Life Insurance for Police Officers

Some people believe purchasing life insurance for police officers is usually difficult and expensive.

Life insurance for police officers has never been a high risk market for the insurance industry! With that said, law enforcement officers can simply apply and receive the best rates just as easy as any other occupation. Take a moment to watch our police life insurance video.

You can rest assured that the life insurance companies do not penalize police officers with higher rates. Your projected rates will be mostly based on your age and health history as they always have since life insurance was first introduced. 

Actually, most members of law enforcement are in very good health due to their job requirements. This gives them a good advantage to get the best rates and health classifications from the life insurance companies.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with police officers and other members of law enforcement

PTSD statistics now show that Police officers are exposed to more traumatic events than ever before. On a police officers tour of duty they may see dead bodies stemming from homicides to accidental deaths.

They often see severely abused children that had encountered severe and brutal assaults from their own parents no less. Periodic or constant exposure to these experiences can lead to extreme stress which is hard on the human body both physically and mentally.

This can often lead to alcoholism, drug abuse, aggression, high divorce rates and even suicide. The nationwide statistics indicate that over 15 percent of police officers in the United States experience some form of PTSD symptoms. PTSD in police officers has now become a rapidly growing problem in this country.

Five excellent companies for police life insurance

• Banner Life
• AIG American General
• Lincoln Financial
• Principal Financial
• John Hancock

These five companies are by far, not your only choices. They just happen to offer the best police officer life insurance quotes on a consistent basis. They are also all A+ rated companies with the AM Best reporting agency.

Hazardous duties may affect your rates

Only a very small percentage of police personnel  are involved with especially dangerous work. This could for example include being a member of a S.W.A.T. team, performing undercover narcotics investigations or working with a bomb squad defusing bombs.

These types of duties could be classified as a high risk for the applicant. Unfortunately, society has become more violent than ever before. A law enforcement officer has to put his or her life on the line each and every day. Unfortunately the statistics for police officer injuries and deaths are rising.

The life insurance industry has still been taking good care of America’s law enforcement personnel. They definitely realize just how important a policeman’s job really is.

Applying with pre-existing medical conditions?

Always keep in mind that any existing medical conditions can have an impact on your rates regardless of what kind of policy or occupation you have.

An individual’s physical and mental well being is a carriers first concern. Most police officers are in good physical condition due to their job requirements.

Thanks to the insurance carriers and the independent agents. Purchasing life insurance for police officers is a simple process with preferred rates many times as an end result.

If you have any medical conditions, the company you apply with will need to fully understand what your conditions are and can they be properly controlled with medication.

You can submit our medical pre-screen form if you have any conditions you are concerned with. We will review it and consult with you about them with no cost or obligation. A medical pre-screen is 100% confidential and shared with no one.

 

Police officers will require just a few additional questions when applying:

1. Do you work high in crime areas? The more dangerous the area you work in can reflect a higher rate of risk to a police officers safety.
2. What types of safety measure do you follow on the job?
3. How often do you work in the field and out of the office?
4. Do you have a specialty which is more hazardous such as undercover narcotics or criminal investigations?
5. Do you work with a partner or multiple other police officers?

The three main types of policies to consider:

Term Insurance

Low cost term insurance is by far the most common form of coverage purchased in America. The number one concept concerning term is that it is a temporary form of coverage.

You must carefully determine what term length to apply for. The last problem you want is having your policy expire when you still need it.

The big reason for this is term plan designs have the lowest premiums and are very cost effective. When an individual looks for an individual plan design, term life insurance will always offer the lowest rates. People can then secure the higher face amounts they desire at an affordable cost.

Permanent Insurance

Universal life is permanent coverage for you to keep in mind and consider. The UL policies are excellent plan designs that will last for the rest of your life.

All of the universal life insurance plan designs cost more. This is simply because the companies know they will be paying out a death benefit one day. In many cases, people that own term insurance outlive the policy and this is very profitable for the companies.

An excellent portfolio can have a term policy up front with the highest face amount. Then after that, a smaller universal life policy will continue after the term policy expires leaving no gaps in coverage.

Non-Med Life Insurance

Non-Med policies are also referred to as No Medical Exam Life Insurance policies. If you are in good health, you can apply for one of the policies and totally skip the medical exam and blood test process.

These policies do cost a little more due to the fact the insurers don’t have the full details about your health. This means they are taking a higher risk with these types of policies. The approval times for these policies can be less than 24 hours.

 

How much coverage should you apply for?

This is one of the most important questions of them all. How much coverage you will need will depend on a number of important questions:

How long you will need coverage? 

Young police officers usually have more debt to contend with because they have younger families. This usually can mean young children that will have to be supported for quite a few years to come.

Also, a young female spouse can be restricted as a stay at home mom and will not be able to run out and get a job if the income suddenly stops. The young police officer will usually have a mortgage that is recent where they will have a substantial nut to crack for quite a few years.

We also can’t forget one or two car payments in the formula along with plans for college tuition.

Do you have other coverage?

Many police officers today usually always have coverage through their departments that they are employed by. The face amount of these policies are usually much lower than what they really need to be properly covered.

The face amounts are usually based on their annual income with the department. A young man usually does not have enough time on the job to make much rank. This will limit his face amount on the departments police life insurance program. 

What is your financial budget?

Let’s definitely not forget your monthly budget. Regardless of what face amount you should actually have, how much you can actually afford will be one of the most deciding factors.

You always want to make sure you can comfortably afford your monthly premium. The industry projection is 7-10 your salary, but what you actually need can be higher or much lower.

You can also add a dollar amount such as $100,000 of coverage for every child you have to your projected face amount.

Use our face amount calculator to help you calculate your most applicable death benefit required for your specific needs. 

 

In Conclusion

Call us toll free 7 days a week (708-334-6226) to get answers to all you questions without any cost or obligation. If you are shopping for life insurance for police officers, we hope this information has helped you.

We also want to say, thank you very much for your service. Many times a law enforcement officers job can seem like a thankless one.

Always remember, millions of Americans appreciate what you do everyday including myself! Please take care and stay safe out there!

All the best,
Jack Venturi