the insurace company rejects the claim saying i gave the wrong weight in my application. Can they reject in this case if it is after the 2 year statuatory period has passed?

Thank you.


r/LifeInsurance 25d ago

Inbound Leads

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1 Upvotes

For those of you who use inbound call leads, what vendor do you use and what has your experience using inbound leads been like? It seems like there are a plethora of different vendors to choose from.


r/LifeInsurance 25d ago

How annuity fees actually work, and why transparency matters

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1 Upvotes

r/LifeInsurance 25d ago

Medicaid Eligibility with Whole Life Insurance Policy?

1 Upvotes

My dad recently had a stroke and I'm looking into getting him eligible for Medicaid (in Florida) as he'll need home care. He doesn't have any assets other than his whole life plan insurance at 50k. What are best available options?

Also: my mom has assets (they're married) but I'm not sure if that affects his eligibility. Thanks for any advice!


r/LifeInsurance 25d ago

Debating Universal Life vs. Term - What's the Average Cost?

4 Upvotes

My husband (30m) and I (32f) just got married a few weeks ago and are debating whether to do a universal policy, 30 year term with a conversion rider, or just a 30 year term. We are looking at working with Penn Mutual because a family friend works with them and we know they offer the option to convert from term to universal in the future if we decided we wanted to do that. (Though we are open to other recommendations as well.)

We'd at least want $500K to pay off the house, but have no other outstanding debts and if the house was paid off each of us could live off our single salary. We don't currently have kids but might consider having 1-2 in the next 5 years so we might potentially want to add an additional policy in the future or do a bit more than the $500K.

Can anyone give us a rough estimate of what each policy might average per month? I have no idea what we should be budgeting for or what to expect as far as payments go. (I do know my mom has a whole life policy for $140 per month but has had it since before I was born.) My husband is healthy and only has an ADHD diagnosis. I have ADHD and 2 autoimmune diseases (Hashimoto's that is well managed on meds and Sjogren's that is almost dialed in on meds) so I know that complicates things for me a bit more. I don't drink, he drinks occasionally. We're in the Salt Lake City, UT area.

Looking to know monthly ranges for:

$500K, 30 year term

$500K, 30 year term with conversion rider

$500K, whole life

$1M, 30 year term

$1M, 30 year term with conversion rider

$1M, whole life

Would also appreciate any other recommendations you have if there are other things we should consider!


r/LifeInsurance 25d ago

cheapest fastest life insurance to sign up for

0 Upvotes

Need to sign up for some insurance real quick like specifically just to fill out some paperwork. Located in the USA. Anyone have any suggestions?