Life Insurance is driving the cost of all others ... especially Health Insurance

[thunder rising]

The Greatest Generation begat the Greatest Flatulation. Spoiled, self centered, paranoid and now old and dying. And that large segment of dying people all have paid up and/or fixed price LIFE INSURANCE.

There are two things to consider. This is the reason a private insurance company cannot compete with a government program. The government program is not covering for life insurance losses.

And while you are all out there picking up your own life insurance policies remember the great equalizer ... inflation ... private insurance is a loosing game.

At first life insurance was a way to spread risk, but the industry now is just a ponzi scheme. They need inflation and an ever growing population sample to keep the wheels greased. That's the definition of a Ponzi scheme and that's why Health Insurance is so expensive.

[Oregone]

1. ?

[Cronus Protagonist]

2. LIfe insurance is not handled by the same companies as health insurance

At least as far as I know, since I can afford neither right now, but I did work in health insurance and I know that company did not handle both types, and therefore it has no losses due to life insurance. And there's tons of money to be made in life insurance. People tend to live longer and longer, especially the ones who have access to health care, so the premiums just keep coming in. I'm pretty sure this is the norm.

[AllentownJake]

4. 15 years ago Life Insurance and Health Insurance were tied together

During the 1990s the Insurance Industry became specialized.

CIGNA and AETNA and all the other big Health Insurance Companies that were for profit (i.e non-Blue Cross/Blue Shield) had considerable Life Insurance and Annuities operations.

The CIGNA's and AETNA's of the world sold their life insurance operation to pay for buying the health insurance books of business from other Insurance Companies.

When GLB came into being in the Life Insurance Industry became married to the Securities Industry.

[parley]

3. hi

hi..the post is good

[JVS]

13. Welcome to DU

[RB TexLa]

5. Life insurance losses? What numbers are you looking at? That generation has greatly expanded their

life spans from the rates they paid, they have created a lot in mortality profits.

[AllentownJake]

7. Actually there are substantial losses in the Life Insurance Industry right now

It has nothing to do with mortality, it has to do with investments. The insurance companies make a profit by taking those premiums and investing them. Its not a healthy investment environment right now.

They also issued Variable Universal Life and Variable Annuity policies that have a minimum guaranteed payout despite what the investments below them say they are worth. These products are killing them.

Met Life, Lincoln National, and the Hartford all got bailout money. The all went out and bought small banks to do it.

Isn't that special.

[dkf]

10. That happened recently.

I hear the annuity side is having problems because they use index puts, but its harder to get the longer dated ones now.

[Swede]

14. Some Insurance companies sell only term.

They are doing ok.

[AllentownJake]

17. Term is considered a low margin product

Its viewed as a commodity by the Insurance companies.

[Swede]

22. And yet the companies that stuck with it are doing fine.

The ones heavily leaveraged are in deep doo doo.

[AllentownJake]

6. Not really true

15-20 years ago, Health Insurance, Property and Casualty, and Life and Annuity Insurance and Reinsurance were all run by the same companies. This is all the for-profit companies. The Blues have always been a Health Insurance only company.

Since that time the Insurance Companies began a process of specialization. The Life and Annuity companies that exist now generally sold all their Health related insurance and the Health Insurance companies sold all their Life relate insurance books of business.

What you have now is mainly Life and Annuity Companies that have merged or have created Security firms or banks with themselves and sell their products as investments. The merger with securities firms and banks started in 1999. The Life Insurance Industry is heavily tied to the financial services industry and they are hurting big time right now. Met Life, The Hartford, and Lincoln National all applied for and got bailout money.

Property and Casualty Insurance stands alone but there are a few exceptions, The Hartford still markets property insurance and life products.

Health Insurance is generally stand alone and generally the Health Insurance Companies have no connection to their Life Insurance or Property Insurance pasts.

[pnwmom]

8. This is just age-based hate mongering. n/t

[area51]

9. Yep.

"Spoiled, self centered, paranoid and now old and dying."

Gee, why don't they hurry up and die anyway? /sarcasm :eyes:

[WillowTree]

11. For some reason, everyone thinks they're authorities...

....about insurance and insurance companies and how it all works (or doesn't, as the case may be).

Most are wrong.

[AllentownJake]

18. I know a little

I worked for an Insurance/Investment firm for 5 years.

[WillowTree]

19. That, or something along those lines, was apparent.

It wasn't you I was referring to.

[BlooInBloo]

12. That's just dumb.

[Occam Bandage]

15. You have yet to explain a link between health insurance and life insurance. nt

[AllentownJake]

21. There is none

There hasn't been for 15 years.

[Statistical]

16. You are clueless.

Life insurance doesn't spread risk. Here is a hint: everyone dies eventually.

If you knew when you were going to die absolutely you could simply save for your death.

i.e. if I know 100% absolutely I will die at 74 years of age and I want to leave 500,000 for my family I could calculate how much to save and collect a lifetime of COMPOUNDED INTEREST.

A life insurance companies doesn't care when an individual person dies.
They simply know the average and thus how much premium to collect.

Some policies pay out more than they collect in premiums
Some policies pay out less than they collect in premiums

In the long run (millions of people over a lifetime) life insurance covers the payout, overhead, and takes a cut as profit.

[AllentownJake]

20. They make their money off of the investment of the premiums

People get their return, well not really people but their heirs, on the favorable tax treatment of the premiums.

Believe me the Life Insurance Industry is hoping for a return of the Estate Tax.

[Cleita]

23. Life insurance is a bonanza for insurance companies.

Hardly anyone will ever collect a fraction of what they pay into it over a lifetime. It's actually better to put life insurance premiums in a savings account and don't touch it. There will be much more money when you die than life insurance will pay your heirs. It has nothing to do with health insurance, which is a scheme to collect premiums without paying much out in health care. It's designed to scare you into paying them "just in case" you get a costly debilitating disease. Of course, losing your job, if that's where you get it, will cause you to lose your insurance (even with COBRA most people can't afford the premiums). When you try to get another insurance, you will be denied for a preexisting condition or be charged so much in premiums, it will be unaffordable to most.

[AllentownJake]

24. Life Insurance has its uses

My father left my mother a pretty sizable amount of money from his insurance policies when he died of Pancreatic cancer.

He died young but it helped my Mother pay of any debts, the house, and do some repairs on the house that had been put off for years.

One of those policies was one his company purchased for him and he took over paying premiums for after he retired.

Of all the insurance out there, Life Insurance is pretty much the most tame on the evil capitalist scale. Its also probably the best regulated financial planning product in the country.