It’s no secret: the people who need insurance the most usually can’t get it.

There are many reasons for insurance underwriters to just say no: the applicant is too old, too short for their weight, has a poor personal or family health history, a criminal background, exotic travel, a passion for dangerous sports, etc.

It isn’t discrimination, just sensible business practice for the insurance companies who would obviously prefer to insure very healthy people in excellent shape with perfect genes who are least likely to get sick. They get to choose their risks, knowing they will lose money if they pay out too many claims.

It is my frequent pleasure to get insurance coverage for people who have been turned down by several insurance companies and come to me for help.

A few recent cases illustrate my point:

An advisor at Edward Jones contacted me about trouble getting critical illness insurance for a 53 year old client.  After six months of underwriting I got her a policy with a rating and breast cancer exclusion due to family history.  I convinced her to take it because of all the other covered conditions.  She called me 5 months later from Sunnybrook Hospital following her heart attack.  She collected $250,000.

A 50 year old executive responded to my radio ads looking for life insurance. He told me upfront that he had applied and been rejected many times by every tier one insurance company in Canada because of a heart condition called cardiomyopathy. I was able to get his life covered, albeit a higher than standard rate - and he was delighted. He now has the life insurance required to protect his wife and young family.  Since then we got him coverage in the U.S. for less than what he was paying in Canada.

Another case involved a chartered accountant in his late 20s with 3 young children referred to me by an existing client. The young man survived a serious brush with cancer 7 years ago, and had been told by several insurance advisors that he couldn’t get life insurance for love or money.   This week I was able to get him the life insurance he needed.

There is no secret sauce - all of this was accomplished through the relationships I have cultivated within the industry, dealing at the highest levels of Canada’s most respected insurers and working with re-insurers like MunichRe, where I sit on the Advisory Council. My colleagues in the United States give my clients access to a wide spectrum of insurance options.

Fellow insurance advisors often seek my help getting insurance for their clients.

If you know someone with a problem getting covered, please be in touch. I will try my best to help them.

As I always say: if I can’t get insurance for someone, nobody can!