Edward Fisher, Life Insurance Broker

Answer: Not enough information to really answer the question. Do you have other debts or liabilities? If so, you might need life insurance. Do you have a spouse or family? Will your assets be enough to support them after you’re gone? If not , you probably need life insurance. Lots to consider. A good agent will help you think it through.

Answer: While almost always life insurance is tax-free to the beneficiary, it is not safe from creditors. There is very little protection for life insurance proceeds once it reaches the beneficiary.

Answer: Who knows? Without more information, the question can't be answered. Premiums are based on age, health factors, occupation, lifestyle and so on.

Plus, each insurance company has its own criteria for underwriting or evaluating the risk. For example: insurers vary in how they rate various health factors, such as diabetes or family medical history.

Recommendation: work with an agent that can look at a range of insurance companies to find the best coverage at the best rate for your individual situation.

Answer: Group life insurance is generally a policy provided by an employer. Usually there is little or no underwriting required to get coverage. As long as the employer pays the premium and you stay employed at that firm, you have coverage.

Important to remember: If you leave that company, the coverage almost always stops. Some policies have a conversion option, but not many. Also, many people think they don't need life insurance because they have it through their job. Be careful here. The benefit from employer-based insurance is most likely not enough to meet your family's actual needs.

Ask an agent to help.

Answer: It's certainly easier to go online and buy a policy, but what if you have questions and the AI operated chat can't provide an answer?

Are you sure you know exactly what you need? I'm obviously biased, but only an agent can help you determine that by looking at your whole picture.

The fact is that most people don't know what they don't know about life insurance. A good agent knows what you don't. The wrong policy is the most expensive policy you can buy, even if the premium is low.

Rely on a good agent.

Answer: If the insurance company discovers the lie, they will cancel the policy. If the lie is not discovered until the insured dies, the death claim will not be paid.

Answer: Either approach can work. Almost always it's better to meet an agent face-to-face. Most people don't even know what questions to ask. A good independent agent can review all the options available to you to make sure you get the right policy at the right premium.

Answer: It's possible. There are "guaranteed issue" policies for which you might qualify. Guaranteed issue means that there is very little or no underwriting required to get a policy. These policies are also called "Final Expense" policies.

Answer: Taxes are generally due on any increase in cash value above the amount of premiums paid. Any such transaction will generate a 1099 form for that tax year.

Answer: Business loan lenders often require this because there is no hard asset tied to the loan such as real estate or a vehicle. If a borrower defaults on a mortgage or a car loan, the lender can foreclose or reposes the property or the vehicle to recover what is owed.

Collateral assignment means that if the insured dies before the business loan is repaid, the lender is first in line to be paid back the loan. Additional beneficiaries can be added so that if the death benefit exceeded the amount of the loan, they would receive the difference.

For example: $100,000 loan and a $200,000 death benefit: lender gets their $100,000 back and beneficiaries get $100,000.

Answer: Nothing happens, your policy is with the insurance company, not agent. If this happens, contact the insurer and ask for a new agent to be assigned to your account. By the way, if you don't like the new agent, you can ask for someone else.

Answer: A common question. By law, a will does not override the beneficiary named in a life insurance contract. If this is the case, review both the will and the life insurance contract and make any changes needed.

Answer: It would be smart for an agent to have a personal website, simply because so many consumers look online for insurance information.

Obviously, the site should include all your contact information, what carrier or carriers you work with and your social media links. If the company you represent requires you to use the site they provide, try to customize and personalize it as much their compliance rules allow.

As much as you can, tell the viewer more about who you are and why you sell life insurance.

Answer: Generally, yes.

However, there are exceptions and exclusions. If you travel to a war zone and get killed, no coverage. If you die while engaging in a hazardous activity that you didn't disclose, like flying a plane, no coverage. (Just to show a couple of examples.) There are more. Talk to your agent or the insurance company before taking any similar chances.