Quote search life insurance. Is it possible to buy life insurance online without having to talk to an agent? - Quora

"Is it possible to buy life insurance online without having to talk to an agent? Buy life insurance online.

I'm a pretty healthy person and want to buy a normal term policy. However, all these online sites make you talk with an agent. I don't want to be hassled by an agent... Is it possible to buy it online without having to talk to any sales person?"

As other's have posted, there may be options to buy life insurance from an "order taker" so you won't be "hassled" by an agent.

Still... at least a small part of the life insurance buying process requires an agent's involvement such as:

Taking an Application - and -

Your perception of being hassled by an agent may be well founded. If you've been hassled before, my sincere apologies. Maybe, some of the hassle can be avoided by being candid with an agent upfront regarding expectations.

If you you have little trust in the agent with which you are doing business, ask that they handle the process in the manner in which you wish. According to your terms. One way you could handle this is to tell the agent you will do business with him/her if they will agree to a set of rules like:

Unless I give you permission to do so.

Using the channel of communication I choose.

I want to see multiple company quotes that would be appropriate for my circumstances

If you have recommendations, put them in writing, but outline:

The advantages - and - disadvantages from my perspective

If you have questions for me, put them in writing and tell me "why" you are asking.

I will choose to respond - or - not.

If I choose to buy I will let you know... See Rule number 1

If I choose to buy, explain the steps required of me to complete the purchase using the channel of communication I choose.

Maybe you'll find an agent that would be willing to meet terms similar to those above.

At the risk of being labeled a "hassler" however, I'll throw this in under the license that you asked me to respond to the question. ;)

Second to die life insurance

An agent should be a facilitator. A helper. An educator. Not a hassler. The fact that you use the terminology "Normal Term Policy" indicates that someone has not been helpful even to this point. The complexity of term life insurance products is beyond the scope of the word "normal".

Pricing & Underwriting Complexity: Pricing alone for term insurance is a "shell game". Yep. Insurance companies play games with their published rates. Shocker. Odds are, you will not end up paying what you are quoted.

You will receive a rate that reflects your health factors at the time of application, however that rate may be very different than what you were originally given.

Why a quality Broker/Agent helps with Pricing? A good agent will know some of the ins and outs for the different pricing habits, product nuances and underwriting requirements of the companies quoted.

Given an opportunity, a quality Independent Agent or Life Insurance Broker should be able to help you wade through the pricing and underwriting circumstances (among other land mines).

How do you find a good broker? One way is through Trusted Choice.com (a branch of the Independent Insurance Agents of America). Look for those that have earned certifications such as Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) [1], Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) [2] or Certified Financial Planner (CFP) [3].

Best of luck in finding the means to purchase life insurance that best suits you!

That’s like asking if you can have a CPA do your taxes without talking to a CPA.

To give professional legal, tax, or medical advice, one must have a license, right? To prove that they know what they are doing.

Did you know that this insurance is state regulated? Not everyone can sell insurance. To sell & give insurance advice, they also must have a license—a certificate of authority. There are rules of conduct (compliance) that they have to follow. if they want to keep their license because they are state Licensed life & disability insurance agents/ insurance underwriters: they have a financial & health checklist that they have to do before they can give you specific recommendations & it is best done in person, face-to-face.

And I’m sure that you want to verify their ID/license to make sure they are real agent before listening to what they have to say. I know I would.

Brokers, like the one that I work with, have many products that can meet your needs so they will personally review your situation in more detail & make appropriate recommendations.

Determining their need & eligibility is very important, because what if the person wanting info doesn’t even need coverage or even qualify for it.

It can be the cheapest policy possible but people don’t really buy insurance based on price, based on their good health.

Even the richest person in world can’t get insurance if they are too old and sick, no matter what they can pay.

(1) Before they can give you specific recommendations, they have to review what you have in place, gather info, data, & facts about you to support any recommendation.

- Have to make sure any recommendation is appropriate & suitable (that we are doing the right thing, legally & ethically) for your unique situation—needs. - Not allowed to make specific recommendations unless YOU have a NEED for this insurance.

Insurance agent

(2) they have to document, record, & verify if a NEED for NEW insurance coverage even exists.

- We legally have to let you know if you don’t need any NEW insurance. Did you know that they can even lose their license if they sell you something that you really don’t NEED?

- You may qualify (be eligible) TO APPLY but may not actually NEED NEW insurance.

