When a client is deciding on who to name as beneficiaries of their life insurance policy, the topic of insurable interest often comes up,  Insurable Interest can be defined as:

The interest arising when one person has a reasonable expectation of benefiting from the continuance of another persons life or of suffering a loss at his or her death.  In life insurance, a person generally is considered to have an unlimited insurable interest in himself or herself.  However, a person must have an insurable interest in another person at the time of application in order to insure the others life.

From the definition above, its clear that a spouse and children would have an insurable interest in the life insurance policyholders life.  They would most probably suffer a financial loss if their spouse or parent passed away.  Sometimes a client will want to list a sibling or friend as a beneficiary and, in these situations, the insurance company will typically ask what insurable interest the proposed beneficiary has in the policyholder.  Usually, if there is no clear interest, the insurance company will question it and sometimes disallow the beneficiary designation.

I just read an interesting news story concerning beneficiaries of the life insurance policies of Susan Powell, the missing Washington woman whose husband, Josh Powell, recently killed himself and his children by setting his house on fire.  Susan Powells policy is under question for the obvious reason that she is still missing and hasnt been officially pronounced dead.  However, Josh Powells policy is under investigation because of the number and timing of changes that occurred shortly before he committed the murder-suicide.  Apparently, he made changes to his beneficiaries in late 2011, naming his siblings and father as beneficiaries rather than the trust overseen partly by his father.  Aside from the timing of the changes and all the other questions that come to mind, the question of insurable interest will certainly come up. 

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, given the number and timing of changes that occurred shortly before Powell carried out the murder/suicide, New York Life also has concerns regarding Joshua Powell’s competency at the time the beneficiary changes were made, the court filing states. It also says

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Householders at risk of flooding should take responsibility for preventing future damage to their homes despite the fact that this may not reduce the cost of their insurance or even guarantee that they can buy flood cover, the government has said.

Richard Benyon, the minister for natural environment and fisheries, confirmed that a five-year agreement between the insurance industry and the government to ensure flood-hit householders can buy flood cover for their homes would not be renewed when it ends in June next year.

“Renewing [the agreement] would not solve the problem,” Benyon said at a conference on flooding on Wednesday afternoon.

“The current agreement does not apply to the majority of households at significant flood risk, nor does it apply to homes built since January 2009.

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Few employers think their workers understand their benefit packages, which can be corrected by one-to-one benefits counseling sessions during enrollment, a new survey says.

Less than one-fifth of employers think their employees have a very good understanding of their benefits; about 5% think their employees know nothing at all about their benefits, according to an on-going poll by Columbia, S.C.-based Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Co.

The poll also shows that 96% who take part in individual benefits counseling sessions say they better understand their benefits; and 47% of employees say the benefits counseling sessions “significantly” improved their understanding.

Exactly 98% of employees believe having annual one-to-one benefits counseling sessions is important, with 63% saying it’s very important.

“The investment made in providing a strong benefits package is lost if employees don’t understand and appreciate what they’re offered,” said Randy Horn, president and CEO of Colonial Life, in a statement. “Employers th

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There are many ways to show your appreciation for great service.  As the President of LifeInsure.com, I have received lots of letters and emails complimenting our staff on the excellent service they provided.  Conversely, when a client receives service that is less than stellar, I am the first to hear of that, too (thankfully, this is a rare occurrence).

Here are a few from some of our clients:

• While there are many online vehicles through which one can research and acquire insurance, LifeInsure.com provides an easy, user friendly format, making the process simple and fool proof from the first step to the last. T

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