Term Life Insurance Articles
How Traveling To Vietnam Can Deny You Term Life Insurance
2010-08-11
Term life insurance applications may include questions asking you about possible international travel in the future, and many people do not know that a visit to a foreign country can have a big effect on their term life insurance quote. In some cases, it is enough of a risk that insurance companies will deny you coverage. To give an example, in 2005, after indicating that she might be visiting Israel, U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz was denied life insurance coverage by her insurer because of the risks of traveling to a "country of concern." The United States State Department keeps a list of countries of concern that travelers may consult, and Israel is on that list. Term life insurance in Vietnam happens to be on that list.
Representative Wasserman was displeased with the denial of coverage. "As an American you can lawfully travel pretty much anywhere in the world. You are asking Americans to choose between insuring their lives and legal travel. The freedom to travel is part of our way of life." She sponsored the Life Insurance Fairness for Travelers Act (LIFT Act), which was eventually dropped because of Senate opposition.
Although the bill was rejected in federal Congress, the states have enacted similar legislation curtailing the effect of international travel on term life insurance quotes. Although laws differ from state to state, the gist is that they would prevent term life insurance companies from denying coverage based solely on the applicant's travel plans. If the insurance company wishes to deny coverage, it must provide solid actuarial evidence of serious risk, including statistics on risks from terrorism, disease, crime rates, health care, and similar information.
Not all states, however, have enacted such legislation, and therefore foreign travel can still have an adverse effect on your term life insurance quote. Travel to Vietnam, for instance, which has been a country of concern in the past, could have an impact on your policy.
As a third world country, Vietnam has a high poverty level and inadequate health care. The mortality rate is higher than in most Western countries. Although violent crime is rare, purse snatching and pick pocketing is common. A frequent tactic involves motorcyclists speeding by and snatching a purse from a tourist; this can be especially dangerous if the straps get caught. In fact, a British woman was killed in 2001 when a purse snatcher on a motorcycle grabbed her purse and the straps dragged her into a tree.
If you plan on traveling to Vietnam or any other foreign country, you should check with your insurer to find out exactly what sort of effect your travel may have on your coverage. Term life insurance, in Vietnam, may be dropped.
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Term life insurance applications may include questions asking you about possible international travel in the future, and many people do not know that a visit to a foreign country can have a big effect on their term life insurance quote. In some cases, it is enough of a risk that insurance companies will deny you coverage. To give an example, in 2005, after indicating that she might be visiting Israel, U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz was denied life insurance coverage by her insurer because of the risks of traveling to a "country of concern." The United States State Department keeps a list of countries of concern that travelers may consult, and Israel is on that list. Term life insurance in Vietnam happens to be on that list.
Representative Wasserman was displeased with the denial of coverage. "As an American you can lawfully travel pretty much anywhere in the world. You are asking Americans to choose between insuring their lives and legal travel. The freedom to travel is part of our way of life." She sponsored the Life Insurance Fairness for Travelers Act (LIFT Act), which was eventually dropped because of Senate opposition.
Although the bill was rejected in federal Congress, the states have enacted similar legislation curtailing the effect of international travel on term life insurance quotes. Although laws differ from state to state, the gist is that they would prevent term life insurance companies from denying coverage based solely on the applicant's travel plans. If the insurance company wishes to deny coverage, it must provide solid actuarial evidence of serious risk, including statistics on risks from terrorism, disease, crime rates, health care, and similar information.
Not all states, however, have enacted such legislation, and therefore foreign travel can still have an adverse effect on your term life insurance quote. Travel to Vietnam, for instance, which has been a country of concern in the past, could have an impact on your policy.
As a third world country, Vietnam has a high poverty level and inadequate health care. The mortality rate is higher than in most Western countries. Although violent crime is rare, purse snatching and pick pocketing is common. A frequent tactic involves motorcyclists speeding by and snatching a purse from a tourist; this can be especially dangerous if the straps get caught. In fact, a British woman was killed in 2001 when a purse snatcher on a motorcycle grabbed her purse and the straps dragged her into a tree.
If you plan on traveling to Vietnam or any other foreign country, you should check with your insurer to find out exactly what sort of effect your travel may have on your coverage. Term life insurance, in Vietnam, may be dropped.
