There’s more to the Super Bowl than grown men hitting each other, pop tarts tripping over the national anthem and overproduced ads that disappoint—there’s also the issue of spectator health.

After all, a Super Bowl party wouldn’t be complete without a cooler full of suds, mounds of fatty, salty foods and a relish tray that usually gets ignored. Unfortunately for many, what also gets ignored are health problems that take a back seat to watching the game.

How does enthusiasm for the game impact life insurance rates? It can’t—at least not directly. For anyone prone to stress or who has an underlying condition, being too emotionally wrapped up in the game could trigger a medical emergency that might increase  health and life insurance premiums. Life  insurance is one of those mundane financial details that people don’t like to think about very often, especially when planning to do something fun, but if you are involved in a situation that might set off a serious medical condition or your health is already compromised, the hope is that, at the very least, you’ve updated your life insurance policy.

When fans become preoccupied with their team bringing home the championship, no one ever thinks that they might be stricken with a sudden medical emergency or that it can impact their mortality. The tension and poor judgment that often comes with the Super Bowl can take an unexpected toll on your health.

The logic is simple. Not only does the big game typically come with large servings of unhealthy food bombs and drinking high quantities of alcohol, the excitement and stress that go with it can trigger problems among spectators that are often ignored—sometimes with potentially fatal results.

“Gotta support the team”

It is unfortunate, but overzealous fans can whip themselves into such a frenzy during the game that it often wins them an unplanned visit to the ER.

Dr. Jocko Zifferblatt, emergency room physician at St. Mary’s and St. Vincent hospitals in Green Bay, Wis. saw the impact this can have on fans as the Packers made their way to the Super Bowl last year.

“I’ve had people walk to the stadium knowing that they may die getting there. I’ve had people say if that’s the way they’re going to go, they’re going to go that way and I’ve had people killed that way,” Zifferblatt says. “They love the sport and they love the Packers and they figure if that’s the way they’re going to go they’ve had their time.”

During the playoffs and the big game itself, Zifferblatt says, the ER was usually quiet but became swamped with activity immediately afterwards.

“I’ve seen people where they’ve had chest pain but they’ve taken a couple of nitroglycerins and made their way through the game and then came in right afterwards,” Zifferblatt says. “If you’re lucky you don’t have a heart attack and if you’re unlucky you do, it all depends on the timing and how much blockage you have.”

Even if someone manages to survive the game that way, Dr. Lori Mosca, director of preventive cardiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital and professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, says they could still face more complications and permanent damage to their heart as a result.

A series of multistate investigations into the insurance industry have revealed that life insurance companies are holding large amounts in unclaimed policies on their books that beneficiaries are likely unaware of.  Kevin McCarthy, Florida’s insurance commissioner, put the figure at somewhere “north of $1 billion.”

There are several reasons for this, starting with the fact that many people might not be aware that a family member even had a policy.  Records become lost, memories fade and when a policyholder passes away, their descendents might have no idea of where their financial records are even located.

“It’s ironic even though a lot of people have life insurance to protect their loved ones they feel like their financial affairs are none of their loved one’s business while they’re alive,” says Carolyn Atkinson, West Virginia’s deputy director for unclaimed property and president of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.  “I’ve noticed a discrepancy between getting life insurance and telling people you have it.”

Under current laws and industry standards, it falls to beneficiaries to inform the  life insurance company that the policyholder has passed away and to file a claim. That’s not going to happen if the beneficiaries doesn’t know a policy exists and it can be hard for them to track down this information without the actual policy in hand.

Brendan Bridgeland, staff attorney and policy director at the Center for Insurance Research, a consumer advocacy organization, says the reason for this is the insurance industry hasn’t kept up with changes in technology.

“The prior system which is being dealt with and probably going to be changed, is old-fashioned and archaic like many things in the insurance industry, which is the system has always relied on beneficiaries filing claims,” Bridgeland says. “Long ago there weren’t tools for insurers to determine when one of their insureds may have died.”

Even if someone does keep good records and their descendents know that a policy exists,  so many life insurance companies have merged or changed their names that it may appear as if the company that sold the policy no longer exists.

So where to begin?

