Juliette Chihade, Life Insurance Agent

Answer: One have to find out first and foremost what types of Life Insurance Plans available in their area.

What is the purpose of buying Life Insurance? If it is to cover debt, replacing income or education funds for children.

Waiting too long assuming in their 20's, 30's or 40's their is no need for life insurance.

Relying on employer providing Life Insurance plan for employees. That can be lost with leaving the job for many reasons.

Choosing the wrong plan.

If you contact me to get Life Insurance Coverage, I would have a summary of all the above

in addition to the cost today. My focus will be to provide the best for the lowest cost.

Answer: After presenting the agent with facts about the need for life insurance, a buyer should ask

what is the agent recommendation and why.

Do represent one Insurance Company or several and what are the ratings?

Answer: That goes back to WHY you bought the life insurance?

Address the terms of the life insurance Policy?

Answer: Yes. If you are the owner of the life insurance policy, you can usually change the beneficiary at any time by submitting the insurance company’s beneficiary-change form.

Answer: No, not for personal policies. IRS considers them as a personal expense. The upside is that the death benefit is generally income-tax-free.

Exceptions: a business can deduct group term life premiums for employees (first $50K of coverage is tax-free to the employee), but not key person policies where the business is the beneficiary. Donating a policy to charity and continuing to pay premiums can also qualify.

I'm not a tax advisor; I recommend checking with a CPA if a business policy is involved.

Answer: One thing no applicant should do is LIE on a a life insurance application.

That can lead into losing benefits or more legal issue.

It is never worth liying!

Answer: Important question.

To check if your life insurer is financially stable, look up its financial strength ratings, especially from AM Best, where A or higher is a good sign (AA/Aa or better from S&P, Moody's, or Fitch). Watch for recent downgrades or negative outlooks, check complaint records on the NAIC Consumer Insurance Search, and confirm the company is licensed in your state. Be wary of prices or returns that seem too good to be true. If an insurer does fail, your state's guaranty association typically covers at least $300,000 in death benefits.

Answer: Yes, you can get life insurance while on SSDI, though insurers will review the health condition behind your disability and may limit coverage. Your main options are traditional policies (medical exam, possibly higher rates), simplified issue (a few health questions, lower coverage), and guaranteed issue (no health questions, but small benefits and usually a two- to three-year waiting period for full payout). Also check whether you can convert or continue past group coverage from an employer or association. An independent broker who works with high-risk cases can help you find lenient insurers. Life insurance won't affect SSDI, but if you're on SSI or Medicaid, whole life cash value may count as an asset, while term life won't.

Answer: In almost all cases, the beneficiary gets the proceeds, because life insurance pays directly to whoever is named on the policy, outside of probate, regardless of what your will says.

Exceptions can arise if no beneficiary is living (the money then goes to your estate and your will controls), after a divorce (many states revoke an ex-spouse's designation, but often not for employer or federal policies), in community property states where a spouse may have a claim, or when a court order requires a specific beneficiary. To avoid problems, update your beneficiary forms directly after major life changes and name backup beneficiaries. Since rules vary by state, an estate planning attorney can help make sure everything lines up.

Answer: Online quotes usually assume you'll get the best health class, but your final rate comes from underwriting, where the insurer checks your actual details. Prices often rise because of medical exam results, health conditions or prescriptions in your records, nicotine use, family history, your driving record, risky hobbies or jobs, or crossing an age threshold during the process.

To bring the cost down, ask why you were rated higher, request reconsideration if a result was a one-off, and compare other insurers through an independent broker. Don't cancel existing coverage until a new policy is in force.

Answer: Guaranteed issue policies don't ask health or background questions, so a criminal record or current probation usually won't disqualify someone. Coverage amounts are small and they typically come with a two-to-three-year graded death benefit.

Group life insurance through an employer usually requires no individual underwriting, making it one of the easiest ways to get some coverage.

Answer: Referrals and existing clients are usually the highest-converting and cheapest leads you'll ever get. Since you're also doing Open Enrollment work, your Medicare or health clients are a natural fit for final expense conversations. Asking every satisfied client for a referral, and following up after a policy is placed, pays off over time.

Answer: The Insurance company will assign another agent to do the service work. You will not be left without anyone attending to your concerns.

Answer: Many life insurance policies end without ever paying a claim, mostly because people stop making payments.

The most common reason is financial strain, such as job loss, medical bills, or divorce, which makes insurance an easy expense to cut.

Rising premiums also play a factor, especially with renewable term and universal life policies that cost more over time than people expected.

Sometimes the need for coverage simply goes away, such as when children become independent or a mortgage is paid off.

Other people drop policies that were a poor fit to begin with or replace them with cheaper or employer-provided coverage.

Some lapses happen by accident, through missed notices, expired payment cards, or cognitive decline in older policyholders.

Before letting a policy lapse, it's worth exploring options like the grace period, reinstatement, reducing coverage, a paid-up policy, borrowing against cash value, or a life settlement.

Answer: After you buy a policy, your agent should walk you through it and remind you of the free look period, when you can cancel for a full refund.

Going forward, they should help with changes like updating beneficiaries, payment methods, or riders.

For permanent policies, a good agent will offer periodic reviews, and for term policies, they should remind you about conversion options before they expire.

If you struggle to pay premiums, the agent should help you explore alternatives to letting the policy lapse, and later they can help your beneficiaries file a claim.

Service varies since agents earn most of their commission upfront, but the insurance company itself can handle most needs if your agent isn't responsive. Be cautious of any agent who pushes you to replace your policy without a clear written comparison.

Answer: Federal student loans, including Parent PLUS loans, are forgiven when you die, so your family owes nothing and the discharge isn't taxed.

Private loans depend on the lender: many forgive the balance at death, but some can collect from your estate, and cosigners on loans made before November 2018 may still owe the full amount.

If your loans are all federal, you likely don't need life insurance to cover them. If you have private loans with a cosigner or a lender that doesn't discharge on death, a small term policy matching the balance can protect your family.

Check your federal loans at studentaid.gov and ask your private lenders directly about their death and cosigner policies.

Answer: You can work with an agent anywhere in your state by phone or video, so living in a small town doesn't limit your options much.

Local offices for companies like State Farm, Country Financial, or Farm Bureau are common in rural areas, but they usually sell only their own policies.

Online brokers like Senior Insurance Quote let you compare quotes and talk with a licensed agent by phone, which works well for simple term policies. Contact me; ask for Juliette.

Answer: Any licensed life insurance agent can sell you whole life, so you don't need a specialist, but experience matters.

A good agent should clearly explain guaranteed versus projected values, dividends, and what happens if you stop paying, and ideally compare policies from several insurers.

For an an agent that has over 42 years of experience, you know that they have had worked with various Life Insurance plans and usually will be helpful.

A second opinion, a fee-only financial planner can review a policy before you commit.

Answer: What does matter is honesty on the original application. Most policies have a contestability period, usually the first two years, during which the insurer can review your application if you die and deny the claim if you left out or misstated something important. A health problem that develops after the policy starts isn't a misrepresentation, though, so it won't affect your coverage.

Answer: Right after purchase, your agent should deliver the policy, walk you through the coverage, premium, beneficiaries, and any riders, and remind you of the free look period when you can cancel for a full refund.

Service quality varies because agents earn most of their commission in the first year, so if yours becomes unresponsive, the insurance company's customer service can handle almost everything.

Be cautious if an agent pushes you to replace your policy with a new one without giving you a clear written comparison.