There are lots of great deals on the market currently if you are looking for term life insurance and critical illness cover. Term life insurance is cheaper than whole life insurance because it only covers you for an agreed term, whereas whole life insurance provides coverage for life. Plus, you do not get any return on investment with term life – but can reap good dividends with whole life coverage.

Critical Illness Cover is a Welcome Boost to a Life Insurance Policy

Term life insurance can be boosted by adding on critical illness cover to it and many life insurers can offer this benefit at a very cost effective rate. Critical illness insurance means you are insured against the main critical medical conditions and illnesses including cancer, heart attacks and kidney failure – insurers will publish a comprehensive list of illnesses they cover.

Make sure to carefully check out exactly what is covered, since you could get a nasty shock if it later turns out that e.g. the loss of one limb is not considered ‘critical’ by the insurer, whereas losing two e.g. legs is. Similarly, some insurance companies will only cover you for certain types of cancers – so check the terms very carefully. And speak to an advisor before taking out critical illness protection.

Take the time to Check Terms and Conditions of Life Policies

Many of the term life insurance policies being offered seem like really good deals – the policy premiums often look like excellent value as far as the policy cover amount. For example, a 40 year old non-smoker could arrange a $1 million dollar term policy to run over 30 years, and only pay around $2,500 per annum for it.

Use a top Rated Company

But –make sure you are buying a policy from a trusted and known source. If you don’t you run the risk of being shortchanged in the event of a claim. The best way to check out which life companies are reliable is via a broker or the internet.  Make sure you check out whether the life insurer is financially stable, too by looking up its rating on Standard & Poor’s or AM Best – and go with an insurer that has an A rating or better.

Use ‘Execution Only’ Brokers for Cheaper Life Insurance Deals

Also it’s worth noting that life insurance prices change on a daily basis – so it’s a case of ‘best buy brokers’ rather than ‘best buy insurers.’ Brokers take on the job of finding the lowest priced insurance companies – but – some brokers receive extremely large commissions from the insurance providers and this can have a big impact on how much you end up paying. The best way of getting round this is to utilize ‘execution only’ brokers – they give you the commission, and charge a small fee in return.

Other things to check are that life premiums are ‘guaranteed’ rather than ‘reviewable’ so that know exactly where you are when it comes to monthly payments. The most important thing to remember when you are trying to get the cheapest life insurance and critical illness deals is that it pays to get advice.

Source: Amy Perry, Allvoices.com Jan 2011, and MoneySavingExpert.com Oct 2010

photo credit: allaboutgeorge

Following a federal judge’s ruling, AIG (American General Life Insurance Company) will be forced to go to court in what has been termed a ‘convoluted’ case involving the authenticity of a life insurance policy taken out on behalf of recently deceased Germaine ‘Suzy’ Tomlinson.

Southern Indiana District Judge Sara Evans Barker ruled against the life insurer which was seeking a summary judgment against those attempting to secure a claim. Instead she decided that the case warranted further legal consideration in the form of a trial.

AIG Voids Policy Claiming Authenticity is “Questionable”

AIG who has voided the controversial policy, claims that the authenticity of the life insurance taken out on behalf of Ms Tomlinson by a friend and associate, J.B. Carlson, is questionable. The life insurer asserts that he (Carlson) “procured the policy by improper and fraudulent means” and that the policy was “procured on individuals for whom there was no insurable interest.” Geoffrey Vanderpal, an independent life insurance agent was the driving force behind the proceedings, according to court records.

Defendants Attempted to Sell Life Policy on Stranger-Oriented Market

Apparently Carlson and his co-defendants were attempting to sell the policy on the stranger-oriented life insurance market when Suzy Tomlinson died, which stopped them in their tracks. Judge Barker stated that she believed that the lawsuit had been brought against Carlson, Vanderpal and other defendants because there was a belief that they had duped Ms Tomlinson into obtaining a huge life policy without them having any insurable interest – in order to collect a sizeable profit by selling the policy in the secondary market.

Spokesman for AIG, Mark Herr responded to Judge Evans Barker’s decision to bring the case to trial by saying, “We believe that this policy was obtained by fraud” and that “the order gives us the opportunity to prove that at trial.”

Deceased’s Daughter Steps into the Fray

However the case has become even more complicated for AIG, with the arrival of Ms Tomlinson’s daughter Tomisue Hilbert on the scene. She is acting on behalf of the Tomlinson estate and argues that the life policy should be honored but the proceeds should be paid to the estate. According to the Hilbert spokesperson “American General issued the policy for its own gain and anticipated profit, and accepted substantial premiums for the insurance of the policy without due regard to sound underwriting policies or procedures.” Tomisue Hilbert only learnt of the policy after reading about it in a newspaper and was, understandably “shocked.”

Judge Sara Evans Barker welcomed the daughter’s right to be involved in the trial – the date for which is due to be set in the near future.

photo credit: yeowatzup

Dr Howard Martin, a British General Practitioner recently decided to break his silence and admit that he was responsible for the deaths of many terminally ill patients in his care. He insisted that, in administering lethal doses of painkillers to patients he had been acting out of ‘Christian compassion.’ Dr Martin’s outpouring appears to a response to the General Medical Council‘s recent decision to strike him off. Cases of ‘assisted suicide’ have not only major moral implications for the bereaved, but practical ones – life insurance companies may not pay out on policies if suicide is found to be the cause of death.