Just like dormant savings accounts and other funds, life insurance proceeds are supposed to be turned over to the unclaimed property office within each state, if the account has been inactive and no contact with the owner has been made for a set period of time.  Laws vary by state on when this is supposed to happen, although three years is average.

The NAUPA operates a free searchable website (see sidebar), with information from unclaimed property administrators in 40 states. The site’s database includes unclaimed life insurance funds as well as savings, checking accounts and the like.

NAUPA’s website also includes links to the unclaimed property offices in all50 states. If someone had moved during their lifetime, which state receives their unclaimed property would likely depend on the last known address that the insurance company had for the policyholder.

Down to zero

Unfortunately for beneficiaries, there’s a significant amount in unclaimed life insurance benefits that never make it to state offices because the account has been drawn down to zero.

Under federal law,  if a life insurance policyholder misses a payment the insurance company will cover that payment by drawing against the cash value of the policy. This protects the insured from losing their entire policy if they happen to miss one or two payments.

Yet if a policyholder dies, and the insurance company is unaware of this, the company may continue paying itself the premiums from the cash value of the policy.

When the policy runs out of money, it’s canceled by the company and never turned over to the state because there’s nothing left—making it hard for beneficiaries to discover if the policy ever existed.

Jacob Roper, spokesman for the California comptroller’s office, says this is what prompted the state’s comptroller and insurance commissioner to launch an investigation into 21 insurance companies.

Roper says the comptroller’s unclaimed property staff noticed that large insurance companies were turning over very small amounts of unclaimed property compared to the size of each company.

“You’d have companies that pay out millions of dollars or hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits a year reporting a few thousand dollars in unclaimed property, which is awfully low for the size of the industry,” Roper says.

Several other states have joined in California’s efforts.  In an April 2011 settlement with John Hancock, the company agreed to,  among other things,  restore the full value of more than 6,400 life insurance accounts and create a means of identifying deceased policyholders and notifying their beneficiaries.

Prudential settled a similar case with these states in January 2012 involving more than 1,000 accounts whose policyholders had been dead for more than 15 years.  Prudential agreed to restore the full value of these accounts, pay interest to the beneficiaries and work with the state to connect beneficiaries with millions of dollars in death benefits. The company has also launched a policy locator service (see sidebar).

“The purpose of the federal law that allows them to draw down the value is so that if a person is still living and misses a payment here or there they don’t lose their entire life insurance policy because of a single missed payment,” Roper says. “The purpose of the law is not to draw down the value of the account to the point where it’s nothing by the time the beneficiaries get around to it.”

Even if a policy hasn’t been drawn down, if a claim isn’t filed it could take years for the proceeds to be turned over to a state unclaimed property office.

In West Virginia, for example, Atkinson says life insurance benefits would be turned over to the state three years after the insurance company learned that the owner died, if no one filed a claim.

If the insurance company is unaware of a policyholder’s death, then the proceeds would be turned over to the state three years after the limiting age of the policy—which varies by state but is generally around what would’ve been the policyholder’s 100^th birthday.

“What that means is if someone passes away at age 88, it will be 23 years before it shows up on the state abandoned property fund and at that point family members may have almost certainly stopped looking,” Bridgeland says.

Buying term life insurance can be confusing at the best of times, but it needn’t be. With a bad economy and newer products available, term life insurance can look particularly attractive if you’re trying to save money – but now more than ever, it’s important to ask your insurance agent the right questions upfront.

Assuming you’ve already decided to buy term insurance and know why you’re doing so, the most important question is ‘How much do I need?’

“A lot of people just pick a number out of thin air, but that’s a poor way to go about it,” says Jack Dewald, president of Agency Services, Inc., Memphis, Tenn. Dewald is a past chairman of the Life and Health Foundation for Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping consumers understand insurance.

“Some agents will do a very elaborate needs analysis,” Dewald says. “The next question is ‘how long should it run for?’ and ‘what happens if the need exceeds the term?’”  Buyers should also ask about the provisions for renewing policies and converting them to whole life, should that become necessary, says Dewald.

To calculate your insurance needs, go to the Life Quotes, Inc. Life Insurance Needs Calculator.