- they need to know your debts/ liabilities that need to be covered; verify & review your income, resources, & any existing private insurance; & will tell you if what you already have would cover what you need (or qualify for);

(3) Their review also helps to determine exactly how much & how long new life insurance is actually needed: the more of the debts your family can cover/afford, the less you need to buy. It can help reduce the amount of new insurance needed.

- There may be many products, plans, features, & benefits that can meet your needs; & finding the right/best one for you, the best coverage & best price possible, depends on them knowing & understanding your specific situation, goals, needs, & budget.

- Did you know that plans, features, & benefits are designed for different financial & health situations?

- any information & specific recommendation we gave them had to be balanced & complete, since doing that over the phone is difficult,

agents have to avoid discussing specific products & complete explanations, it often results in confusion or misunderstandings.

He told them that licensed agents are required to give full & fair disclosures so that they had complete understanding of the product including the advantages, disadvantages, & differences—pros & cons.

To be compliant, they had to give them all of the info they needed to know to make an informed & educated decision. (CE: Ethics for Insurance Practitioners).

“Agents have to ensure that any info they provide is accurate, complete & unambiguous so that they can make a fully informed decision.

Insurance products & recommendations are complex.

Any info & recommendations must: be accurate, balanced & complete, & present important info so that you understand the situation as it exists.

“Agents have to make you aware of features; guarantees; tax treatment; any costs, charges, risks; discuss how term insurance is limited in duration, has no cash value, usually has increasing premiums as one ages; how whole life insurance involves initially-higher fixed, regular premiums than a comparable amount of term life, usually has cash value rate of return that may be lower than found in other financial products, is less flexible (with coverage & premiums) than certain other types of life insurance; how declared-rate or indexed universal life insurance involves fewer guarantees than traditional whole life, allows withdrawals from the policy’s cash value but that such withdrawals reduce the cash value & the death benefit, enables increase or decrease policy premiums, but that no premium level guarantees the policy will remain in force until the insured’s death (unless such a secondary guarantee is provided). (CE: Ethical Practice Standards).”

IF you don’t believe me, call the state office of insurance.

so, agents can help you: (1) decide how much insurance coverage you need & for how long & what you can afford; (2) determine which type of policies/products meet your needs, & (3) choose the best one for you; help you choose policy/product premium, benefits, features, & options available to you. OR YOU can try doing it yourself.

Where to buy life insurance online

Term life insurance is available on line or through the US mail.

If you are part of a group or organization, you most likely have access to term insurance just by filing an application.

Your application will be evaluated by an underwriter to see if they will accept you and to set the final premium, though. An insurance agent can shop around for you and find out in advance which company is likely to accept you and at what price. I will defer to the agents whether there are repercussions if an individual submits applications for life insurance and is turned down.

You will be visited by one of the insurance company's roving Nurses or Physician Assistants who will perform a physical examination and take blood and maybe urine samples. I've done that both at home and at the office.

My site, termlifecomparison.com, does not require you to reveal any of your personal information or enter your contact information in order to explore pricing. Frankly, I don’t know why all these other sites do: I don’t want to meddle with tire-kickers any more than they want to be meddled with by me.

That said, I don’t think you can escape at least some minimal contact with an agent if you want to buy a standard, fully-underwritten term life insurance policy. At least not one of any consequence.

I’m going first person for the rest of this because it’s just easier to write that way.

I don’t think we’d have to talk, though. Might need to trade some e-mails or texts just to knock out the details.

If the policy size is big enough and your underwriting is not “clean,” then you should expect to have a conversation called a “telephone inspection report” contracted by the life insurance company. That would not be an agent trying to pitch anything. Just someone trying to follow up on specific details needed for an underwriter to make a determination on your policy.

Lastly, I’ll add that different carriers demand different activities from their agents. I work with some carriers that will do everything digitally, right down to delivering a digital policy. I work with others that demand some interaction, especially at the time of delivery, even if it’s via “snail-mail.”

The question I would put to you is this, “how valuable is ‘no contact with an agent’ to you?” If it would result in you paying for a guaranteed issue policy that is smaller and much more expensive than a fully underwritten carrier who actually requires you to interact with the agent... is it worth it?

My guess is that you really don’t care as long as your agent is helping you get things done without bugging you or trying to upsell you. Those folks do exist in the industry. I know because I’m one of them.