“State Regulated Life Insurance” Is Not What It Appears To Be. Here’s The Truth


Did you get an offer in the mail that says there is a government program available that will pay for all your final expenses?
These mailers are not what they seem.
Today, we’ll explain what they really are, so you know the truth.
Please Note: Choice Mutual did not send you this mail, and we have no affiliation with whoever did send you one of these cards. We have never, nor will ever, send out mailers (let alone ones like these). This article is meant to help you understand what these offers through the mail really are. Again, we did not send you these postcards.
What Is Covered In This Article
- What These Offers Are
- Is It Government Sponsored?
- Is It A Scam Or Legit?
- A Safe Way To Buy Final Expense Coverage
What Is State Regulated Life Insurance?
There is no such thing as a state regulated life insurance program. These mailers are a very deceptive form of marketing to sell you life insurance. They have no connection to any government entity. If you return these cards, a life insurance agent will show up at your door.
While these mailers may be worded slightly different depending on where you live, they are all essentially the same.
Some common examples are “new funeral expense benefit”, or “new state regulated life insurance program”, or “state regulated life insurance program to pay for your final expenses”.
These mailers are prospecting tools to generate sales leads for insurance agents in your area.
Below are two such examples.
If you were to send one back in, you can expect the following:
- Agents will show up at your door and attempt to sell you life insurance.
- Agents will call you to book a time to meet with you to sell you life insurance.
Often times, these leads will be disbursed to multiple agents for months or even years on end.
In the end, mulitple agents will attempt to sell you life insurance for final expenses. And that would go on for quite a while.
Are These Sponsored By The Government?
In no way shape or form are any of these offers affiliated with any government agency or state-run program.
All of these mailers will have a disclaimer at the bottom in fine print that indicates it’s not affiliated with any government agency (like the example shown).
We get asked all the time, is there any government entity that gives you money for funeral expenses?
There is no federal or state benefit that provides thousands of dollars in cash for someone’s funeral.
The only money any government agency provides for end of life expenses is $255 from Social Security.
Now
You might be wondering… Why do they say things like “state regulated life insurance program to pay final expenses”?
The answer is simple. It’s to gain your trust by making you think it’s from the government.
The truth is most people naturally trust the government to a high degree. Everyone knows a government entity will not steal your identity or steal money from you.
When you call the IRS or Social Security, you give them your SSN without hesitation because you know it’s in safe hands.
Government is far from perfect. There’s no doubt about that. However, what can be said with the utmost confidence is they won’t scam you in some illegal way.
At the end of the day, the whole government affiliation perception directly increases the number of people who send the cards back in.
This results in more sales leads. That’s why they do it.
It’s kind of clever, but not in an honest way.
Here’s What They Mean By “State Regulated”
When these cards use the words “state regulated”, it’s really just a play on words.
Allow us to explain.
All insurance is governed at the state level. When any insurance company wants to offer an insurance product in your state, they must get prior approval from your state’s department of insurance.
The insurance company must provide them with the rates, application, and a host of other financial information on the product.
Ultimately, the department of insurance will approve the product once its requirements have been met.
This is where the “state regulated” comes from.
It’s technically not a lie. However, it’s absolutely misleading to make people think there is some government body in your state that is managing this program and “regulating” it.
Nobody at any government level knows anything about this “offer”.
Your State Does Not Matter
Many of these mailers will reference your specific state.
They’ll say things like…
- 2021 benefit information for North Carolina citizens only
- Benefit information for Mississippi citizens only
- Or Virginia, Texas, or any other state…
When they mail these ads, many of them will put in the name of the state they are mailing to in order to further enhance the disguise that it’s associated with a government body.
Just know
None of these ads that include the name of your state are endorsed or affiliated with your state government in any way.
Oh and one more thing.
These “benefits” are not exclusive to whichever state they are mailing to. The various life insurance policies being offered are actually available in nearly all states!
It’s just another mechanism to make you think it’s related to the government (your state government to be more specific). It’s definitely not.
Are These Mailings A Scam Or Are They Legit?
To put it plainly, no these mailers are not a scam.
Are they honest business practices? No definitely not.
Here’s the deal
If you mail one of these back, you will simply get inundated with insurance agents who are trying to sell you life insurance.
They will be licensed insurance agents who do actually sell life insurance. You don’t necessarily need to be wary that they are going to steal your identity or your money.
The real question to ask yourself is…
Do you want to do business with a company that advertises in such a deceptive way?
If You Need Life Insurance To Cover Your Final Expenses Here’s A Better & Safer Way To Find It
Look, if you do need some kind of funeral expense life insurance to make sure your family is not burdened by your burial costs, there’s an easy and safe way to find it.
You don’t need to mail in a deceptive card and wait for an agent to show up at your door.
Here’s how you do it…
You need to find a reputable independent agency that is licensed in your state. Make sure they represent 10 or more insurance companies, so they can shop around to find you the best deal.
Here are some things you can do to ensure you find a reputable agency to help you.
- Check for online reviews (Facebook, Google, Yelp, Trustpilot, etc)
- Verify they are accredited and A rated with the BBB
- Look at your state department of insurance website to verify they are licensed
Once you find a qualified agency, tell them your needs and let them go to work for you!
It’s that simple.
Choice Mutual Can Help
If you’re in the market for final expense insurance, give us a chance to earn your business.
Final expense coverage is all we do, and we work with over 20 highly rated companies.
