AppMan^© Presents: "Foreign Travel Clients CAN Get a Life Insurance Policy!"
 

With the New Year coming upon us quickly, many Americans are making plans for the coming year, which may include travel plans, either for business or pleasure.

Being an agent, you may cringe when you are trying to sell a life insurance policy with the knowledge that your client is traveling abroad, but did you know that you can place a life policy for clients who are traveling or have traveled to such countries as Africa, Colombia, Israel, South Korea or Vietnam?  

Foreign travel is underwritten by the companies because the life expectancy of an individual who travels outside the U.S. may be affected by the conditions of the country, which could include widespread disease, poor economic conditions, lack of proper medical facilities and different cultural attitudes toward personal health and safety.

Factors that will be reviewed during underwriting include the country being visited, frequency of travel, the purpose of travel, length of time spent in the country, occupation, the need expressed for coverage, etc. When a life application is submitted at the same time as foreign travel is planned, the underwriter may postpone the application until your client returns to the United States.

Depending on the state in which you solicit business, you also may be able to write a life insurance policy on a client who was in a “high risk” country, such as Afghanistan or Iraq!

Several states have enacted regulations restricting an insurer's ability to take an adverse action based solely on an individual's lawful travel activities:

-          Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Washington will not have an adverse underwriting action based solely on and individual's past or future lawful travel activities.

-          Maryland and New York will not have an adverse underwriting action based solely on an individual’s past lawful travel activities.

Insurance companies base their foreign travel guidelines on an analysis of government and travel services and industry data. The guidelines change depending on current conditions in the country. To keep abreast on international travel, you can visit the U.S. Department of State website for public information of conditions that may affect safety and security, country specific information, travel alerts and travel warnings.

If you have a client who has traveled or is traveling abroad, don’t hesitate to solicit life insurance. You will be pleasantly surprised to find that Financial Markets, Inc. has a portfolio that may cover your clients in this situation.

Consider how hard you work to prospect and sell new policies. You need an insurance brokerage that works just as hard to place your policies. Let Financial Markets, Inc. help you place your business!

Written by: AppMan^©