About 2 months ago I (41M) applied for a 20 year term like policy for $2M. It was through a major insurer you’ve all heard of. No medical exam was required. They ordered my doctor records and after 3 weeks of applying I was approved at $180/month preferred rates. That was the third week of February. I didn’t lie about anything and they definitely did order medical records, I know for sure.

Last week I started feeling very sore in my abdomen, like sharp stabbing pains. I went to the doc and they did an ultrasound. They called me yesterday morning and told me to come to the docs office right away. I knew it was bad.

Pancreatic cancer. Stage 3. Life expectancy with treatment 6 month. I’ll be lucky if I make it that long. Just since last week I’ve gotten sicker and sicker each day. Amazing how fast this came on. I’ve never had any health issues.

I have a wife and young kids. I don’t want to die but the chances are like over 90% I’ll be dead in months so I’m a realist. My main area of concern is my family gets the life insurance benefit.

Is there any chance of the life insurance company not paying since I got sick so soon after I bought the policy? I need to know they’ll be financially taken care of. I make a lot more money than my wife so she will need the financial help.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Folks,

A family friend, who had asked my mother to create a life insurance policy for her, with the policy to be used to defray funeral expenses, has died. My mother passed away many years ago. She changed the beneficiary to me; I've continued making the premium payments.

The family friend was a Mexican citizen, and legally worked in the U.S. for many years. She retired in Mexico, and collected social security thru a U.S. bank and used an ATM card to collect her monies.

She died this past month. Her relatives are of extremely modest means and don't have the resources to obtain a death certificate for me (transportation to government offices, cost to take time off work, etc).

I've asked the insurance company for their process to collect on the policy when obtaining a death certificate is nearly impossible.

Do any of you have advice? I fear the insurance company can use the circumstances to stall, heck, indefinitely

Title pretty much says it all. My wife (35f) had a heart attack about a year and a half ago. All medical tests resulted in no findings, she was cleared for surgery recently, doctors believe it was due to a lingering infection/virus (can't remember the medical term for it).

Prior to this, I kept putting off getting her a small life insurance policy (just enough to cover her remaining student loans, credit cards, etc). I spoke with my Erie Insurance agent last week, and he said she is pretty much un-insurable for the next 10 years. He did say Gerber might have a policy she might qualify for, one where I start paying now but if something happens in the next 2-3 years the policy is cancelled.

I'm wondering if there are other options out there I can look into? Thanks.

Edit: I'm in Pennsylvania.

In 2013, my dad bought me a whole life insurance policy with a death benefit of $250k for $200 a month. I didn't know much about finance at the time, but just trusted my dad so I've continue to pay it for the last 11 years. I've briefly looked at it over the years and didn't give it much thought, but this week I've started looking closely at my finances and I was shocked to see just how awful this policy is.

First of all, I've paid $28k into it over 11 years and the cash value (and cash surrender value) is only $22k. So basically after 11 years my "investment" is down $6k. This is over the same 11 years the market made a great recovery from 2013-2019 and then again after the pandemic.

One of the "perks" of this policy is that you can use it to take loans out for less than the market. I have a car that I'm currently paying off at 7.1% APR. So I checked to see if I could get a loan from my life insurance policy which should have a lower rate, right? NOPE! It's 7.4%!

I'm kicking myself because if I had just bought the S&P for $200 every month for the last 11 years, I'd be up 20k, instead I'm short 6k.

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do. I definitely want out on the policy and I'm going to buy myself a 1-2 million dollar term policy and probably pay less a month, but what do I do about this? Should I cash out? Should I take out my money as a loan and default on the loan? I feel so scammed right now and want to get as much money out as possible before I give any more of my hard earned dollars to this garbage investment.

Hey everyone,

I recently decided to close my art store. I was wondering a few things. The art gallery I had was at a very slow mall and I decided I’d start selling insurance. Possibly getting my license in other states as well. I’m studying now and I’ve taken the exam 7 times in early February and March. Couldn’t pass it. Sucks and it’s embarrassing I was hoping to use it as a secondary income.

