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How do I find out if my Life Insurance policy is good?

I keep hearing all the horror stories of Life Insurance policies being no good. I have a policy through AARP and New York Life. Does anyone know of a way I can check with someone regarding the dependability of my policy.

Public Comments

1. It's not that the policies aren't good, it's that it's one that doesn't really fit your needs. New York Life has been around since the 19th century, they're a solid company. The policies, like aarp, that are sold thru insurance companies are usually very basic, like enough for burial expenses or to cover your spouse for a while. If you're worried, contact either a local NYL agent, (find one in the phone book and they will have the NYL logo in their ad) or call the NYL home office in new york directly and they will give you the number of agent to help you understand the policy you have. It doesn't cost anything to have an agent contact you, as long as you don't buy another policy from him/her.
2. Well, all those people telling those horror stories are making them up. The place you need to check, is with AM BEst - www.ambest.com. I just did a quickie check on NY Life, and they are currently rated A++ stable. So you have no worries there.
3. New York Life is very solid and stable company. I don't really know without knowing the specifics of your situation whether the policy you have is the best deal for you or not, but I wouldn't worry about the dependability of New York Life when it comes time for your family to collect on your policy.
4. Do some research online, read the reviews and find the best fit for you. A site that I like is Auto Insurance Monster (www.AutoInsuranceMonster.com) they have lots of information in the auto insurance field, they have a ton of articles and very nice tips to help you lower your cost of auto insurance, they also have ratings for the top auto insurance companies in the country, I highly recommend that you check out that site.
5. What kind of horror stories? Life insurance is very dependable and New York Life is a fine company. The one possible problem for seniors is that some policies that are issued with no or limited medical screening do not have full benefits payable in the early years of the policy. Call AARP to see what your benefit is.
6. A New York Life agent will not help you with the AARP sold policy. Agents don't sell those particular policies, they are mail order only. AARP sells two version of their policy. 1. The most popular one is a term life policy that has low rates in the beginning but the rates increase every 5-years (almost double each 5-years.) Once you've been in the policy for 10-years you are paying much more than if you had bought a good whole-life policy to start with. If you live to age 80 with this policy, your coverage is over and you do not get a refund. That's how term life works. It's an OK policy IF you only need coverage for 5 to 10 years but it is a horrible choice if you need permenant coverage like for funeral expenses. 2. The 2nd type policy they sell is a whole-life policy. It is usually the worst deal for anyone with one exception...if you have been turned down by all other insurance companies, this one is guaranteed issue. BUT you do NOT want this policy if you can get regular coverage through an agent because it is priced WAY too high. The AARP policy will NOT guarantee against future rate increases but almost every other company on the market DOES give you such a guarantee. The AARP policy also does not give anyone coverage for the first two years (because it's guaranteed issue.) Most seniors will qualify for 1st day coverage AND at a better premium cost with other companies. The bottom line is: AARP is NOT a good choice for life insurance. Go to a local agent who sells many different companies and he can match you with MUCH better choices than the AARP policies.