In the Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes famously referred to the natural state of mankind as being “poor, nasty, brutish and short”, and so he would no doubt have approved of people in Nevada seeking out Nevada Life Insurance Quotes to compensate for the natural failings of man :-)
Regardless of what a 17th century philosopher would have made of life insurance though, the fact remains that it is something that ALL of us MUST consider in the present day and age, because it is our duty to protect our families, and those we love from financial problems in the event that our lives are rather ‘shorter” then we might like.
In order to do that effectively, and if you are a resident of Nevada looking to get some life cover, it is essential that you consider the specifics of life insurance in Nevada, because the companies are different from State to State, and each state has its own set of insurance regulations which vary, and may alter the type of cover that you are able to get.
In this article I am going to discuss Nevada Life Insurance (if you are in a different state then take a look at YOUR state by clicking on the links over there on the right), and what Nevada residents should be aware of BEFORE they buy life insurance.
(If you would like to get a Nevada Life Insurance Quote right now, then simply put your zip code in the box above, hit ‘Start’, and then click on one of the special selection of Nevada Life Insurance Companies that we have chosen for you to get more details.)
First, let’s get a little background on Nevada so we can start to get a feel for the state.
Nevada – A Little Background…
Nevada is one of the largest states in the Union in terms of land area (7th), covering a massive area of some 110,561 square meters (322 miles wide by 492 miles long). But has a relatively small population of 2,700,551 in 2010, which ranks it as the 35th biggest state by population.
Hence there are vast distances without many people. In fact, Nevada is among the ten states that have the lowest population density, with just 24.6 people per square mile, compared to somewhere like Rhode Island for example which has over a thousand (1,018).
This is further exacerbated by the recent movement away from small towns and into big cities in the United States, with the Las Vegas Metropolitan area having an estimated 1,951,269 of those people, and hence in reality large swathes of Nevada are virtually devoid of any people.
The Capital City of Nevada is Carson City which had a population of 55,274 in the 2010 Census.
The population of Nevada has ironically shown one of the biggest growth spurts of ANY of the Sates, with a massive population growth of some 35.1% between 2000 (1,998,257) and 2010 (2,700,551), but many of the smaller counties in Nevada such as Mineral County, Lander County and Esmerelda County have actually shown DECREASING populations during that same time as the drift to the larger cities has gathered pace.
The first such population boom came in 1859 when silver was found in massive quantities (hence the state’s official nickname of ‘The Silver State’), and mining is still extremely important to Nevada right up to the present day, with Nevada being the 4th biggest producer of gold in the world (The top three are: 1/ China, 2/ South Africa, 3/ Australia) according to the Nevada Mining Association, and accounting for 79% of US Gold Production in 2009.
Nevada is also the ONLY state where there are licensed brothels, and hence in some places in the State prostitution is legal. (Though NOT in Las Vegas which is a part of Clark County where it has specifically been declared illegal.)
These days though Nevada is probably best known for being a gamblers paradise, and Las Vegas and other resorts attract visitors from around the world, with more hotel rooms per capita than anywhere else in the world, and since gambling was legalised in the state on March 19th 1931, it has gone on to become Nevada’s biggest source of revenue.
Nevada had a GDP of $127.5 billion in 2010, and an average household income of $53,341 which puts it slightly above the national average of $50,221 in 2010.
The recent downturn in the economy has hit Nevada harder than any other state though, with March 2011 unemployment at 14.2% being the highest of all the states, and considerably higher than the national average of 8.9%.
Nevada Life Insurance – The Facts…
Despite its well-deserved reputation as a gamblers mecca and a mining powerhouse, Nevada still has an extremely competitive insurance sector.
If you consider the sad fact that the divorce rates and suicide rates in Nevada’s biggest city, Las Vegas, are amongst the highest in the whole country, and that a study has shown that residents of Las Vegas are 40% less likely to commit suicide if they LEAVE Las Vegas; then it is perhaps not surprising that protecting their families future is important to residents of Nevada.
There are 461 Nevada Life Insurance Companies who are licensed to sell life insurance in Nevada, only one of which is actually domiciled in the state, which is a little surprising as Nevada has one of the friendliest business incorporation environments of any of the states.
But regardless, the Nevada Life Insurance Sector supports 4,000 jobs directly, and a further 3,000 non-insurance jobs through financing, mortgages and loans.
The residents of Nevada have over $170 billion in death benefit cover, and 660,000 individual Nevada Life Insurance Policies with an average of $180,000 worth of cover per policyholder, which is among the highest amounts of ANY of the states (Mississippi for example has an average of just a third of that at $60,000 of Mississippi Life Insurance cover per policyholder), according to the American Council of Life Insurers.
Nevada Group Life Insurance cover adds a further $55 billion to the life insurance pot, and the amount of individual Nevada Life Insurance purchased in 2009 amounted to $15 billion.
All of those figures are relating to how much Nevadans paid out, but the amounts that they received back in the way of policy dividends, maturing endowments, surrender values and other payments from life insurance companies in Nevada was $2 billion in 2009, and annuity benefits of $430 million, so there was a considerable influx of cash from the industry.