But of course, you may not know in advance whether or not you’ll need to renew or convert, which means that “a periodic reevaluation is in order,” Dewald says, though a change in policy provisions may mean a change in requirements or premium price because of your advancing age.

Buyers often have fears about any potential physical risks that may have disqualified them for coverage. Such fears are often unwarranted, adds Dewald.

“Only 15 percent of those who apply for life insurance qualify for the very top rates, but that doesn’t mean the other 85 percent are refused coverage,” says Dewald. “Almost everybody can get it,” he says. “You may not get the absolute best rate, but you can get it.”

Here’s where an experienced agent who handles multiple carriers comes in handy.

“There’s a lot of nuance in what carriers charge for different products,” Dewald notes. “Any good agent will know which carriers are more likely to be more receptive to different buyers.”

Six Questions you should ask your agent

1. How long does my physical exam take and can it be done at my place of business? – Unless you get a policy as part of your employee benefits, a short physical exam is often required when you sign up, especially if you’re older. Usually, this takes about 30 minutes and includes a blood pressure check and blood and urine samples plus questions about your current and past health status, according to the LIFE Foundation, lifehappens.org website

If a nurse is performing the examination, you might be able to have the exam performed at home or place of business; however, some policies require a physician’s exam, which means a visit a doctor’s office or clinic. Know your options when discussing the examination with your insurer.

2. Can I update my beneficiaries online and can I name a contingent beneficiary in case my primary beneficiary outlives me? – The beneficiary of your policy is the person or legal entity – a trust, estate, organization or institution – that you name to receive the death benefit (don’t name your pets: they’re not persons). Some insurers now allow you to change the beneficiary online, which makes updating insurance policies much easier.

3. What about contestability? – Policies usually name the circumstances under which the death benefit wouldn’t be paid. These may vary by state, but usually, if a policy has been in effect for two years, it can’t be contested or revoked unless you stop paying premiums. If you die within two years after purchasing a life insurance policy, the company has the right to fully investigate your death, whereas after two years, the insurer typically must pay the full death benefit. However, an insurer may also refuse to pay the claim if you misled, misrepresented or withheld important information about yourself when you applied for the policy. Ask your agent if that is subject to the contestability period limit?  Also, what happens if the death benefit claim is denied? (Usually, the amount of the premiums paid is returned to the beneficiary, probably with interest.) Find out the details for your state. For more about contestability clauses, read: “What is a life insurance contestability clause?”

4. What are my options for paying premiums? – Your term life policy may have level premiums or renewable premiums. A level premium means you pay the same rate for the length of the policy, whereas a renewable premium rate fluctuates. Do you have that choice? There’s also usually a limit on the age at which you can renew a term life insurance policy (usually age 75, but there are some policies that go up to the age of 95). What are the limits in your area, and will renewal involve new requirements?

5. How can I be impacted by a lapsed policy? – Being late with a premium payment may not be as awful as you think: most term life policies allow a 30- to 31-day grace period for you to make the payment before the insurer cancels your policy. Still, that one-day difference can be key. If your policy is canceled, getting it reinstated may require a new contestability period, a higher premium, and/or another physical exam. Moreover, a lapsed policy could end up as a black mark on your credit report, and the insurer may hesitate to cover you again. Know the fine points of your own policy. And if you’re having trouble paying the premium, look for other ways to save on your policy instead of just canceling it. Talk to your agent and find out what the procedure is for lapsed policies.

6. Can I still get an ROP term life insurance policy? –  Contrary to popular belief, some insurers still offer return-of-premium or ROP term life policies. It’s just what it sounds like: after the term ends, the premium paid is returned to you. However, premiums for such policies are higher than those for regular term policies. Similarly, converting to a whole life insurance policy will also cost significantly more because part of your premium will be diverted to the cash value account. Moreover, you have most of the same probable trade-offs that you would with reinstating a lapsed policy (new exam, new contestability period, etc.). This may or may not apply to renewing a term life policy. For more about ROP insurance policies, read: “The benefits of return of premium life insurance.”

This article was originally published by Life Quotes, Inc.

Life changes constantly.

