If I went to get life insurance today and a truck hit me tomorrow, would they pay? -

Is there some (for lack of better terms) deadband, like with rewriting your will, or buying an extended warrentee for your car? Or would the spouse collect even if the ink was still wet? If there are a lot of different ones, which ones would have the shortest delay after signing. Don't get preachy on me or anything, I'm just a Gen X'er and I don't like taking risks or waiting for anything. With most life insurance companies upon signing the application and submitting the initial required premium you are issued a "conditional receipt" meaning that you are covered even though the ink is wet "if" you would have been approved anyway. In other words if you had recently been diagnosed with late stage cancer and failed to disclose this on the application, they would have discovered this during their normal underwriting process and your policy would have been declined--therefore if you had a fatal accident prior to completion of the underwriting, the claim for benefits from your family will be denied and all premium amounts paid will be refunded to your estate. If you were to be involved in a fatal accident and your policy would have otherwise been issued (you have no health, mental impairments or other lifestyle issues that would have resulted in the policy being declined), then the insurance company has to pay your beneficiary under the provisions of the conditional receipt. Basically if you die during the period prior to issuance delivery of your policy, the insurance company will do an exhaustive investigation prior to paying the claim. As an agent for the insurance company even after the initial underwriting has been completed and the policy issued, I am charged with delivering that policy to you and ascertaining during delivery that there has not been a material change in your situation, i.e. if I call your house to set up an appointment with you for delivery and I discover that you are in the hospital after just having suffered a heart attack, I am not supposed to deliver that policy to you but confer with the insurance company and at that point they can withdraw their offer of coverage. In addition to these provisions the first two years after the policy has been issued, the insurance company can still deny payment of a claim, i.e. if you commit suicide for the first two years or if you made a material misrepresentation on the application (i.e. you had not yet been diagnosed with end stage cancer but you had all the symptoms and you knew you were ill at the time of the application). If the insurance company denies the claim, they do have to return all the premium you paid during that period to your estate. After two years the policy becomes incontestable no matter how or why you die, even if you had cancer and failed to disclose it or committed suicide so as long as the policy is in force the insurance company has to pay the face amount to your beneficiary. The only exception would be if your beneficiary murdered you then the policy would be paid to your contingent beneficiary if you named one or to your estate if you did not name a contingent beneficiary. BTW if you do have a medical condition (declared on the application) such as cancer even if has been in remission for the past 3 years, the agent is not allowed to collect a premium or issue a conditional receipt. Under this type of scenario the application is submitted to the company and they will underwrite and decide if they want to make you an offer of coverage, rates, etc. Coverage then would begin only if you accept their offer and pay the initial premium. Or the insurance company can decline to write the policy and you can submit an application to another company that deals with higher risk cases. Good Luck Yes, the insurance would pay out, assuming that you didn't commit suicide by intentionally running out in front of said truck. Of course, the truck would also have to kill you for anyone to collect. Actually, you can decide to have life insurance today, and have it in place today - If you want it. You don't have to wait, and you don't have to take any risks. There are life insurance offers online that provide you with Instant Approval for term life insurance with no medical exam. That means your full-coverage may begin starting today, if you qualify. You answer a few simple health-related questions and they let you know within minutes if you qualify for coverage. Then if you qualify, you can pay your first month's premium online using your credit card. In fact, you may be able to start your life insurance coverage today. The coverage is offered through an insurance company rated "A+" by AM Best for financial strength, and there is a 30 day free-look period, that works like a money-back guarantee. To learn more and get started right now, visit http://www.term-life-online.com/apply-fo... I hope that helps! Bets of luck. If you are healthy, you may be able to start your coverage today. the second you hand them the money and signed the papers your covered If you saw an agent, signed the paperwork, paid the premium-usually one month, and the agent issued you a Conditional Receipt; then, yes you would be covered in the above referrenced idea. You want to look for a company that is well rated by Moody's, Standard and Poors, A MBest. This makes sure that the company can pay if there were a lot of people who died. Make sure the agent also looks at your complete financial life to be sure you have the correct coverage and for the correct length of time. You may not even need insurance, the agent will be able to reccomend the best for you if he/she has completed a full financial check up for you Yes. And it has happened. The thinking is,who would be able to forsesee they would be run over by a truck?? the life insurance company would find a way of not paying out. well from what i understand is that you are covered from the policy start date if that was to be today then yes you would be covered. just be careful when crossing the highway Babs. Life insurance isn't like car insurance. You can't "decide" to get it today, and have it in place tomorrow. It can take up to a month or longer, to get the coverage in force. Once coverage goes into effect, it's in effect. Sorry, some things you HAVE to wait for. It's not a "mandated" waiting period - first you fill out the application, then they schedule the paramed exam, then you have the exam and wait for the test results to come back, then the insurance company looks at the test results and either gives you rates, or declines to write you, or asks to contact your doctor for further information. Then you get the opportunity to write the check. When you get the life insurance, ask the agent when it becomes effective. ps. if you're planning an "accident" you blew it when you put your question on here