The paradox of life Insurance is that those who need it most often find it hard to obtain. If you fall in the category of life insurance for risky works, it will impact your life insurance application in 2 big ways:
You will either get declined.
Or, you will pay higher rates.
And, there is not always an Insurers’ Holy Book that determines which jobs are hazardous. The underwriter, the person in charge of approving your application and determining your rate, knows it all inside out.
You may be surprised to know that while you have always known your work to be naïve, the underwriter may have a different view. His scrutinizing eyes may view what your eyes do not catch sight of. If the underwriter catches you, you are going to end up paying penalty by paying bigger premiums for your life insurance.
Here is a list of 15 works considered hazardous by life insurers:
Logging Workers –1
If you are a logger, you belong to one of the most dangerous works in the USA. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) logging is majorly responsible for fatal and non-fatal incidents in the country. Dangers spring up not only from the use of machines like chainsaws, seesaws or harvesters but also from the remote and risky locations you work in. Log transportation can also be dangerous. In contrast with a typical job, it is 38% riskier and the fatality rate in 2016 was 135.9 per 100,000 workers. In 2016, most of the 991 fatal and non-fatal injuries were caused by strike by objects.
As a matter of course, you will be placed in the category of life insurance for risky works and your rate will be higher than that a typical worker’s.
Commercial Fishing –2
Offshore fishing was another largest cause of occupational deaths in the USA in 2016. Records of the deaths of 86 people per 100,000 can be a cause for you to be placed in the category of life insurance for risky works.
The dangers that inherently relate to offshore fishing are easy to guess. You remain vulnerable to risks from foul weather phenomena like storms, cyclones or sea-quakes or floods. On top of these, insurers consider your staying out in the areas without medical facilities to be a fearsome cause for them to end up paying death benefits to your beneficiaries.
On-flight Aviation Jobs –3
Although Dutch aviation consulting firm To70 and Aviation Safety Network report that there was not a single death from commercial flights in 2017, a pilot’s job still remains to be yet another most dangerous job in the USA. Fatality rate per 100,000 in this occupation is 53.4 and the first cause of dangers is human error. This is why an on-flight aviation job falls in the category for life insurance for risky works.
Garbage Collectors –4
Apparently un-assumable, people who collect garbage or recycle materials stand next to the roofers in terms of occupational risks. While transportation was responsible for 67.7% of the deaths, 29% met accidents by strikes from cars on roads. Besides, garbage collectors easily come in contact with disposals which often contain dangerous and poisonous materials.
The rate of injuries per 100,000 in 2016 was 34.1. Thirty-one of the incidents were fatal while 6,170 were non-fatal which make trash collection the 5th riskiest occupation in the country.
Construction Workers –5
Construction workers who deal with structural iron or steels works do dangerous jobs. Their works involve risks of fall, slip or trip from heights and getting struck by objects. The last named was the major reason in 2016 behind nearly 1,450 fatal and non-fatal accidents.
So, an underwriter is likely to view you as an applicant for life insurance for dangerous jobs if you are a construction worker. This will raise your rate for the policy you want to buy.
Sales Workers –6
Why a sales-worker?
Well, have you forgotten Willy Loman of Death of a Salesman?
Yes, a salesman’s job is a high-pitch, challenging work. It often creates not only mental stress but also consumes huge physical energies. Having heart attacks or elevated blood pressure is commonly associated with this profession. The longevity of salesmen is often lower than those of the office workers’.
But there is nothing to worry about (unless you have other issues) if you are not in the delivery section. If you are, the underwriter may place you in the high-risk profession group.
Professional Drivers –7
Drivers, especially who drive trucks, fall in the life insurance for risky works. Also, taxi-drivers and chauffeurs are grouped in the life insurance for hazardous jobs. Truck driving left records of 918 fatal accidents and 80,180 non-fatal incidents in 2016. The two main causes behind the incidents were over-exertion and physical reaction. On the other hand, taxi-cab drivers and chauffeurs had 60 fatal accidents while non-fatal accidents totaled 2,730.
So, as a professional driver you are going to be classified into the high risk job group.
Maintenance and Repair Workers and Mechanics –8
Records of high fatalities make the works of maintenance workers and repairmen be grouped in the life insurance for hazardous jobs. The rate was 13.4 per 100,000 and there were reports of 27,900 non-fatal injuries while 75 fatal injuries. Shocks, falls, cuts and bruises are common mishaps to these works. As a result, the following workers will come under life insurance for risky works file:
Plumbers
Electricians
Air-condition repairmen
Floor repairmen
Carpenters
Roofers
Painters
Construction Engineers, Groundkeepers and Equipment Operators –9
In every 100,000, 11 engineers and equipment operators died by accidents in the construction fields in 2016 and the rate was 10.6. There were records of 4,750 non-fatal and 39 fatal injuries in total.
