Speak with an experienced advisor! How Scuba Divers Avoid Overpaying and Get the Best Rates for Life Insurance
Despite maintaining excellent health and fitness levels, many recreational scuba divers often fall into a high-risk category when buying life insurance. If you enjoy scuba diving, we agree that you shouldn’t be forced to pay higher rates for life insurance simply because you choose to live your life to the fullest! The good news is that you really do not have to overpay. Following are some of the most important factors affecting life insurance prices if you scuba dive and ways to make sure you do not overpay.
The Most Important Factors Affecting Life Insurance Rates for Scuba Divers
If you scuba dive, the rate you will pay for life insurance will depend upon several factors including certifications held, overall experience, the depth you are diving and the type of scuba diving you participate in. See the scuba diving cheat sheet and the scuba diver questionnaire for more details.
Certifications
Most everyone who dives has taken the step of being certified by a nationally recognized scuba diving organization such as NASDS, NAUI, PADI, or SSI. Obviously, the more qualified that you are in terms of certifications, the better chance for receiving a lower rate for life insurance. With many insurance companies, if you are diving recreationally, you have to be a certified scuba diver before being considered for life insurance.
Experience
Along with being certified, your actual dive frequency tells the insurance company a lot about your competency as a diver. All companies will want to know how many dives have you have had in your career. What about in the last 12 months or the last 24 months? Life insurance providers want to see dive activity that is consistent and reasonable. For example, if you dive every year in the Caribbean and Mexico, that tells the insurance company that your dive patterns are consistent and they can get an accurate picture of the risk involved and therefore make a better offer for life insurance.
Depth of Your Dives
Of all of the factors listed here, the depth of your dives is the most important in determining your risk and therefore the actual rate you will pay for life insurance. Obviously, by general rule, the deeper you dive the more you will pay for life insurance. This is very important to know because you want to be completely honest about your diving activity but you definitely do not want to embellish how deep you dive (we find this happens all of the time).
Most life insurance companies feel comfortable providing scuba divers life insurance for recreational diving if they dive less than 75 feet. Since most recreational diving stays in the 30-40 foot depth range and includes a dive master, life insurance companies view this level as a less risky endeavor and generally offer the best rates.
Once you are consistently diving at depths below 75 feet up to 100 feet, the number of life insurance companies that will offer competitive prices reduces dramatically. There are however several companies that will consider you for preferred rates at these depths if you have the proper certifications and experience. The key to getting the best rates here is to have an agent that understands the marketplace and is willing to negotiate on your behalf.
As your diving becomes more advanced and you are consistently diving at depths below 100 feet, your options for getting life insurance coverage at preferred rates diminishes. In fact, there are only a few companies that will offer standard rates with most companies charging a significantly higher premium as your diving depth reaches 100-150 feet. Some life carriers will also simply add-on a flat extra charge or worse yet decline you all together. At these depths, it is important for you to be dealing with a professional life insurance broker to assure the best outcome in terms of rates.
Type of Diving
Life insurance companies also take into account the type of scuba diving you are doing. Whether you enjoy the beauty of reef diving in the open water or the thrill of discovery in wreck diving, you will need to clarify the types of dives you’ll be performing. If you are basically doing open water diving at reasonable depths and you are in excellent health, you can expect to get preferred or even the preferred best rates.
On the other hand, commercial diving, wreck diving, cave diving, ice diving and industrial type diving are considered more risky and will in most all cases require additional charges. If you fall into this category, dealing with an expert is paramount to getting the best life insurance policy.
How Do Scuba Divers Get The Best Rate For Life Insurance?
Assuming you are in excellent health and would otherwise qualify for the preferred best rate category, the level of your overall scuba diving activity will determine your actual life insurance rates. In every case, each insurance company will require you to complete a scuba diving questionnaire outlining your specific diving details.
As mentioned above, if you are a recreational shallow reef diver, you are positioned for lower rates with many life insurance companies. The deeper you are diving the more limited the marketplace becomes and the more important it is for you to work with a professional. To always assure the best possible rates given your level of activity, you should work with a scuba diving experienced life insurance agent who has access to many different policy options to find the best fit for your scuba diving experience and needs.
Summary
Whether you are an occasional recreational scuba diver or avid scuba diving enthusiast, life insurance companies care about your lifestyle and the level of risk associated with your hobbies and avocations. However, that doesn’t mean you should overpay for life insurance. At MEG Financial, we have worked with hundreds of people across the country that regularly enjoy scuba diving at all risk levels. Our experience is invaluable to you as we can quickly identify your circumstances, present your case to many life insurance companies and provide your top options from those companies. If you are a scuba diver and are considering life insurance, please call MEG today, toll free at (877) 583-3955 and we will do everything we can to help you.
Additional Resources for Scuba Divers
- Quick Scuba Diving Guide
- Sample Scuba Diving Questionnaire
- Instant Life Insurance Quote for Scuba Divers
