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If your question is not covered on this page, please contact us for further information.
1. Why do I need Life Insurance?
2. How much life insurance do I need?
3. What is term life insurance?
4. Should I purchase term or permanent life insurance?
5. How should I decide what term length (10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years) is best for me?
6. How do life insurance companies calculate my annual premiums?
7. Will you keep my personal information confidential?
8. When does my policy go into effect?
9. What is an Aviation Exclusion Rider?
10. Is it safe to apply for a policy online?
11. Why buy from the Pilot Insurance Center?
1. Why do I need life insurance?
Buying life insurance is probably not one of the most enjoyable things you've ever done, but it could be one of the most important. It's easy to delay buying life insurance because your need does not seem immediate. There always seem to be more pressing needs for your cash than life insurance. The problem with putting off purchasing insurance is that by the time you need it, you will not be able to buy it. The same principle is true with all forms of insurance. You can't buy tornado insurance just as a twister appears on the horizon headed for your house. You can't buy health insurance just before you go into a hospital for open-heart surgery. And you can't buy life insurance once you have contracted a terminal illness. You have to purchase coverage long before the problem you are insuring yourself against occurs. In the case of life insurance, you really are buying protection for the people left behind after your death. You are insuring the people who depend on your income, such as your spouse and children, so they will not have to endure a major sacrifice of their lifestyle because you died long before anyone expected.
2. How much life insurance do I need?
Your insurance death benefit not only has to cover the income you would have produced in the year you died, but all the projected income you would have earned over the next several decades. The last thing you want your grieving family to have to go through after the funeral is to be forced to sell your house or business because they cannot afford to keep up with expenses. The death benefit from the insurance company should be large enough to produce adequate income so you can continue making mortgage payments or keep a small business operating if necessary. The benefit can also be a key source of liquid cash, which your family might need to pay estate taxes. A quick rule of thumb in deciding the amount of coverage is to purchase 7 to 10 times your pretax annual income. You can also use our Life Insurance Needs Estimator.
3. What is term life insurance?
Term life insurance offers your beneficiaries protection on your life for a specific number of years. The term varies and can range from one year to 30 years. If you die during the period of coverage, a term life policy will pay a claim equal to the coverage amount you purchased. Claims can be paid out either in a lump sum or in a stream of annuity payments over many years. Some term policies offer fixed (or what are called "level") premiums for a certain number of years, while others charge higher premiums each year you grow older. As soon as you stop paying premiums, your coverage ceases. Unlike permanent life insurance, term policies do not provide any cash value feature.
4. Should I purchase term or permanent life insurance?
There are pros and cons associated with buying both term and permanent policies. What is right for your situation depends upon how much coverage you need, how much you can afford, and your investing habits, among other factors. The main advantage of buying term is that it is much cheaper than permanent, so you can afford more protection. This may be a big benefit, particularly if you are just starting out and have young children and a relatively low income. Working within the reality of your budget, you might only be able to afford $50,000 or $100,000 of permanent life insurance, but the same premium amount might buy you $500,000 or more of term life coverage. Term insurance also gives you the opportunity to invest the difference between what you would have spent in permanent premiums in alternatives like top-performing stocks or mutual funds. On the other hand, permanent policies allow you to build up an investment fund that you might not accumulate on your own. In addition, permanent premiums remain fixed, while term premiums can rise over time, so if you plan to keep the policy for the rest of your life, you might want to lock in some permanent coverage at a cheaper rate. All of the term policies we recommend have an important benefit that allows you to covert part of all of your term policy to permanent insurance. Since you can convert your coverage we recommend for most situations that you start out with a term policy. We can then take the time to evaluate if a permanent policy solution is right for you.
5. How should I decide what term length is best for me?
In assessing how long you need a term policy to cover you, consider how many years your dependents will likely be depending on your income. For example, if you have a 10-year-old son, you may want at least 15 years of term coverage to cover him until he is age 25 and hopefully self-supporting. If you are using term to protect a non-working spouse, you may need more years of coverage to make sure they can survive financially until retirement benefits like Social Security and pensions kick in. You should select a term that will fit the entire time period for which you will need the coverage.
6. How do life insurance companies calculate my annual premiums?
There are several factors that insurance companies use to set rates. The most important factor is the likelihood that you will die, based on your age, type of flying that you do and your health condition. The older you are, the more likely it is that you will die, so the more you will pay in premiums. The worse your health condition, the more you will pay. That is why companies offer a separate, higher premium rate for smokers. This is also the reason insurance companies make you take a physical exam when you apply for life insurance coverage; they are trying to size up your health condition in order to set your rates. An insurance company's past mortality experience also affects the rates they charge. The fewer claims they have to pay, the lower their premiums can be. Gender also plays a role in pricing because women tend to outlive men, they are offered lower premium rates. Another major factor in setting rates is the cost structure of the insurance company. The lower their cost of doing business, the cheaper they can make your premiums.
7. Will you keep my personal information confidential?
Absolutely. We respect the privacy of our customers and will not release your personal information to anyone unless you authorize us to do so. See our privacy policy.
8. When does my policy go into effect?
Once your application is approved by the insurance carrier you have applied with and your payment is processed your coverage will go into effect on the effective date specified in your policy. The Pilot Insurance Center will contact you regarding any requirements necessary and the effective date of your coverage once your application is approved. We will inform you when the insurance carrier has placed your policy into effect.
9. What is an "Aviation Exclusion Rider"?
An Aviation Exclusion Rider is an addendum that basically makes your policy void should you die in an aviation-related accident other than as a fare-paying passenger on a scheduled airline. If you are a pilot, you should never consider a policy that contains an Aviation Exclusion Rider.
10. Is it safe to apply for a policy online?
Your personal information is encrypted to insure your privacy and security. If you are behind a corporate firewall, you may want to check with your systems administrator to verify that the firewall supports SSL encryption.
11. Why should I buy my coverage from the Pilot Insurance Center?
- We will assist in finding you aviation life coverage from a top rated insurance carrier. The Pilot Insurance Center closely monitors the major life insurance companies for the current underwriting guidelines and requirements for pilot life insurance. The criteria for pilot underwriting changes often and as pilots ourselves we are able to work with top rated carriers to find the best coverage for your aviation experience and activities. If your agent does not understand aviation and the factors affecting aviation safety it is much less likely they will be able to find the best coverage for you.
- We promise to keep your personal data absolutely private. We will not release your data to any other party other than for the purposes of obtaining your life insurance coverage. See our privacy policy.
- A Guaranteed Policy Review Period:All policies contain a free look period of at least 10 days after the insured receives the policy during which the insured can return the policy to the insurer for any reason and receive a full refund of premium paid.
- We have developed a short streamlined process to make the application process convenient for you.
- We make it easier for you. Because we regularly monitor the top carriers for their aviation underwriting criteria we can quickly find the best coverage for your current aviation activities. We will guide you through the application process and underwriting process. You will have a dedicated life insurance advisor to communicate with and answer any of your questions.
Do you have other questions? Contact Us.
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