In the course of a year, people could get a job promotion, buy a new car or house or welcome a child. They could tie the knot or finalize a divorce, win the lottery or send a child off to college.

Each scenario could change a person’s financial needs and family obligations, which is why term life insurance experts say it’s important to conduct an annual check of all your insurance policies.

Here are 5 items to check-off your life insurance list as you enter 2012.

#1: Did your responsibilities change? Michael Barry, spokesperson for Insurance Information Institute, says you may want more life insurance if you add another child to the family, get married or if high college tuition bills are in your child’s future. Also, sometimes it is better to get additional term life insurance to supplement the group life insurance policy you may have at work.  If your kids are now living on their own you will want to review—not cancel—your life insurance to ensure you have enough for estate planning purposes, advises Debra Newman, chairperson for the LIFE Foundation.

#2: Did your beneficiaries change? “I can’t tell you how many times a person has gotten divorced but the old wife is still the beneficiary when they die,” Newman says.  She suggests sparing your family a lot of headaches in probate court by checking the current status of your life insurance policies, annuities, 401 (k) plans, investments and other accounts.

#3: Did your bills increase? “Did you buy a new house, take out a home improvement loan, and put more on your charge cards this year? Debt doesn’t go away and your family will need more money to pay it off,” Newman says. Taking on additional debt is another reason to increase your life insurance coverage since there is now more debt for your beneficiaries to cover if something happens to you.

#4: Check your policy’s age. The cost of life insurance policies has dropped in the last several years, due to increases in life expectancy and medical advancements. Newman says many people with older policies, especially those more than 15 years, are finding they can get better coverage at a lower cost than with their original policy.

#5: Are you healthier? If you’ve kicked the habit, maintained a healthier lifestyle or have been cancer-free for five years, you might qualify for life insurance at a better rate, insurance experts advise. If you suffer from a chronic medical condition such as diabetes and high blood pressure and the condition under control, it might be a good idea to get documentation from your physician and any documentation you’ve been given after taking a new physical examination and show it to the insurance company. This will encourage your insurer to revisit your life insurance premiums to reflect those positive changes.

This article was originally published by Life Quotes, Inc.

You bought a life insurance policy to ease the financial burden of loved ones upon your death. But that policy also contains a number of rights and options, some of which can help you get through your own financial hiccups through life.

When young and single, you might start off with less expensive term insurance. As your needs and income grow, you have the right to convert to a permanent form of insurance—universal, variable or whole life—without proof of insurability.

Did you know?

No medical exam needed, says Al Lurty, senior vice president, head of Retail Life Business Development at ING U.S. Insurance. The conversion privilege on a term life policy typically extends from a year after the policy is bought to the end of the premium, or to the maximum age set by the insurer, which is usually 65 or 70 years old, says Jeremy Day, Life Insurance Product analyst for Life Quotes, Inc. The coverage of the new policy is limited to the coverage amount on the previous one.

Need cash?

You can take a loan out on your permanent policy, sell it, cash it in or use it as collateral on a loan.

“Life insurance policies are kind of made for the economic problems like we have today,” said Michael Weintraub, chairman of Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE). “People today are saving their homes by being able to borrow against their life insurance to pay their mortgage.”

Insurance experts say people also take out loans on the cash value of their policies to pay for a child’s education, their down payment for a mortgage and medical needs. If you pass away with an outstanding loan, the death benefit will be reduced by the amount of the loan.

“If you have a policy for $250,000 or more and you’re in poor health you can potentially sell your policy for more than you would get if you cashed it in. It’s not something we encourage, but some people no longer need life insurance coverage,” says LIFE secretary Stephen Rothschild.

Lurty says banks may request a life insurance policy as collateral for a small business loan. This way, the bank can be assured of getting its money should the business’ sole owner die before the loan is paid off. Weintraub adds that once the loan is paid off, you can change the beneficiary from the bank to a loved one.

Other options to consider

* Those with a participating whole life insurance policy have the  right to share in the insurer’s profits through dividends, and you can  change your dividend options on an annual basis.

* Some permanent life insurance plans allow the owner to change from  one permanent plan to another issued by the same company without a  medical exam.

