What Is The Guaranteed Insurability Option?

One of the things that can confuse people when purchasing life insurance (and other types of coverage as well) is the various types of riders that are available. These riders are simply add-ons that can increase the coverage of your policy. One of these riders is the Guaranteed Insurability Option (GIO), also known as the Guaranteed Purchase Option (GPO). 

The GIO rider can work for you by giving you opportunities during the life of the policy to purchase extra coverage without having to go through medical underwriting. The insurance company will send you a notice from time to time (sometime stated in the policy itself) stating that you have a window of time called an "option date" to purchase more coverage. These dates usually fall on the anniversary of your policy and can be spread out every 3 to 5 years.

Of course if you purchase more coverage it will cost you more in premiums, and the additional coverage will be based on your current age. For instance, let's say that you bought a policy at age 35 and the premium is $40/month for $250,000 coverage. At age 45 you want to purchase more coverage (you may have had a life change or bought a bigger home or whatever), yet you have also had health issues recently. In the case your rate will increase because you are buying more coverage, but that new coverage will based on you being 45 years old now. 

As an agent I recommend this rider to people who are insuring small children because you just don't know what can happen down the road for a your person when it comes to their health. 

The rider itself can add a small amount to your premium but should be considered if you have a family history of medical issues or if you have a medical issue that will may get worse. 

Here's a brochure from Illinois Mutual, a great company that has some awesome policies. 

As always, let us help you if you have questions or comments. You can visit our site and book a short phone appointment. In the meantime stay healthy and thank you for your referrals.

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

How Can I Get Quotes For Life Insurance?

Over the last year or so, we at Surf Financial Brokers have made changes in our business model to make it a lot easier for our clients to purchase various types of insurance. Even before the Covid pandemic forced businesses to go virtual, we were thinking of ways to alter our business model. The events of 2020 just forced us to speed up the process. 

The most noticeable changes were on our website, which originally just had product information and some contact forms to let us know when someone had questions or needed a quote for life insurance, dental or cancer plans, hospital and accident coverage. 

Over the past 12 months we have added some buttons on our "Products and Quotes" page which allow people to get their own quotes and, in some cases, start an application. There was one area where we were lacking and that was the life insurance quoting tool, which only quoted one of our carriers. As of this week, that has changed. 

After some intense negotiations* we have entered into an agreement with a national brokerage firm to use a quoting tool that is consumer friendly and offers quotes from multiple insurance carriers. These are top tier companies who offer great life insurance products. The easy-to-use format helps get a more accurate quote**. 

One of the nice parts of this quoting tool is that it let's the client know if which policies require paramed exams. For some people, the thought of a nurse with a needle will deter them from getting the coverage they need. Besides telling you which policies won't require an exam, this tool also gives other information. Do you want to know which policies include living benefits, for instance? That will show up as well. 

Say someone is looking for a rate for coverage and they see several term policies pop up. That's great, but they want permanent coverage. This person can just click on the "Permanent" button and the quoting system finds those rates too. It is all very easy to use.

Another great piece of information is the estimated length of time it takes to actually get a policy issued. Listed as "Average Approval Time", this lets our client know how long, on average, it is taking for life insurance polices to get approved. These are estimates, but when one runs a few quotes they can see how each insurance carrier stacks up. 

But that is just part of this system. Let's assume that our client sees a quote they like. What do they do next? Our client can click on  the "Apply In Minutes"  button and begin completing an application. It really is a very easy process and only takes a few minutes. 

Looking for coverage never has been easier. Try our new quoting tool to find a policy that fits into your budget and make sure that your family will be financially secure if something should happen to you. Give it a try and let us know what you think. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Remember, life insurance is to give you peace of mind. If you have questions, let us know. And in the meantime, please stay healthy!

*Not really, but it sounds good.

**Rates are estimates and are subject to underwriting.

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!