{"id":8710,"date":"2020-04-13T18:28:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T22:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/?p=8710"},"modified":"2020-05-11T21:35:07","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T01:35:07","slug":"life-insurance-in-the-time-of-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/blog\/life-insurance-in-the-time-of-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Life (Insurance) in the Time of COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.4.3&#8243;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.4.3&#8243;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.4.3&#8243;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.4.5&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread, we\u2019ve been bombarded with reminders of our own mortality. It has reinforced the idea that illness and death can come at any time, and that has some people thinking seriously about life insurance.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re wondering if you have enough life insurance, you may also be wondering what you can do about it. With physical distancing protocols in place for much of the nation, you may think your insurance agent\u2019s office is closed, and you may be asking yourself if you can even <em>get<\/em> life insurance during the worst pandemic the U.S. has seen in at least a century. Read on for the answer to that question and more.<\/p>\n<h2>With my agent\u2019s office closed, can I still get life insurance?<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe world keeps on turning,\u201d says Mike Letorney, a Boston-based insurance agent with more than 35 years of experience in the life insurance industry. Letorney\u2019s staff members have all been working remotely, but you wouldn\u2019t know it by calling his office, as Letorney\u2019s phone system forwards callers to the right team expert instantly.<\/p>\n<h2>So insurance agencies are still functioning. But can I get life insurance in this environment?<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cYes, you can still get coverage,\u201d says Derek Hensley, a Springfield, Ill., insurance agent. \u201cWe are trying to minimize physical contact, but we have an application you can start over the phone and complete via email.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Can I just apply online?<\/h2>\n<p>You can start the process online, says Henley. \u201cBut we recommend actually speaking with an agent so you can have a conversation about your options, budget and coverage.\u201d Another Springfield agent, Joe Ludtke, has embraced technology in his approach. \u201cWe\u2019ve had Zoom and FaceTime conferences in addition to talking on the phone,\u201d he says. Ludtke, who\u2019s been an agent for 20 years, uses the initial meeting to address a household\u2019s needs, then sends a quote and an application via email.<\/p>\n<h2>Will I have to get a physical exam?<\/h2>\n<p>In many cases, no. Most insurance companies set a coverage amount \u2013 anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 \u2013 that can be applied for without a physical exam. \u201cFor the most part, we have a streamlined underwriting process,\u201d says Hensley. \u201cIf you\u2019re younger than age 50 and in reasonably good health, you may only have to do a phone interview to answer questions about your medical history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, if you apply for an amount of coverage higher than an insurance company\u2019s predetermined limit, or something comes up in your interview that requires closer inspection, the company could require a simple medical exam that can either be completed in your home or in a testing facility. \u201cOf course, they are taking every precaution to make sure people won\u2019t be exposed to the virus (COVID-19),\u201d Hensley adds.<\/p>\n<h2>I\u2019m not sick, but could COVID-19 affect whether I can get life insurance?<\/h2>\n<p>While neither the application process nor the underwriting criteria has changed substantially during the pandemic, some companies have added another step. \u201cWe ask applicants to sign a statement of health, which basically attests that they do not have COVID-19,\u201d Ludtke says.<\/p>\n<h2>If something on my application limits how much insurance I can get, or if I can\u2019t afford the policy I really need, am I just out of luck?<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cHaving something is better than nothing!\u201d says Hensley. \u201cSo getting a simple policy now, like <a href=\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/insurance-overview\/life-insurance\/life-insurance-options\/\">a term policy<\/a>, might be a good idea, because it gives you affordable coverage right away \u2013 which is awesome, because many peoples\u2019 paychecks have been affected.\u201d He adds many term policies can be converted to a more permanent, complete solution once conditions improve.<\/p>\n<p>Contact your local insurance agent to learn more about your life insurance options. If you don\u2019t have one, you can use the <a href=\"\/choosing-an-agent\/#locator\">Life Happens online Agent Locator<\/a>. Plus, here is information about finding the right agent. Getting life insurance now could give you one less thing to worry about at a time you have more than enough on your plate.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread, we\u2019ve been bombarded with reminders of our own mortality. It has reinforced the idea that illness and death can come at any time, and that has some people thinking seriously about life insurance. If you\u2019re wondering if you have enough life insurance, you may also be wondering what you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":8714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[282,324,325,14,326,328,329,68,20],"class_list":["post-8710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-insurance","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-life-insurance","tag-online","tag-online-application","tag-physical-exam","tag-simplified-underwriting","tag-term-life-insurance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.8 (Yoast SEO v23.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Life (Insurance) in the Time of COVID-19 &#8211; Life Happens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/blog\/life-insurance-in-the-time-of-covid-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life (Insurance) in the Time of COVID-19\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_fullwidth_module_placeholder selected_tabs=&quot;all&quot;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/blog\/life-insurance-in-the-time-of-covid-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Life Happens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lifehappens.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-13T22:28:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-12T01:35:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/couple-at-a-computer_web.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1492\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"921\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Sykes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lifehappens\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@lifehappens\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Sykes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/blog\/life-insurance-in-the-time-of-covid-19\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/blog\/life-insurance-in-the-time-of-covid-19\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Steve Sykes\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dd4da8f589865515ad5cfa5e207a1018\"},\"headline\":\"Life (Insurance) in the Time of COVID-19\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-13T22:28:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-12T01:35:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/blog\/life-insurance-in-the-time-of-covid-19\/\"},\"wordCount\":709,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/blog\/life-insurance-in-the-time-of-covid-19\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/couple-at-a-computer_web.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"coronavirus\",\"COVID\",\"COVID-19\",\"life insurance\",\"online\",\"online application\",\"physical exam\",\"simplified underwriting\",\"term life insurance\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Life Insurance\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/blog\/life-insurance-in-the-time-of-covid-19\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lifehappens.org\/blog\/life-insurance-in-the-time-of-covid-19\/\",\"name\":\"Life (Insurance) in the Time of COVID-19 &#8211; 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