Most people only refer to climbing a mountain on a daily basis as a figure of speech. But you’re a brave soul who does it literally and you want to know how it pertains to life insurance. Well, depending on how you look at it, I may have some good news for you. Let’s talk about all the factors when it comes to getting life insurance as a mountain climber and mountaineer.
In summary, here is what you need to know about life insurance for mountain climbers:
- You can get coverage at Standard and at best, Preferred rates given all other factors are good.
- There is a possibility for a flat extra. This is a surcharge per thousand dollars of coverage. This is typical for any high risk occupation or hobby.
- Life insurance companies will weigh different factors to determine your rate and qualification. Those factors include:
- Type of climbing
- Frequency of climbs
- Difficulty grading and maximum altitude
- Location of climbs
- Training and experience of climber/support team
- Any solo climbing
- Any ice climbing
- Details of any accidents requiring treatment
- Fitness and existing medical conditions
- Alcohol or driving history
- Lifestyle/overall health
*You should always work with an independent life insurance agency that’s familiar with high risk occupations. Each company will weigh this risk differently so simply picking the lowest rate wont be your best option.
The good news is, you’re at the right place. We have insured many mountain climbers over the years and know exactly how to ensure the best possible outcome. We work with over 60 A-rated companies and do the shopping on your behalf at no extra cost to you! But if you insist on learning more, let’s get into detail of how the companies view this risk.
Mountain Climbing and Life Insurance Rates
The type of rate you qualify for isn’t just black and white when it comes to being a high risk client. As you could probably guess, life insurance companies don’t like risk, so they will be very detailed when reviewing your application. Before applying with a company, your agent should ask you very detailed questions regarding your mountain climbing and overall health. If they don’t, then you should move on to another agent because that’s a mark of inexperience. Some of the questions your agent should ask are:
- What type of climbing? (ice, snow, rock, cliff, or trail/trekking)
- Where does the climbing take place?
- What is the difficulty of the climb?
- How often do you climb?
- Is it a job or a hobby?
- What is your experience as a mountain climber?
- What is the terrain climbed?
- Past accidents?
- What is the highest altitude of past and future climbs?
Other than that your, agent will also want to know the typical life insurance questions, to get an overview of your overall condition outside of climbing. These questions include:
- Smoker?
- Any health conditions?
- Any prescriptions?
- Criminal history?
- History of alcohol or drug abuse?
All of this, in combination with details of your avocation will go into placing you in an appropriate health rate class. The health ratings start at Preferred plus, which is the best possible rate. Then it falls to Preferred, Standard Plus, Standard and Substandard. Each substandard class rating is a 25% increase in your premium and range from table 1 to table 10. This all may sounds confusing, so let’s talk about what you can expect.
Possible Outcomes
Because there are so many factors and so many different companies that weigh risk completely differently, there are many outcomes that are possible as a result. For the most part here is what you can expect.
Standard Plus to Preferred Rates are possible if:
- No significant health conditions
- No other dangerous avocations
- Clean history
- You participate in Trekking, bouldering, rappelling, and artificial wall climbing
- Under 10,000 feet
- Lower difficulty levels
If those details stay the same but over 10,000 feet, have higher difficulty or include ice climbing then you can expect a flat extra of $2.50 to $7.50 attached to your annual premium at Standard Plus to Preferred Rates. A flat extra is an extra charge that life insurance companies attach to your premium with added risk. This is the price anyone with a risky avocation pays. For example, if you want $100,000 of coverage and you were assigned a $3 flat extra, you would pay $300 dollars on top of your annual premium. This is due to flat extra being an X amount per thousand dollars of coverage. That’s the flat extra in a nutshell.
Standard to Substandard rates are possible if:
- Frequent climbs
- Search and rescue climbs
- Health conditions
- Other risky hobbies/occupation
The worst case scenario is a decline, which is possible if:
- You solo climb
- Climbs in the Himalayas, Everest, Mt. McKinley, Denali.
- Climbs over 23,000 feet
In the case of a decline some companies will offer an exclusion rider. This would provide your beneficiaries a death benefit payout for any cause of death OTHER than mountain climbing. Basically, it would cover you for all but death while mountain climbing.
Your Options
As you can see, this process can get pretty complicated and creates many different scenarios that only an experienced professional can navigate through successfully. So the best advice I can give, is let us do the shopping for you at no extra cost to you. Basically there will be one of 3 outcomes:
Approval with no flat extra – this is the most ideal scenario and we should just go a head and accept this policy.
Approval with a flat extra – sometimes this can get costly but it’s no excuse not too get coverage. A good option in this case is to get half of the coverage with the flat extra, and the other half with an exclusion rider. This way if you’re at least half way covered for your mountain climbing and 100% covered for any other cause of death without having to pay the entire flat extra. This can mean lot’s of savings if you’re on the high end of the flat extra rating.
Rate up to Decline – the other scenario is that you get rated up due to other factors or declined for being a highly dangerous mountain climber. If the rate up is health related then we can use the same exam to shop with other companies to find one that will insure your overall risk. If the decline is due to your avocation then we’ll have to add on a sports exclusion rider to get you life insurance coverage for all other aspects of life.
Start Here
Congratulations on getting through all that information. You’re either a highly dedicated reader or a life insurance agent trying to learn more, either way we’re glad you’re more informed. Usually I’d send you to the quoter on your right but in this case the quotes won’t mean much because the company with the lowest rate on the quoter, won’t be the one with the lowest rate for your risk. We’ve insured mountain climbers for years so give us a call and let’s talk about all the details of your mountain climbing efforts. The biggest advice I can give you is BE HONEST. The more details you give us the better we’ll be able to get you the best company, the best coverage, at the best rate, with the most favorable outcome.
Feel free to call us at 888-492-1967 or hit the chat button below with any questions. Welcome to InsureChance!