This fact is further re-enforced when you realise that approximately $35 billion worth of the Nevada Life Insurance Companies assets are invested in Nevada, mainly through stocks and bonds, but also through property investment, mortgages and farm loans.
That is a look at the Nevada Life Insurance Industry from a whole economy perspective, now let’s take a look at the top five things you should do before buying life insurance in Nevada from a consumers point of view.
The Top Five Things You Should Do When Buying Nevada Life Insurance…
1/ Check to see if the Life Insurance Company is actually licensed to sell life insurance in Nevada.
This may sound like scare-mongering, but the reality is that it is far more common than you might think (especially with health insurance, though life insurance is not immune to scams) to have companies or individual life insurance agents that are NOT actively licensed trying to sell insurance in a state.
This is important because it means that you immediately have consumer protection laws on your side, and the chances of you losing money are dramatically reduced.
You can check online here for insurance companies that ARE registered to sell life insurance in Nevada:
2/ Ask friends, family and people you trust if they have experience with the company and check online to see if people have complained about them in the past.
It is useful to take on board the advice of people you trust when it comes to getting life insurance. You will have this policy for (hopefully!) many years, and so checking whether people have had problems in the past is useful information to know ahead of time.
You can find out how many people complained about a particular insurance company here:
Honestly, complaints about life insurance policies tend to be in the minority, as health and auto insurance are much bigger sources of irritation for consumers (70% of the complaints about insurance policies in the United States are health insurance or auto insurance related).
But nevertheless, it is worth checking.
If you have a complaint about any type of insurance that you purchased in Nevada then you can complain to the Nevada State Division of Insurance here:
You can also phone up the Nevada Division of Insurance Monday to Friday on (888) 872-3234 for help and information.
3/ Confirm that you are being sold a Nevada State Licensed Insurance Product
Again, more than likely, you won’t have any problems. But it is better to be safe than sorry, so you can check directly with the Nevada Division of Insurance that your life insurance is properly licensed.
Their toll free number is above.
You can also contact them Monday to Friday at their insurance offices here:
Carson City Office:
Phone: (775) 687-0700
Fax: (775) 687-0787
1818 E. College Pkwy., Suite 103
Carson City, NV 89706
Las Vegas Office:
Phone: (702) 486-4009
Fax: (702) 486-4007
2501 East Sahara Ave., Suite 302
Las Vegas, NV 89104
4/ Make sure that any insurance agent you use or Nevada Life Insurance Company are genuine BEFORE paying any money
In a way this is a re-enforcement of the above points.
You have FAR more leverage BEFORE you pay the money for any policy, so do all your due diligence up front, and you can save yourself an enormous amount of hassle.
You should get a receipt for any purchases and pay with a credit card where there is an electronic trail, rather than with cash.
The receipt you get should include details such as the date you made the payment, amount of cover, name of insurance agent, name of your insurance company and your policy number.
5/ Read Your Policy When You Get It Again!
In Nevada you typically have up to thirty days after you have taken out the policy to cancel it, and not face any penalties.
The statutory minimum is 10 days to have a 'Free Look' and cancel the policy, without penalty, if you so choose. But some life companies do allow up to 30 days (which is the statutory maximum amount).
So even after you have got a selection of Nevada Life Insurance Quotes and bought your Nevada Life Insurance, it still isn’t too late to change your mind and get a new policy.
Obviously this would be a last resort, as potentially there is a lot of hassle involved both from having to cancel that policy, direct debit payments etc. And also in getting a new Nevada life insurance policy sorted out, but nevertheless, a little hassle now, is a lot better than a whole heap of hassle for your family in the future.
So read the policy document through again carefully when you get it, and anything that you don’t understand, or which you aren’t clear about, be sure to give the company a call to clarify.
Nevada Life Insurance – The Detail…
In terms of the legal framework and legislation that surrounds life insurance in Nevada, this is codified in The State Insurance Code of Nevada.
If you scroll down on that page then the Nevada Insurance Code is ‘Title 57 – Insurance’ (it starts at Chapter 679A on that page).
These are quite dense legal documents, and hence are not light, bedtime reading. But they are the basis on which any complaint that you submit, or regulatory question you ask of the Nevada Insurance Department will be answered, and hence it is worth at least knowing where to find them if you do have a question and want to dig a little deeper.
Nevada Life Insurance Resources
Nevada Division of Insurance
It is the Nevada Division of Insurance (also known as the Nevada Insurance Department) which oversees the regulation of insurance in Nevada.
You will see that there site is split between five sections;
To take account of the different functions that the department performs, from protecting customers to regulating insurance companies in Nevada, and making sure that any Insurance Agents are properly licensed and qualified to sell life insurance.
It is the consumer division that you likely will find most useful here:
(I have already posted the telephone number and address details above)
Nevada Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association
In the event of there being a Nevada Life Insurance Company becoming insolvent, then it is the Nevada Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association who are tasked with the responsibility of protecting Nevada policyholders.
