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CraigC

Well Known Member
undefined I know many of you have life insurance. I need it to take the place of my employers insurance. If I get killed flying an experimental I am not covered by my optional insurance at work. So, what do you guys have? And is it expensive? I really want to build the -8/8A. Just need to protect my family.
 
Just check to make sure to find an insurance company that does not exclude aviation or experimental flying under its coverage. It can be tough to find a good premium. I use Midland State, which had good insurance ratings, and they gave me a good rate, though I think it's about 25% more than other coverage I could have gotten if I did not fly.

good luck,

Steve
 
Craig,

Most insurance companies (all the ones I know of anyway) have "Aviation Exclusion" clauses, which they will include in the policy as soon as they find out you are a pilot. These clauses generally say that for a certain time period at the beginning of the policy (generally 2 years), if you die in an airplane accident where you were the pilot in command, the insurance company is not liable for the death benefit. After that time period they expire, and the policy pays the death benefit regardless of the cause, as if that clause were never in the policy. If you are not a pilot at the time you execute the policy (when it is first issued by the company), this clause will not be in there, and cannot be added at a later date when you do earn your wings.

DO NOT attempt in any way to hide the fact you are a pilot, either to the company or to your agent. If the company discovers that you are a pilot during their "due dilligence" background checks, they will not issue the policy because you lied to them on the application (yes, there is a question on the app that asks if you fly). If you do hide the fact you're a pilot, and get the policy issued without the exclusion, and then have an accident during the normal exclusion period, the company can dispute the benefit claim in court and have an excellent chance of winning based of the argument that you intentionally defrauded them by hiding the fact you were a pilot on the application. Honesty is the best "policy" whenever dealing with insurance companies. They will not decline to issue you a policy soley because you're a pilot, but they can (and will) decline you if you lie to them.

As to what type of insurance to buy, get Term life, not Whole Life or Universal Life. Term Life is the best bargain (price vs. benefit), and is "pure protection". The whole point of life insurance is to protect your family from the loss of your income, not save or invest for them. Many finacial experts will tell you that the best practice is to separate your insurance from your investments, and Term is the only insurance type that allows you to do that effectively.

Hope this helps,
 
Yes it is expensive

As a pilot you can get life insurance but you will pay a hefty uplift for the priviledge of flying. I know of no life insurance application that does not specifically ask if you are a pilot. The good news is that the internet is at your finger-tips, there is competition out there, and you can get more coverage for a reasonable price today then you ever could before.

Be up front when filling out the application and don't conveniently forget that you are a pilot. You can't win if you even stretch the truth a little and the odds are stacked against you anyway. If you spin it in and you didn't mention on your application that you are a pilot, your widow and orphans will go hungry.

I don't mean to talk down to you but in case you didn't already know, life insurance is one of the biggest and longest running scams in the world.

Coverage through your employer is going to be best. But since jobs tend to come and go with the flic of a bic, I do recommend an individual policy to supplement your work coverage. Shop around and be candid about your status as a pilot. Pay the price and sleep comfortably.

Here are some suggestions:

1) Never ever ever buy whole life or universal life. -- major rip off! Beware of wolves in sheeps clothing, these products come under many different names.

2) Always buy term and put the difference you would pay for whole or univeral into the RV or a college education for the young ones or another investment.

3) Depending on your age look for 15 or 20 year guaranteed convertable level term.

4) Buy one policy and if you want or need coverage on your spouse add it as a rider to the primary policy. Do not buy separate policies for each individual.

5) Never buy a policy on a child. Life insurance is to protect a loss of income. Children have no income so they need no life insurance. If you must, add a small 5k-20K rider to your policy with the understanding you will probably never use it and if you do the policy will be to cover burial services only.

6) Get as much level term as you can afford to buy. If you are young, you are insuring a lot of future earning power. 8-10 times annual salary is a good place to start but may be influenced by your desires and lifestyle.

7) Never ever ever buy credit life insurance through your mortage company, credit card service, bank, or credit union. This comes under many different names so be careful. If you need additional money to pay off these debts in the event of your death, get more coverage in your regular term policy. It will be less costly and your beneficiary can use the money any way he/she chooses.

8) Read the policy carefully, there is a lot of fine print in it and I guarantee it isn't there to protect you as a consumer. Make sure you understand exactly what it says and if something looks a little funny don't accept, "Yeah well don't worry about that, it is just a little legaleeze. What is really means is...." Yeah right!

I could talk about this all night but it would probably bore you to death.

Good luck to you.
 
Make sure you say you want Term Certain, Level Premium policies. This means that when they quote you, it will be for a X-period (15,20,30 yrs) and the premium will not change. If you don't ask for this, most likely you will get a little suprise next year when the premium becomes due and you can't understand why it has gone up. Sometimes one year in age can move you into another bracket and the difference is a lot of money. Most companies are don't ask, don't tell. Remember, there in the business of getting your money and hoping (using statistical models) they never have to provide a service (i.e. payout back) to you.
 
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