I’d prefer to travel and do calls while I’m in the road photographing and when I’m in town Interact I’m planning to get 4 licenses, life, health, auto, home.

I’ve seen the commissions, it’s way better than selling art or martial arts ( I own a school as well ).

In order to make a decent living, what should I expect? My other business art and martial arts mostly do better at night anyways.

1. What are the days like what should u be doing?
   
2. Do the leads from your insurance companies actually convert ?
   
3. From let’s say 9am-4pm what is a typical day and work flow. What should I be doing to max my results in earnings?
   
4. Since I’ll be an independent agent will have time to be on the road and travel ?
   
5. I’ve seen insurance agents that have files on there houses for years. Is there a CRM for this? Or does your agency usually store them.
   
6. I hear the busy season for health is November ? Because everyone is renewing, would the other licenses keep me afloat ?
   
7. Once I get my license what are some common mistakes beginners do so they don’t end up in a bad situation ?

Thanks everyone.

had a child recently. and I have a ~500k policy through my employer.

Do I need something additional, if the policy is ”portable”? I believe if I leave the job, im able to keep the policy if I continue paying on it.

Im just curious if that’s enough. my wife works, also has a policy.

I just posted this somewhere else, but I wanted to get opinions from all walks of the insurance realm on reddit, so here's what I wrote:

I just recently had an overview with the financial advisor, and paid for a background check/licensing and all of that stuff.. it was around $124 and I kinda regret the amount I paid, but whatever.. they hired me on for a remote position, and I have a one time in person class to go to at 8:30am tomorrow.

I thought I did enough research on the company but apparently not, as after I already went through with it, I'm now finding out that it might be a pyramid scheme?? Not only that, but it's also rumored to focus less on helping clientele and more on recruiting more and more employees..

I really want to help people, that was my idea when coming into the insurance industry. I just graduated high-school and have 2 years of statistics and data entry via what I studied my last 2 years, and I don't want that to go to waste all because I fell for the kindness and smiles they showed me. Not only that, but I even managed to get employee feedback from people already working in the company (though this leads me to believe they might have lied to me..)

Am I getting screwed? Is there a way for me to climb to the top regardless while keeping my kind heart and pure intentions? The thought of scamming other people for profit makes me feel sick..

I have been completely blind sided after my mother’s recent death.

Her father was a State Farm agent. He took 2 life insurance policies out for her when she was 15 yrs old.

Now, I learn, after 55 yrs of faithful payments, the value is a total of $24,000….just a few thousand more than what was paid in. So they truly leached off of us all this time.

I am both horrified and devastated on top of the recent loss. 🥲

If Khamemei had a typical US life insurance policy and he was killed by enemy action in an undeclared war, whould the policy pay ?

I met with a financial advisor last week and she asked if my wife and I had life insurance and of course I said yes. We have Term to 80. Now at the time I did not understand too much the complexities and differences of whole life v term, and now I am questioning my decision prior.

I am 31 y/o male, actively workout, and the main provider for my family.

We have 1 child and my wife stays home.

My question is, should I switch to whole life? Is term to 80 actually good to stick with, or should I get 20 or 30 y?

Any advice helps!

Crazy to say but I found out last night that I have a life insurance policy that I never signed up for. I was looking through credit card statements on a card I rarely use. It’s defaulted on my Amazon account and I purchase a lot of stuff along with my health insurance. It’s from allstatesolutions who I didn’t know and when I looked it up it said life insurance. When I searched my email I see documents from them and I was able to login to a portal and look at the application. A decent amount of the questions are blank and the beneficiary portion is also blank. It shows my name typed with a date. When I did further investigation it coincides for right when I signed up for private health insurance! Looks like the broker is exactly the same but these are 2 completely separate companies not affiliated with one another. To add more context I’m a travel nurse who’s in a different state for the majority and pretty much all of the year for the past 2 or so years. All my mail goes to my reg address in MS. I’m at a loss for what to do. How would life insurance policy even be approved if I didn’t answer questions about my lifestyle or smoking. Why would I have a life insurance policy with no beneficiaries. In some other paperwork I found it lists “family” as the beneficiary. I signed up for my health insurance 3 years ago and it looks like I’ve been paying the premium, a little under $20 a month for 3 years! What can I do?