* You have the right to reinstate a policy if you’ve forgotten to  make payments and the policy  lapses, provided you’re in good health and make back payments within six months to one year.

* With extended term life insurance you won’t need to keep making premium payments.

* In some flexible-premium policies, premiums may be reduced or  skipped as long as sufficient cash values remain in the policy. However, this will result in lower cash values and a shortened coverage period.

And remember…

Life insurance provides income protection while you are still working.  When you retire, it can then be used to cover the assets you’ve accumulated throughout your lifetime. During your work life, life insurance protects your family’s livelihood in the event you die by providing regular payments to them that would replace your lost income.  While retired, there is a possibility you have assets such as a home… if something were to happen to you,  life insurance can be used to cover estate taxes so the bill doesn’t get passed down to your loved ones.

If the IRS comes knocking at your door or the door of your loved ones  because of unpaid taxes… they may be able to seize other assets, but they cannot seize your life insurance policy. The same goes with any creditors  regardless of how far in debt you are when you die. No one can legally take the benefits in your life insurance policy from your beneficiaries. However, if you failed to name a beneficiary on the policy or the beneficiary on the policy died prior to your death, then the proceeds would be transferred to your estate. If this happens, creditors CAN file a claim in probate court against your estate to try to use the life insurance proceeds to pay off your debt.

This article was originally published by Life Quotes, Inc.

Financial security is a top concern for anyone these days, especially for young families or those just starting out in life. Saving up for a down payment on a house, car or college tuition means the topic of life insurance can take a back seat to seemingly more pressing issues.

Yet this is precisely the kind of financial instrument that can provide parents with the financial security they and their offspring would need in case of an untimely death—through a tax-free payout from the insurance company.

Designed with younger individuals and families in mind, term life insurance is intended to serve those with a shorter-term policy needs, say 15 to 20 years, although much shorter policies are available. Ashe says someone 35 years old could probably buy $500,000 in term coverage for around $30 to $35 per month.

“Term life insurance, at least initially, provides the largest death benefit for the smallest premium,” says Brian Ashe, treasurer of the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education. “It’s the perfect way for people who have little in terms of discretionary income to immediately create a substantial estate.”

One way to consider the benefit of term life insurance would be to imagine if a family’s main breadwinner lost their job and the financial impact it would have.

If that income were lost because of death, the financial impact would be ameliorated with a sufficient level of term life insurance. Ashe said the level of insurance needed depends on each case, but a general rule of thumb is to have a policy with a dividend of 10 times a family’s annual income.

At a time when turmoil on Wall Street could wreak havoc with a 401k plan. He says a level of 15 times annual income might be a better option as it not only protects a family from the loss of a breadwinner, but can also help make up for any unexpected loss in a financial portfolio.

While an estimated 60 percent of employers provide life insurance, Ashe says it’s usually not enough to fully meet a family’s needs as the average level of employee-provided policies is just three years of the employee’s annual income.

“Three times income, for those who own it, is woefully inadequate because when people die, they’re dead a lot longer than three years,” Ashe says.

In this case a supplemental term life insurance policy would provide a family with enough money to not just see them over their initial loss, but would also give them a substantial sum they could invest for the longer-term, thereby replacing the breadwinner’s salary with income from dividends.

When shopping for a term life insurance policy, Ashe says it’s important to make sure it has a conversion clause that would allow the term policy to be converted into a permanent or whole life insurance policy or a universal life insurance policy, which can often be done without the need for a physical. This not only guarantees continued coverage in spite of an illness, it also allows the policyholder to avoid a two-year contestability clause that would be attached to a new policy. For more about term life insurance products and contestability clauses, see  What is a life insurance contestability clause?

Riders can also be attached to any policy to insure a spouse or kids, each with their own conversion clauses. Ashe does not recommend accidental death and dismemberment clauses, which typically double a policy’s dividend under certain circumstances, as the odds of that happening are low. He says it would be a better idea to just increase one’s overall coverage instead.

This article was originally published by Life Quotes, Inc.

When you purchase a term life insurance policy or a whole life insurance policy, the policy remains contestable for several years following the issue date. In simple terms, if the insurance company receives a claim shortly after the policy was issued, the company has the right to rescind the policy or deny a claim if fraud is suspected.