Euthanasia’s Implications for Life Insurance

During all his years as a doctor Howard Martin made no secret of his belief in euthanasia – a belief which was tested to the utmost in 1988, when he helped his son Paul , who was terminally ill with cancer, die. Euthanasia, however, is illegal in the UK and Dr Martin, who is now 75 years old, said that in making his recent confession he was doing so with the full knowledge that he may have to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Life insurance companies will not pay out if suicide is found to be the cause of death, even if the person is terminally ill. Assisted suicide in these types of cases can be difficult to prove however if the person’s life was hanging in the balance anyway due to their illness. If suicide is suspected, then life insurers will insist on an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Dr Martin Acted Autonomously in Administering Fatal Drugs

The police believe that Dr Martin may have been involved in the deaths of up to 30 patients, and he has stated that he acted in accordance with their wishes, in terms of carrying out assisted suicides. However there were apparently two exceptions to this where the drugs administered by Dr Martin – those which killed the patients -were administered without their having given their consent, effectively making Dr Martin’s involvement in their deaths murder.

Many people back the right of the terminally ill to choose when to die, including some of the relatives of those assisted by Dr Martin, who called him an ‘angel of mercy.’ Other relatives, however, said they felt betrayed by him.

This recent case illustrates how the debate over assisted suicide continues with opinions divided on the issue. The government in the UK has tried to bring in a bill to legalize euthanasia three times and three times it has been defeated. Very few places in the world have a form of legal euthanasia, and they include: The Netherlands, Belgium and the American states of Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Texas. Life Insurers will have policies which reflect the legality of these practices in these areas.

photo credit: Sarah G…

A mortuary worker from Los Angeles, California contrived a morbid scheme – that of faking her own death in order to defraud life insurance companies. She even went as far as to stage her own funeral, which included the cremation of a mannequin and cow parts which had been placed in the coffin.

Jean Crump, aged 67, from Los Angeles, could face a prison sentence of up to 90 years after a jury found her guilty of fraud, including one count of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud.

Woman Sought a $1.2 million Life Insurance Benefit

Crump, along with three accomplices went to painstaking lengths in her attempt to defraud a life insurance company and obtain payment on a policy worth more than 1.2 million dollars.

1. First the woman obtained a fake death certificate
2. Then, Crump purchased land for a burial plot
3. Finally, she staged a funeral where an empty casket was buried

Foul play Suspected by Life Insurers

The life insurance company became suspicious of the claims and launched an investigation, so Crump took drastic measures. She had the coffin exhumed and filled with animal remains and a dummy before cremating the contents.

Fraud Included Obtaining Advance Funding for Bereaved Families

Crump has also been charged with obtaining money from a life insurance company to cover bereavement expenses, in order to cover the cost of the funeral (the life insurance company later takes a cut of the life insurance payout of the deceased life insurance policy holder). Crump is to be sentenced later this year – her accomplices have pleaded guilty as charged.

Source

Daily Telegraph

photo credit: codepo8

Amy Guzman’s son, Lance Cpl Kyle Guzman was just 21 years old when he died in a U.S. Marine Corps training accident in November 2007. Just a day after Lance Cpl Guzman’s funeral, Raymond Brogan, 43, persuaded her to hand over control of the Iraq War veteran’s life insurance payout to him.

Raymond Brogan told Joyce Guzman that he would take care of her bills and invest the money for her – but instead Brogan, along with this accomplice Robert Brogan, 63 went on to induce her to sign fraudulent checks, forging her name on others.

Widow Tricked into Signing Away Son’s Life Insurance

Raymond Brogan was the boyfriend of Mrs. Guzman’s half-sister Carol Ann Damico, aged 35. Both of them manipulated the grieving mom into signing a power of attorney favoring Brogan – and two days later the pair signed an addendum which designated the couple’s address as the one to send the life policy benefits to.

Raymond Brogan had an accomplice in the fraud, his uncle,  Robert Brogan and both were jailed by US District Judge Morrison C England Jr. – Robert Brogan to three years and one month, and Raymond Brogan to two years and nine months. The judge, in a rare move, rejected a plea bargain by Robert Brogan and his lawyers, which would have reduced his sentence. R. Steven Lapham, top prosecuting lawyer and John Manning, a renowned defense lawyer argued that Robert Brogan was simply a ‘conduit’ for the money laundering operation.  They also stated that he had given ‘substantial’ assistance to the government’ in a criminal case.

Judge Morrison admitted Life Insurance Case had Troubled Him

But Judge Morrison, although he admitted that the case had promoted a ‘very visceral emotional response’ in him, believed that Robert Brogan was just as culpable of the crime and therefore there should be no diminution of the sentence.

Both Brogans have been ordered to pay back the stolen life insurance benefits to Joyce Guzman of Burney, Shasta County.

In the case, in which more than $200,000 of life insurance was stolen, charges against Carol Ann Damico who was originally implicated were dropped.

Source:  Insurancenews. Net and McClathy-Tribune Information Services Jan 2011

photo credit: hectorir