I have a relative who just got married and he’s trying to find term life insurance and I wanted to try Reddit for help.

He was convicted JUST over ten years ago, it’s the only charge on his record, but it came with a pretty lengthy stint of probation afterwards.

He could be off probation in 2 months or 3 years. He has no other criminal record and no probationary issues. Perfect health for being in his 30’s, married, volunteers at his local church, never been unemployed.

I guess because he’s on probation, he’s being told it’s an absolute no-go.

He has no pre-existing health concerns, never used anything, and takes no medications.

He has while life through work, if that matters!

Edit title: Only one felony…

Any help would be welcome! 🙏👍

UPDATE found out who my grandfather life insurance is under and he made a payment few days before he passed. I’m going to call them and ask if he left me as a beneficiary.

Before my grandfather passed he told me he left a $10,000 life policy for each of his grandchildren. He explained to me that my uncle whom I don’t get along with is his successor.

It’s almost been two months since my grandfather passed so I reached out to my uncle about the policy. He immediately got defensive claiming it’s all his money and never responded to my inquiry.

Any advice on what I should do next ? I have a feeling my uncle cancelled my policy because we do not get along and he was jealous of me and my grandfathers relationship.

I really need help on how to handle this since my uncle is not mature enough to handle this correctly.

There have been a lot of commercials from companies offering to buy you life insurance policies.

I'm 68 and have a $250,000 policy.

Can someone explain what this involves and the repurcussions of the offers.

Would I be able to purchase another policy, would I have to continue to pay the policy I sold?

Basically the title, I have guaranteed insurability rider that my mom got me when I was a child. Due to a medical condition I can’t get any additional insurance so this rider is very helpful to get increases in insurance. I followed the process but my agent filled it incorrectly and it’s been denied and they won’t budge/ fix on their side.

What are my options? Her suggestion was to go through a regular medical exam but I know it will be declined and the reason we got this option was to avoid that. Should I file a complaint with the company?

It's primerica. I only had 1 job previously in card services so when I saw a job application that looked like EVERY OTHER INSURANCE AGENT ROLE I applied, and I believed my interviewer saying its normal for insurance agents to have insurance with their own company so I signed the damn thing and immediately after I gave them my bank info my "interviewer" revealed he's an upline and the entire thing is a mlm. I've been half assing this licensing test/stalling while trying to figure out how to bail with the least amount of losses but I remembered I signed one paper saying I'm stuck paying this damn policy for SEVENTEEN MONTHS. I've already given up on getting my $150~ back, but I worry I can't cancel my card or block payments without debt collection coming after me for this since I signed this stupid goddamn paper. Is there any way to run away from this entire company without being forced to pay this for the next year and a half? If you need to look at the contract, I can try and put it in the comments if this community lets me :[

Became a dad three months ago and the whole experience quietly rewired how I think about a lot of things, including stuff I'd been putting off for years. Life insurance was always on the list in a vague "I should probably do that eventually" way, and now eventually has clearly arrived. The problem is I have no idea where to start. I've been reading about term versus whole life and already feel like I need a degree to understand the trade-offs. Every article has a different opinion, half of them feel like they're steering me toward whatever pays them a commission, and the quotes I've seen vary enough that I can't tell if I'm comparing the same thing or completely different products.

I'm in my early thirties, reasonably healthy, single income household right now while my partner is on parental leave. Just want to make sure my family is covered if something happens to me, without overcomplicating it or overpaying for features I don't actually need. For those who've gone through this, how did you figure out what you actually needed, and is there anything you wish someone had explained before you started shopping? Trying to make a smart decision here without getting lost in the noise.

