Tips on Purchasing Life Insurance in Washington

It’s amazing how some companies simply won’t sell life insurance in the state of Washington.

No Fidelity in Washington!

Take Fidelity Life Association, for example.  Fidelity is an enormous, A rated, legitimate carrier who does business in 43 states, but not Washington.  Their graded death benefit policy is insanely popular for people with high risk medical conditions, but you can’t get it in WA.

I’ve read many times that two possible explanations for this are:

1. Life expectancy is lower in Washington.  With the constant rain and gloom, it’s known as the capitol for depression and general unhappiness.  Can that have an effect on life expectancy?  You bet, particularly if you take meds.
2. Suicide Rate – I’ve also read the suicide rate is the highest in the nation in WA.  Since life insurance companies have to pay out for suicides after 2 years, it’s too much of a gamble to be offering products there.

Still, almost all of the big life insurance carriers are offering their normal product line in Washington, including Prudential, Genworth, ING, Transamerica, and Banner.

Issue Ages May Change

The big difference you’ll see is that the issue ages may actually be different in WA.

For example, if you go to purchase a 10 year term policy from Banner Life Insurance in WA, you can purchase it from age 20 up to a max issue age of 80 in every state except WA, where the maximum issue age is 70, a full 10 years less.  So a 72 year old can’t get a 10 year term policy from Banner in WA.

Tips for Purchasing Life Insurance in Washington

If you’re looking to buy life insurance in WA, I suggest you find an independent agent who can select from working with many companies, and knows which companies will treat you the fairest based on your health and offer the product for your particular needs.

If you are desperate for a policy that may not be available in your state, you can always wait to go on vacation in another state, and you might be able to apply for coverage while you are there.