If you should die while the policy is contestable and under questionable circumstances, the insurance company will thoroughly investigate the claim before they will release any proceeds to your beneficiaries, explains Edward E. Graves, insurance expert and author of “McGill’s Life Insurance.”

An insurance denial based on the contestability clause is far more common than you think.  Even celebrities and the distribution of their life insurance proceeds to loved ones are under the scrutiny of the life insurer if something  happens to them before the contestability period ends.  A good example of this is actor Heath Ledger.

In Ledger’s case, he died of a drug overdose in January 2008—just seven months after he bought the policy. This would be an instant red flag for an insurance company.  His insurance company initially refused payment and claimed his death could have been a suicide, even though it had been ruled accidental. The company eventually settled the case for an undisclosed sum.

Although Ledger insured himself to the hilt with a $10 million policy, his life insurance company tried to toss those proceeds out through the contestability window after his death. As a standard part of any life insurance policy, the two-year contestability clause gives an insurer the right to challenge or even refuse a claim.

The contestability clause provides the insurance company with a window of time where it can dispute the validity of the contract if they suspect fraud, concealment or misrepresentation on the insurance application. If the life insurer has not rescinded or terminated the policy after the contestability period, they cannot rescind the policy or deny a claim.

“They can if they so desire, if they think that the circumstances are such, contest a death benefit up until two years after the issue date,” says Brian Ashe, Treasurer of the Life and Health Insurance Foundation. “Once they get beyond two years they can’t, so the contestability clause and the suicide clause begin all over again when they get a new contract.”

If Ledger’s case had been ruled a suicide, the company would’ve had the right to refuse payment to his beneficiaries because he died within the two-year contestability period. Likewise, if there had been any inaccurate or missing information on his application, the company could have denied payment to his beneficiaries even if the information had no impact on his death.

On the other hand, If Ledger had died after two years of buying that policy, the contestability clause would’ve no longer been in effect and payout would’ve been granted automatically—regardless of the manner of his death or any other issues.

The contestability clause is an often-overlooked part of life insurance, as few buyers would say they expect to die within then next two years. The Ledger case offers an example of why it’s important to understand its potential impact before buying a policy—and to be clear on how this issue is handled by a company and the policy it provides.

It’s worth your time to always ask about contestability clauses before buying a term life insurance policy since every contract and insurance company has different ways of handling the payout period of a death benefit.

“It’s important for customers to understand the contestability clause and what the provisions in the contract are in case the policyholder dies during that period,” says David Theile, Director in Life/Health Product Management at State Farm. “This insures they understand what circumstances might cause a death benefit not to be paid.”

This article was originally published by Life Quotes, Inc.

Stomach (gastric) cancer is no longer a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. as it was before the 1930s and still is around the world.

But that is little consolation for the 21,520 new stomach cancer cases expected to be reported in the U.S. in 2011, a majority of whom are expected to die within five years, according to the American Cancer Society. The low survival rate makes it difficult, but not impossible, to obtain life insurance following diagnosis, insurance experts say.

According to the cancer society, there is a 61.4 percent five-year survival rate if the disease is still localized and in the early stages, 27.8 percent if it is regionalized (spread to lymph nodes) and just 3.6 percent if it has metastasized. In most cases, the disease goes undetected until it reaches the late stages, the cancer society says.

Dr. Craig Davidson, MD, assistant vice president and senior medical director with The Hartford, says whether someone can get life insurance depends largely on how advanced the disease is, how well they respond to treatments — and whether they survive long enough to apply.

“You never know how well someone will do in treatments. Plus, there are always improvements in the types of treatments,” Davidson says.

The American Cancer Society created a chart that shows survival rates for stomach cancer.

Most individuals will need to wait three to five years following treatment for stomach cancer before applying for life insurance, and then they’ll have to pay a premium price, Davidson says. While the premium cost varies according to several factors, including the stage the cancer was in when detected, the cost can be prohibitive, says William Tilford, insurance consultant with Tilford Consulting in Chicago.

Davidson says stomach cancer patients won’t be able to get standard rates until 10 years after treatment on both term life insurance and whole life insurance coverage. He says they would never be able to get preferred (lower) rates because they are at risk of getting another type of cancer.