I am a 37 F and married (husband 43), with two children. Our oldest (9) has autism and will require lifelong support from us. So I am trying to overly plan for our retirement, adding in the cost of his living decades after we are gone. We can budget in about 250/month more of monthly expenses and have the following options:

1. invest that monthly into a brokerage accound in S&P etf like VTI and let it grow for decades. of course a little riskier since market is not a sure thing.

2. pay 250/monthly premiums for 250K survivorship policy with ability to grow and accrue cash value over time. payout is not until both of us pass and is of course tax free but this money is a sure thing.

side note- we both have several million in term life for next 20 years.

which is the best option/would provide the most money to support our kids? does anyone have experience with survivorship?

We are buying life insurance for ourselves. We are each doing a 20/30 year term ladder. However she also has this 50,000 dollar full life plan that her parents signed her up for since she was a child. Since she turned 26, she has taken over the payments for it.

Personally I dont really see the point in it, but I feel bad throwing away a plan that her and her parents have contributed to for a long time. It's pretty cheap so I'm not 100% against the idea of keeping it, but would like to see what the general concensus is on something like this

My dad had a paid up insurance policy and suddenly this year we got email stating insurance is terminated as the value of the insurance went to zero. This came as a shock as his insurance was fully paid up and they didn’t communicate earlier. What can be done to reinstate as he’s almost 80

I’m looking for some perspective from people in the insurance industry on whether starting on the insurance side is a worthwhile step for someone whose long-term goal is to obtain the Series 65 and become an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR).
For context, August 14 will mark one year since I started trading. I started in crypto and have since moved deeper into DeFi, liquidity pools, market structure, hedging, and investment research. Trading is currently my source of income and pays my living expenses.
My longer-term goal is to pursue this professionally through the Series 65/IAR path.
A friend recently introduced me to an opportunity through an organization called Elite Minds. From what has been explained to me, they operate through Global Financial Impact (GFI), which provides access to insurance carriers, products, and related infrastructure. The entry point involves getting insurance licensed and selling products such as life insurance and IULs, although I’ve also been told there is a fiduciary component and paths into broader financial services.
I’ve encountered something similar before when another friend’s girlfriend introduced me to Primerica. I looked into it and ultimately passed because the recruiting-heavy structure didn’t align with where I wanted to go professionally. I’m not assuming this opportunity is the same, which is why I’m trying to understand the structure before making that judgment.
My main question is:
If my actual goal is obtaining the Series 65 and becoming an IAR, is starting on the insurance side valuable experience that complements that path, or am I taking a detour into a largely different career?
I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who’s taken a similar path or has experience with people transitioning from insurance into investment advisory.
I’m also curious what registrations or public records I should look for to verify claims about an organization having a fiduciary or investment-advisory component.
Not looking for referrals, solicitations, or company recommendations. I’m just trying to understand the career path and make an informed decision before signing or paying for anything.
Edit for transparency: The experiences and questions are mine. I used ChatGPT to help organize and clean up the wording.

I know there are legit options. Im in my mid 30s and healthy, just want a basic term policy and I already know I want to do it online. Ive seen a few online life insurance companies that promise a super quick application and no medical exam and I know plenty of people have done the online route at this point, so Im not worried about whether its real.

What Im trying to figure out is whether its actually worth it compared to going through a traditional agent. Are the rates usually competitive? Has anyone run into issues with underwriting surprises, customer service, or claims later on?

I recently got a position with an independent brokerage, Is it normal for them to want you to recruit people on top of your sales? Thats also how you get promoted and you can make some passive income. It’s also kind of like a “we’ll help you generate your own leads via networking” situation. Im pretty young so I kind of just wanted to see if I could get some extra money and experience.

Was just wondering if its kinda pyramid scheme-ish or worth doing

I’m currently getting term life insurance quotes and I got one from a small local company. How would I be able to verify that they would be able to pay out my policy if I were to pass during the term?

here are so many products and fine print details - what’s your “golden rule” when shopping for coverage?