Life Insurance and Snowmobiling...are you covered?

[Summitseeker]

I recently decided to increase the amount of life insurance I have and had to complete a questionaire which included the questions; Do you snowmobile? Do you ride dirt bikes? Then I got handed a seperate questionaire to do with each. Bottom line is......I can no longer "race" my dirt bike without paying a huge premium. I am fine with that but.....

The additional "snowmobile specific" questionaire had numerous questions including; "Do you highmark?" among many other back country questions.

Anyhow.....the base premium is reasonable but because I snowmobile in the mountains and due to the amount of avalanche deaths in BC over the past few years they want to charge me an additional premium because I smowmobile which is outrageously expensive. (more than my base policy premium) My only options are to pay this high additional premium or sign off on it that if I die while snowmobiling my family does not get paid.

I am wondering what other people on here do for life insurance? I would love to hear what others do?

 

[Boston Racing]

Mine made no mention. Maybe the laws are different in the US.

 

[backcountryislife]

ssssshhh!!!

Don't tell them that people sled in the states too! We just ride trails down here though, nobody does any of the himarkering or nuthin.

 

[xrated]

No idea.

Got mine when I started work, paid extra for extra which wasn't to much, paid some more for accidental death and dismemberment in addition to what work has. Don't recall what I pay but it isn't much.

Never had to fill out a form. As I understand it if I die, my wife gets paid, if I loose a leg we get paid, nothing that says if I die on my sled or bike I don't get paid. And if it's at work it is even more pay out.

 

[sledneck_03]

Mine didnt ask about snowmobiling exactly but it has extreme sports, you really have to watch what you say but mine states i go 1-3 times a year wear proper avalanche equipment. They stated that i might have to pay more or not be covered in the mountains, they havent contacted me on it but im hoping its ok or have to pay more. To have no insurance would suck.

 

[swrev]

If the policy you had wasn't expiring or getting a rate increase; keep it. For your additional coverage, you might try a different company. Each company varies quite a bit on how they underwrite various activities.

 

[1Fast68]

I work for a large company who is self insured. Everyone is given basic life and AD&D equivilent to 1 times their annual salary. I pay for extra of both at affordable rates (i'm young). Never had to fill out any paperwork regarding my hobbies.

Sadly my buddy worked for the same company, he died in a street bike accident 4 years ago, his beneficiary did get paid. So high risk activities apparently don't disqualify you.

So yes I'm covered for substantially more than I probably need considering I have no dependents or anything. But i think its the responsible thing to do to given my hobbies (drag racing and obviously snowmobiling).

 

[xrated]

I work for a large company who is self insured. Everyone is given basic life and AD&D equivilent to 1 times their annual salary. I pay for extra of both at affordable rates (i'm young). Never had to fill out any paperwork regarding my hobbies.

Sadly my buddy worked for the same company, he died in a street bike accident 4 years ago, his beneficiary did get paid. So high risk activities apparently don't disqualify you.

So yes I'm covered for substantially more than I probably need considering I have no dependents or anything. But i think its the responsible thing to do to given my hobbies (drag racing and obviously snowmobiling).

Sounds a lot like I have....though I should look into adding more since my wife and kids are dependent on me. They'd have enough to pay all the bills, but then what would they live on?

 

[Flange]

My policy asked about other extreme sports and I listed mountain sledding. I mentioned my AST 1 training and the safety gear that me and my riding group carry. No additional form was required and the policy went through. My agent made it pretty clear that if you don't disclose this info it gives the insurance company the opportunity to deny a claim. Not a position I wanted to put my family in.

 

[Jay]

My wife and I just renewed our policy, got the same seperate questionaire about sledding, filled it all out, 27 years experience, all the gear, courses, etc,etc. Flat out will not cover us if in any way snowmobiles are involved. Welcome to the new age of sledding. When I argued with my agent about this he said "well if these axxholes would quit killing themselves maybe you could get coverage" I'll remember that comment for a long time to come.

 

[xrated]

My wife and I just renewed our policy, got the same seperate questionaire about sledding, filled it all out, 27 years experience, all the gear, courses, etc,etc. Flat out will not cover us if in any way snowmobiles are involved. Welcome to the new age of sledding. When I argued with my agent about this he said "well if these axxholes would quit killing themselves maybe you could get coverage" I'll remember that comment for a long time to come.

I'd remember that comment all the way to a new agent.

 

[Summitseeker]

Thanks guys! I am going to keep my existing policy which is still good for a long time yet. I am also adding the additional policy, however the new policy has a 160% premium because I snowmobile in the mountains which is crazy!! I am still trying to negotiate with my wife about this one. Bottom line is if I sign the waiver and just take the basic policy my wife gets nothing if I get killed while sledding. I have also been riding for 32 years and carry all the safety equipment including an avy pack and have up to date avy training.

If I decide to pay this premium, Life Insurance will be by far the most expensive part of snowmobiling for me! Even more than gas and I ride a LOT!!!