“Beating the disease and surviving an additional 10 years is highly unlikely,” Ryan Pinney, of Pinney Insurance in Roseville, Calif., says.

Early detection is key to survival, but like with other cancers inside the body – including liver and pancreatic cancer – there usually are no real symptoms with stomach cancer until the disease has progressed to the end stages, Pinney says.

According to the National Institutes of Health’s Cancer Institute, early signs include loss of appetite, upset stomach and heartburn.

“If you talk to 30 people in a room, how many don’t have a stomach problem now and again,” Davidson says of why the disease goes undetected.

Davidson says doctors may not catch the disease in the early stages, but added that patients with a lot of stomach problems are more likely to be monitored and looked at with a scope today.

Doctors aren’t even sure of the cause of stomach cancer or the reason for its decline in the U.S., although they believe the increased use of refrigeration for storing food, more fresh fruits and less smoked and salted foods in the diet may be a contributing factor. Also, an increased use of antibiotics could be killing a bacterial infection in the stomach that could lead to the cancer, Davidson says. He says smoking is also a risk factor.

Pinney says if you can’t get traditional life insurance you could consider a graded insurance, which gradually increases in value each year. He says a break-even point is reached about the seventh to ninth year. He says these policies are expensive with a low death benefit available, typically $50,000 or less.

This article was originally published by Life Quotes, Inc.

When Apple announced that its co-founder and driving force, Steve Jobs, had pancreatic cancer, Wall Street and the company’s millions of die-hard fans took a deep breath.

Many were aware that pancreatic cancer usually isn’t detected until its final stages, when survival rates are slim, and they feared what would happen to the company when Jobs, considered to be synonymous with Apple, was gone.

Jobs, 56, wasn’t able to beat the form of cancer that claims an average of 37,660 lives each year, most of whom are older than 65, according to the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, but he did leave the company on firm footing for at least five years with future products in place. And unlike most people, he was in the position to be able to obtain additional life insurance after his diagnosis if he wanted, to ensure the financial well-being of his family.

Individuals being treated for pancreatic cancer generally won’t be able to get life insurance until after they have demonstrated to be cancer-free for a period of time, William M. Tilford, of Tilford Consulting in Chicago, says. With pancreatic malignancies, there is a very poor five-year survival rate, so many companies will wait until a patient has been cancer-free at least that long, sometimes longer.

“Afterwards, you still would be unlikely to get standard rates, your premium would probably be extremely expensive, perhaps prohibitively so, until you were free of malignancy for a period closer to perhaps 10 years,” Tilford says.

Individuals who were treated for the disease a few years ago, didn’t have metastatic cancer and are considered cancer-free, should bring their pathology and surgical reports and a letter from their physician regarding their current status when seeking insurance.

“Even if a company might consider you, it is possible that the extra premium (probably a flat extra amount per thousand dollars of coverage) will be beyond your reach, and remember that the companies to which you apply will still go for your complete medical records as part of the process,” Tilford says.

Ryan Pinney, senior financial planner with Roseville, Calif.-based Pinney Insurance Co., says chances of someone with pancreatic cancer obtaining traditional life insurance are practically zero.

“To get insurance you’d have to beat the disease and survive an additional 10 years. That’s really unlikely with pancreatic cancer,” Pinney says.

The National Cancer Institute says the five-year survival rate if the cancer is confined to the pancreas is 21.5 percent, is 8.7 percent if it spreads to regional lymph nodes and just 1.8 percent if it has metastasized.

Pinney says there are four options that some people might be able to consider, however.

Pinney says for business owners or executives of a large company, like Jobs was, the best choice is to purchase a corporate group policy for executives in the company. Pinney says no medical questions are asked if there are enough people included in the policy and policyholders could get up to $1 million in coverage. Small businesses probably won’t have enough eligible people to purchase this policy, Pinney says.

Another option, Pinney says, is to purchase accidental death and dismemberment insurance. However, this will only pay out if the policyholder dies in an accident before the cancer claims him or her, he says.

