Reader’s Question:

Can I buy my friend here in Oklahoma a life insurance policy for her?

Graham

Lawton, OK

Unfortunately you might not, unless maybe you are able to prove that you might suffer financial loss or difficulty in the event your friend there in Oklahoma suddenly passes away. In the life insurance industry this is known as “Insurable Interest”. The only parties that are allowed to purchase life insurance for someone else are spouses, family members or relatives, business partners or any individual that will suffer financially upon the death of the insured are the ones that have “Insurable Interest” and are allowed to purchase the said life insurance party for the person they wish to give coverage.

Insurable Interest actually stems on the idea that strangers may commit murder to get death benefits or death proceeds if they are allowed to insure just anyone they wish. That would be an unacceptable amount of risk for both the individual being insured as well as towards the business of the life insurance provider itself.

You might also ask who the policy owner is if a person with sufficient “Insurable Interest” is allowed to buy life insurance coverage for someone else. The policy owner would be the one who bought the insurance (and the one who will be paying it) but the insured would, obviously, be the one who is protected under the coverage. This is important to understand since there are life insurance providers who only allows the policy holder to take money out of a cash-value life insurance policy.

Reader’s Question:

How will I know the amount to be purchased for a life insurance policy in Oklahoma?

Alfred

Lawton, OK

In the event of a death, it is important that the loved ones of the depose ensures sufficient funds that would help the people at this time. The questing to ask now is how much is needed to sufficiently covers those that have to be taken care of.

There are issues to consider knowing the amount to be purchased on a life insurance policy. If have dependents, you would want to ensure that money covers the funeral arrangement. You may also want to cover the income that would be lost for 2 years if you are the breadwinner.
Aside from these, you may also want to consider the financial state of your loved ones. Given these factors, you would probably need $500,000. For a single, $50,000 may be enough. This can help the family eases the pain from the loss of loved ones.

For a 10-year term, a $500,000 may require you to pay $68 to 105 per month. For $50,000, the monthly premium ranges from $13 to 20 a month.

Reader’s Question:

I just want to ask why life insurance here in Oklahoma costs so much for smokers. Can anyone help me out with this?

Carl

Lawton, OK

Hi Carl. It is quite unfortunate that smokers life insurance tends to cost more than life insurance for non-smokers. I guess the best way to explain this is by letting you in on how insurance companies do their business.

You see, for insurance companies to earn money, they have to make sure that the number of insured clients they have that make a claim on their insurance policies are less than those that do not make a claim. If it was the other way around, then they will be shelling out more money than they have coming in.

For them to sell smokers life insurance, they have to balance out the risk that their insured will make a claim on their policy with their need to earn more money by getting more clients. Thus, the higher insurance premiums for smokers.

Still, there is hope for the smokers out there. There are certain companies that specialize in getting good insurance rates for smokers life insurance. Also, some smokers who only smoke occasionally can even be considered for non-smokers life insurance with other insurance companies. This will of course depend on the insurance companies policies. My suggestion is you find yourself a reliable agent in Lawton, Oklahoma who can assist you in finding the product that will best suit your insurance needs.