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Gay Life Insurance

Written by Aaron Pinkston, Fri, Jan 15 2010

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Shopping for life insurance quotes can be extra stressful if you are gay and don’t know how agents will react to you. You’re not even sure if being gay affects the life quotes you see or your need for life insurance. Stay tuned for the skinny on life insurance for the LGBT community.

There is no question about being gay

The first thing to keep in mind is that in the US and Canada, there is no “gay” question on a life insurance application. It simply is not there.

Life insurers can and usually will ask a whole host of other questions about you and your lifestyle – everything from hang gliding and boxing to migraines and cholesterol. But there are no questions about sexual orientation.

Gay life insurance is the same

Really, there is no thing called “gay life insurance.” It is all the same. Homosexual, bisexual, and transgender folks need life insurance for the same reason straight people do. LGBT people have families, depend on each others’ income, need to cover shared debts like a mortgage, want to leave a legacy to charities, and plan for their estate. The need for life insurance is universal, and the same life insurance policies cover us all.

Insurable interest is the name of the game

The only hurdle you might face while getting your life policy is something called “insurable interest.” For most life insurance companies, this does not even come up. Even though many of them are very conservative, they are still in the business of doing business. Not allowing someone to choose the beneficiary of their choosing doesn’t make much sense.

Still a few companies have very strict guidelines that are inflexible. They take the position that insurable interest, the reason you would take out a life insurance policy, does not extend beyond legally married couples, parents, children, trusts, and business partners.

This is not just a problem for LGBT couples who cannot legally get married, but also for straight couples who choose not to get married. There are two ways around this strict and unrealistic definition if you ever encounter it:

  1. Name your parents, children, or siblings as beneficiary while you apply for the policy. Once you have the policy, submit a change of beneficiary form to honor your partner. This form is easy to fill out and takes effect the day the insurance company receives it.
  2. See a lawyer about creating a trust. Name the beneficiary of your life policy as the trust and use the trust to divide your wealth how you see fit. This could be a revocable or irrevocable trust, depending on your needs.

Money and respect

In the end, like many businesses, money is the great equalizer. As times and our society slowly change, businesses begin to reflect that changing ethos. I have witnessed life insurance agents’ opinions change because of the people they serve. Nothing will convince you that we are all unique than a few hard years working in the life insurance industry.

Go ahead and get life insurance to protect the ones you love. Stop worrying about running into problems getting a policy just because you are gay. Life insurance quotes can be easy to get and reliable, regardless of your sexual orientation. Start your custom quotes today.