Graded death and final expense plans are other possibilities, but Pinney says they are very limited. He says graded plans increase in value each year, with the break-even point possibly not taking place until year seven.  He says the policy may not pay as much as the policyholder pays into the account if the policyholder dies in the first couple years.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is a non-profit support group that provides information on current research, funding, survivor stories and pancreatic cancer symptoms and treatment.

Final expense, also called burial insurance, can be very expensive for a very low amount paid upon death, Pinney says. He says the TV commercials talk about the low monthly cost for the insurance, but don’t say they are showing the pricing for a low-paying policy.

This article was originally published by Life Quotes, Inc.

For some consumers, upselling is a technique that tries to sell them something they don’t want or need. It can be annoying because the pitch frequently comes after the sale. That’s when the clerk asks if you want to buy an extended warranty for the new flat-screen TV you just bought.

It’s only $100, but it’s money that hadn’t been budgeted. If that’s an option, then bring it up earlier in the process, says Linda Sherry, a spokesperson for Consumer Action in Washington, D.C.

Consumer Action is a nonprofit organization that looks after the rights of consumers. Founded in 1971, the organization promotes financial literacy and advocates for consumer rights in the media and before lawmakers.

“There’s nothing illegal about upselling, but it’s something some privacy groups are looking at because consumers can sometimes be tricked into buying something they don’t want,” says Sherry. “Consumers need to know what they’re getting into and be aware of their other options before the point of sale. People should never be pressured at the point of sale.”

Upselling also is used in the life insurance industry. Sherry says upselling is a long-standing and widely used technique. “I don’t think any more of it is going on now because of the economy, but I think people are more aware of it because of how employees are pushing it.”

Retailers and service providers on the other hand view upselling as a way of offering customers additional options they hadn’t previously considered. They see it as a way for consumers to get a bigger bang for their buck. Sherry says there is a grain of truth in that, but the problem comes with how it’s presented. Cindy Gentry, a board member of the LIFE Foundation, says that while the technique can be valuable for life insurance consumers, some may find it bothersome.

The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping consumers make smart insurance decisions as a way of safeguarding their families’ financial future. The organization was formed in 1994 by seven leading insurance producers and funding comes from 140 of the nation’s leading insurance and financial services marketers.

Gentry, who becomes the organization’s secretary in 2012, says insurance consumers need to prepare themselves before they sit down with an agent to discuss their needs. By being prepared, she says they can avoid the unpleasantness of an upsell pitch. Sherry agrees. “Insurance is an extremely complex business so consumers need to read the information that is out there so they know what they need. We’ve heard of upselling in the business, but I’ve never been pitched like that.” Part of the preparation process, says Gentry, is a detailed needs assessment.

“The first thing any agent is going to do when they meet with you is a needs analysis. What do I need and how long am I going to need it? Those are questions consumers need to determine.

“Is this something I’m going to need long-term? Do I have a permanent need for additional income through my policy, or do I just need some additional income while the children are in college?” Adds Gentry.

Gentry is president of Brown & Brown Associates P.C., an independent life and annuity brokerage agency in Corpus Christi, Texas. “You’ve got to remember that a life insurance policy can be used to build cash value,” says Gentry. “It may be worthwhile for you to put extra money in life insurance to do that.”

And that’s where questions about upselling can arise. Gentry says that if the agent does a good job of asking the right questions and doing the proper needs assessment, there won’t be any reason to upsell because the information for the basic need is known ahead of time.

But once in awhile, a rider (Sherry calls it an upsell) for, say, a premium waiver in case of injury or illness, is a good idea. Something like that, says Gentry, offers customers peace of mind.

The key for any consumer, says Gentry, is comfort. “If you start feeling uncomfortable with the approach your agent is taking, if you’ve specified a specific need and he’s trying to sell you something that doesn’t quite fit that need, then you should rethink the relationship.

“You have to develop a comfort level with your agent. The agent is the most knowledgeable person when it comes to insurance, but you’re the most knowledgeable when it comes to what you want,” says Gentry. “You’re also the most knowledgeable when it comes to what you can afford.” She says that’s why the LIFE Foundation offers basic education about insurance and the kinds of questions consumers should ask.

This article was originally published by Life Quotes, Inc.