 

[Tige]

Age/Hieght/Width?

"Holly crap Rod" - how old are you anyways? -32 years of riding!! - So how about consulting another insurance source. I do remember you telling me about this - That is totally crazy they would do that to you.
My insurance policy has a couple of clauses in it that pretains to extreme sports. After sitting down with my agent and going through it i basically letting him answer those types of questions - cause of course i said no i would'nt/never had and never will do any of the above. Pure recreation.
Lets get serious - the sports we choose are for pure enjoyment and health. We are'nt getting paid millions for that sort of fun...OK - well maybe some of you foke may? Proffesionals Etc.. Different conversation.
Of course just kidding on the non serious side of thread. Dont want to offend anyone.

Ryan

 

[IowaSnowCat]

I am an insurance agent for Farm Bureau Financial Services. We do not have "snowmobiling" as a question but racing is definately on the app here in Iowa.

My husband is 31 yrs old non smoker, no previous health problems with a $250,000 term policy, he pays $26 a month. Check with your local Farm Bureau Financial Services agent and see what they may be able to do for you.

If your from Iowa, South Dakota, or Minnesota... PM me and I will see what I can do

 

[Summitseeker]

"Holly crap Rod" - how old are you anyways? -32 years of riding!! - So how about consulting another insurance source. I do remember you telling me about this - That is totally crazy they would do that to you.
My insurance policy has a couple of clauses in it that pretains to extreme sports. After sitting down with my agent and going through it i basically letting him answer those types of questions - cause of course i said no i would'nt/never had and never will do any of the above. Pure recreation.
Lets get serious - the sports we choose are for pure enjoyment and health. We are'nt getting paid millions for that sort of fun...OK - well maybe some of you foke may? Proffesionals Etc.. Different conversation.
Of course just kidding on the non serious side of thread. Dont want to offend anyone.

Ryan

LOL! Yes....I AM old Ryan! I will be 44 this year but have a clean bill of health. I am actually using an insurance broker who represents many different insurance companies and he has told me no matter where I try in BC the same additional "high risk" premium will apply.

My wife gave up snowmobiling a few years ago and her premium is very low but because I participate in these "dangerous" activities my premium is outrageously expensive. The premium would be even higher if I continued to "race" my dirt bike. I can still ride my dirt bike as a leisurely activity but apparently snowmobiling in BC is not considered a leisurely activity because we have mountains and something called..."highmarking" which insurance companies only know from a word they hear on the news after someone gets killed in an avalanche.

Avalanche deaths directly related to snowmobiling in BC so far in 2011 is 8 and has averaged 16 over the past three years hence the reason this extra questionaire has come into play.

It is the same way as mortgage insurance....they "discretly" ask you if you participate in these types of activities in fine print. It is their way of finding a glitch not to pay your family if you die.

The ONLY reason I am looking into this was due to edition of 5th estate where families were not getting paid out when a death occured.

Iowasnowcat......I could only wish my premium was that much!! Wow!

I wonder if a Canadian can get life insurance in the US?!?!?! Doubt it!

 

[IowaSnowCat]

???? Wonder if I can get a Canadian Insurance license? lol ????

 

[Speeedracer]

I am a financial planner/agent and can write 6-10 companies........like any other health risk........some companies look at certain risks with a closer eye than other risks.........so some actuaries at specific companies think snowmobiling is a bigger risk and thus have more questions......others not so much. Key is finding a company that will write you based on your specific needs, goals, and objectives.

 

[EricW]

You can peace meal your insurance to get to your desired limit as well. A lot of times a policy $50,000 or under has no underwriting (correct me if this is wrong agents) and is just a cash n carry type product. Back when I was over 400 pounds and with diabetes and heart issues I had to get pretty creative to find life insurance. A small CD or Moneymarket at the local bank offers up to $50,000 in term life pretty cheap compared to the extreme sports rates. You can join various clubs and organizations for 10 -50 bucks and then get up to 25 or 50 K in life insurance with no questions asked. I had to have a lot of little side policies to get where I needed to be with the health issues I had but it can be done with a little creative internet searching. You might even find a book or two on the subject that explains it all in great detail (just guessing).

I've been a happy 225-230 pounds for a couple years now with great blood labs and no diabetes so I can shop the preferred markets. I have let a lot of those policies lapse. Things may have changed over the years, but it's worth a shot. Good luck. EW

 

[go high fast]

the questionnaire i had asked if i ride an Arctic Cat. I believe the purpose of the question is to screen for low IQ.

 

[EricW]

the questionnaire i had asked if i ride an Arctic Cat. I believe the purpose of the question is to screen for low IQ.

If you have an IQ low or otherwise that hasn't dropped a piston yet you are probably blessed by a higher power and don't need life insurance.......Wait a minute, I have 4 IQ's. How low is that? lol. EW

seriously, if you got that far on the form they already know you don't ride a Cat.