Similarly, groundkeepers do a vulnerable job. Onsite managers are not in the safety zone either. There were 30 fatal and 1320 non-fatal injuries in the USA in 2016. Risks being involved, your life insurance rate is likely to go up.
Underground Miners –10
Mining used to a highly dangerous occupation. Wikipedia says, “Annual mining deaths had numbered more than 1,000 a year during the early part of the 20th century, they decreased to an average of about 500 during the late 1950s, and to 93 during the 1990s. In addition to deaths, many thousands more are injured (an average of 21,351 injuries per year between 1991 and 1999), but overall there has been a downward trend of deaths and injuries.”
In 2017, Mine Safety and Health Organization (MSHO) says, there were 16 fatal accidents in metal and non-metal sectors while a total of 8 mishaps were reported in the coal sector.
Oil rigging is also a highly vulnerable sector. Its employees could bear high life insurance rates.
Agricultural Workers and Farmers –11
You may have till now considered agricultural activities to be risk-free. But Department of Labor Statistics finds agricultural works to be one of the top 10 civilian occupations with high fatality rates. Use of tools and tractors makes it a dangerous occupation. In 2016, 17.4 agricultural workers per 100,000 fell a victim to fatal injuries. There were 156 fatal injuries while 12,710 non-fatal incidents that year.
On the other hand, agricultural managers like ranchers, farmers and the like were victims to both fatal and non-fatal injuries. 23.1 of per 100,000 victims had fatal injuries and 44% of the incidents occurred from motorized vehicles.
So, however plain agricultural activities may seem, an underwriter will keep a farmer in the life insurance for risky works category.
Special Unit Policemen –12
There were reports of 108 fatal and 28,740 non-fatal injuries in the field of police activities. Most of the injuries came from other persons and as many as 108 police and sheriff’s men had on-duty attacks resulting in deaths in 2016. A life insurance underwriter will categorize you as an applicant for life insurance for dangerous jobs if you belong to this profession.
Construction Labors –13
15.1 deaths per 100,000 factually make construction laboring yet another most dangerous jobs in the USA. There were 254 deaths in 2016. According to statistics, 24,650 non-fatal injuries and 254 fatal injuries from falls and slips make it highly hazardous. Life insurance companies are to charge high rates when you apply for a policy.
Telecommunication Line Workers –14
Telecommunication line installers and repairmen also fall in the list of most dangerous workers in the USA. In 2016, 12.1 per 100,000 of tele-installers and repairers had on-the-job deaths. Consequently, if you are in the job, life insurers will categorize you among applicants of life insurance for risky works.
Firefighter’s Jobs –15
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) says the average number of annual on-duty deaths over the decade was 79 and there were 69 deaths in 2016. Although the latest estimate includes reasons not related to direct firefighting activities, the profession remains to be a dangerous one. Dangers include burns, bruises or drowning .
As a result, a firefighter will pay higher rates than a typical worker.
Possibility of Decline
As we have already mentioned, life insurance rates for hazardous works will typically go higher than that of typical workers’. While the chances of decline are not very fat, insurers will double-check your insurability.
Alongside having a look at all the criteria that is common to life insurance sign-up, insurers will have an additional look-through or will lay extra-importance on 4 traditional focus points like your age, health, income and special habits (like smoking or alcohol).
They will also typically doublecheck the risks associated with the job and unless the averages of all criteria boil down in your favor, you are likely to get a decline.
How to Buy Your Policy
Typically, most companies will overrate the premiums when you belong to a dangerous professional class. They will impose an extra flat rate of $2.5 to $5 on a per thousand basis coverage. Consequently, your life insurance rate will be pretty high.
You can still find comparatively inexpensive life insurance policy for yourself if you follow the following tips:
Don’t Wait Too Long
When you have dependents on you who might suffer in the event of you passing away, you need life insurance. And, you should purchase it long before it goes beyond your purchasing capacities. It is wise for you to know that life insurance rates canonically go higher with age. So, wasting time is what you should avoid.
Get Help
As there are possibilities of your life insurance for risky jobs going high, you should be looking for every possible way to get it at lower rates. It works in your favor that life insurance rates are company-specific. This makes the same product from a different company less or more expensive.
There are two ways you can find out which life insurance company will offer you the best rates. You can take help from professionals as well as non-professional people.
Life insurance brokers or agents can be of much help for you. Talking to one of them can be part of your investment. But beware that you talk only to an independent agent or a brokerage affiliated to multiple life carriers. They know about the cheapest life insurance companies and can guide you through in getting the best policy.
Also, you can ask your circles to help you find the best rates for you. As some or many of them may have already purchased their policies, they can share their first-hand knowledge with you. But, they are unlikely to be as valuable as from those in the business.
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The post You May Fall in the Life Insurance for Risky Works Category! appeared first on Life Insurance Mentors.
