Life Insurance Craziness

[Domino]

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[RSTPerformance]

I received my annual premium quote after my policy was fully underwritten and was floored to find out my monthly payment came to about the same amount as a very nice new car payment!

My agent shopped around to several well known companies without any decrease in premium. I am being rated high solely based upon my motorsports activities.

I can't imagine that everyone in the country that does what we do pays these kind of premiums. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Is there a financially sound company that is willing to work with people like us?
[/b]

Why do you have to disclose your motorsports activities? While you are racing with SCCA you have insurance coverage (although it does only cover what your insurance wont cover...)

Raymond

[JoshS]

I bought a new policy recently and found out that the racing moved me up only one risk class from the base class (least risk.) I forget the actual names of the risk classes, but I know it wasn't a huge hit. My agent was kind of upset that I race cars and yet still am in a lower-risk class than he is.

I'd just shop around. I ended up going with AIG.

[JLawton]

If I recall (and it was a few years ago), it didn't effect mine at all..........Maybe because it was amature and not pro??

[jjjanos]

I received my annual premium quote after my policy was fully underwritten and was floored to find out my monthly payment came to about the same amount as a very nice new car payment![/b]

Depending on your age, coverage amount and term/whole - you are looking at a car payment. If this is permanent insurance, then consider term. It is much cheaper.

My agent shopped around to several well known companies without any decrease in premium. I am being rated high solely based upon my motorsports activities.[/b]

Your agent, most likely, only shopped around at companies with which he is affiliated. Try an on-line insurance quote service. There are some out there that do not require giving them contact information.

I can't imagine that everyone in the country that does what we do pays these kind of premiums. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Is there a financially sound company that is willing to work with people like us?[/b]

There is an agent in Florida who specializes in getting racers insurance. Don't remember his name. Dig out some old Sportscars. He use to advertise there.

[mbuskuhl]

How often does someone buy life insurance? If you are like me, rarely. You get your policy or policies and then pay your premiums again and again. Get the policy during a "retirement" from racing and then come out of retirement.

I am not so sure the insurance company can deny benefits for a slight misrepresentation. If they could, they would be arguing every policy saying something in the policy was not presented accurately and policies would never get paid out. Wait 2 years or more to have that bad day and your loved ones will get paid.

Check out your states Insurance Code, consider TX for example...

Sec. 705.104. MISREPRESENTATION IN APPLICATION FOR LIFE INSURANCE. A defense based on a misrepresentation in the application for, or in obtaining, a life insurance policy on the life of a person in or residing in this state is not valid or enforceable in a suit brought on the policy on or after the second anniversary of the date of issuance of the policy if premiums due on the policy during the two years have been paid to and received by the insurer...

The government is always consumer and employee friendly.

[Chris Wire]

There is an agent in Florida who specializes in getting racers insurance. Don't remember his name. Dig out some old Sportscars. He use to advertise there.
[/b]

The agents name is Steve Goldin of Golding Bros. Racing. He is an ITS regular and a yearly competitor at the Rolex 24 in GT running an RX8. He's also my agent. Several years ago I dropped State Farm and went with Steve. He had been working diligently with Banner Life Insurance to examine what the 'real' risk factor for our type of racing is vs. the 'perceived' risk factor, and he was successful in helping them develop a program that was attractive to SCCA racers like me. In short, he doubled my coverage from State Farm and reduced quarterly payment by $15! At the time, Banner was rated A+, but I haven't checked for current ratings.

Do some homework on Banner and give Steve a call at:

Steven E. Goldin Insurance, Inc.
201 Alhambra Circle
Suite 1000,
Coral Gables, FL 33114-1916
Phone: 305-669-6000
Fax: 305-669-6030

FYI, I saw a press release that stated he recently merged (or was acquired by) USI Holdings. I don't know if it will affect anything for you, but I have seen no changes on my end. Good luck.

[joeg]

Sounds like the same stuff Pro Rallyists go through trying to insure their competition vehicle.

[steve b]

I looked into getting another policy when I decided to get my comp license. I specifically asked "Does the policy cover death related to automobile racing?". The agent said no, but if I didn't start racing until at least 6 months after the policy was written, it would. That worked for me as I took the first school in the spring and am not taking my second school until this fall.

I'm not sure if a "vacation" from racing would get around that or not.

[John Herman]

At work a couple of years ago we got new health/life insurance and the new company came in to explain all the new and improved changes. In the small print on one of the slides they showed it stated that certain high risk activities were not covered. I asked during the meeting if they had a list of such activities, they kind of chuckled and said, "you know like sky diving or scuba diving" (I did scuba) At which point people in the room turned to me and said jokingly, "Or auto racing." I asked on many different occasions for a list of what this company considered high-risk and never received anything. So now I figure if they won't provide such a list of "restricted" activities, they don't deserve to get an honest answer from me. I've told my wife if I should unexpectedly pass away, move my body to a feather lined room (or maybe that should be rubber-lined) before calling anyone.

[Wreckerboy]

...just so long as the straps haven't gone past their expiration date and the helmet has a current Snell sticker on it.

[ITS5GB]

Another vote for Steve Goldin

[DavidM]

It's all based on "life risk" statistics as somebody noted. If you race, they think you are a higher "risk taker". Things like scuba diving also tend to fall in this category. Several insurance companies bumped me up a class just for scuba diving even though it was only a few times a year for recreational purposes.

MassMutual seems to be one of the better companies at understanding that active people do things other people don't, but that doesn't necessarily equate to higher risk. I went through them and got some pretty hefty coverage for a decent price. I hadn't actually started racing at the time so I didn't put it down. I told my agent that I might do it in the near future, but he said I didn't need to fill out the paper work if I wasn't actively racing.

David

[CaptJon]

So since I'm a firefighter that does firefighting, rescue diving (SCUBA), confined space rescue, high angle rescue, and HAZ-MAT, racing shouldn't really have an effect on my insurance.

[cmaclean]

It chaps my ass no end that someone can drive 95mph every morning on the way to work, 6 inches off the bumper in front of them, weigh 400lbs, do no excercise, eating while they drive and get a "preferred" rate while I get labelled as a "risk" because I Scuba or race cars while cocooned in a safety shell wearing a helmet, HANS etc.

[67ITB]

Mark,

I was denied life insurance last year for this hobby as well. I had thought about lying on the application, but fear of the MAN made me tell the truth.

They even sent me an additional form to fill out with more specifics about the type and frequency of racing. But still denied. I forgot the name of the company off the top of my head.

In the interest of full disclosure I do have a medical condition from Iraq that they also listed as reason. So maybe it was the fact that I had 2 strikes against me.
I ended up going through my employer, but they didn’t offer as much coverage as I was looking for (new baby in the house)

Good luck,