We are licensed in all 50 states and DC, and we have hundreds of 5-star reviews online from very satisfied customers.
We treat people with respect and never pressure people.
So if you want some expert friendly help, give us a call at 1-800-644-2926.
Or you can run quotes on our website and apply with whichever company interests you. Then one of our agents would contact you to answer all your questions and help you get approved.
28 Comments
Cindi
Thank you so much for the honest info. I received one of the mailers for “a state-regulated program to pay for final expenses and thought it odd they wanted info already printed on the card. Then they insisted on house address rather than mailing and the alarms really went off. I found your site and so appreciate you informing everyone just what could happen. Thank you again.
Anthony Martin
Hey Cindi,
You’re welcome. Glad you found the article helpful. Those mailers sure can be deceptive.
Sean Blackshear
After reading this you seem to be a company with morals, how can I join your team
Anthony Martin
Hi Sean,
Thanks for the compliment. You’re right; we do have morals.
To work for us, you’ll need to live in the Reno NV area. All our agents report to our office here in Reno.
If you live in the area, call us at 1-800-644-2926. Ask to speak with Anthony Martin.
Cheers!
Tina M Ostwald
I so appreciate your providing this information. I tossed that card in the recycle bin. Now I want to help you have a perfect website. Whoever does your website needs to add just one word to the following sentence: “Look, if you do need some kind of funeral expense life insurance to make sure your family is not burdened by your burial costs, there’s an easy and safe to find it.” Add the word “way” after “safe.” Now it’s perfect!
Anthony Martin
Hey Tina,
Glad the article helped you. Thanks so much for pointing out that editing error. It’s been fixed.
Thanks again!
Bill Manos
Yes these mailers can seem confusing to some, but they are legal. Marketing companies mail these out for independent licensed agents. Agents don’t have too much say on what is printed on these mailers. Products they offer are no different than what you would find anywhere else, including this website. It is just one of many ways that independent agents market to seniors to help them with their final expense needs.
Anthony Martin
You are right Bill they are legal just as it says in the article.
The agents who use these don’t get to choose what is printed on the mailers. That is true.
However, they willing use the mailers which in essence sanctions the content.
There’s no debate that most of these mailers are designed to make people think they are affiliated with some government program. That isn’t exactly honest marketing.
F Bahr
Is it disingenuous to use the name "Choice Mutual" presenting like an insurance company? As an agency do you represent 15 or 20 companies? You said both 15 & 20? Not as forthright as you would like us to think!
Anthony Martin
Hi F Bahr,
No it isn't disingenuous to use the name Choice Mutual. We have not ever pretented to be an insurance carrier. Also, we didn't choose our name so that folks would think we are a carrier.
We are an independent agency and we do represent over 15 different insurance carriers. Read the footer of our website and you'll see a list of all the ones we offer.
This year we dropped one carrier because they were used so rarely. That dropped our carrier count to below 20. Since then we began saying "over 15" because that was accurate.
Our site has a ton of content and there are likely still some parts that say "20 carriers". We've updated quite a bit to no longer say that, but I'm sure on the site you can find a few instances where it still says that. Eventually, we'll get every page updated to say "over 15" because that's the truth as of today.
Hope this clears that up for you.
Linda Hall
I am a 70 year old with no life insurance. My main health issuse is mobility. I would like more info.
Anthony Martin
Hi Linda,
We can definitely help you find a final expense policy. Call us at 1-800-644-2926 and one of our agents will find the best company for you.
Talk with you soon!
Laura
Thank you for posting this information. You never know which mail is legitimate or not.
Anthony Martin
No problem. Glad you found the article helpful!
Debbie Wiseman
Is there any way I can get the mailings to stop?
Anthony Martin
Hi Debbie,
We have not found a way to get them to stop. The main issue is mulitple agencies are mailing out pieces that look this way.
Even if you got one of them to stop, there are likely dozens others that would still be mailing you.
M.D. Jordan
Thank you for this article.
I found it very helpful in answering a lot of questions we have. Like who to call for more information. Keep up the great work.
Anthony Martin
You’re most welcome. Glad we could help!
MIRANDA HAIRSTON
Thanks for this info. I almost submitted a form until I noticed that the return address was directed to DIRECT MAIL PROCESSING LLC. Now if this was a state-regulated program, why does the form have to be returned to a mail processing agency? Red Flag instantly!
Anthony Martin
Hey Miranda,
You’re most welcome. Glad we could help.
You’re instincts were right on 🙂
MANUEL OSORIA
Thaks for the information. Very helpful!
Anthony Martin
You’re most welcome Manuel. Glad the article helped you 🙂
Donna Wells
Hi Anthony,
Thanks for your informative article. I sent back the prepaid envelope empty. Gave me some satisfaction knowing I cost them a little bit of money.
Anthony Martin
You’re most welcome Donna!
Debbie Sexton
Thank you for some very helpful information.
Anthony Martin
You’re welcome Debbie!
A Concerned Citizen
“By submitting a quote or contact request through any of our contact or quote forms, you agree to Choice Mutual’s privacy policy. Furthermore, you also consent and expect to be contacted via text, email and phone by a licensed agent of Choice Mutual which may be may be conducted using automated dialing technology.” -Choice Mutual
I bet they use this technique and just have this article to save the few people that look it up. Very honest indeed.
Anthony Martin
We aren’t quite what you are getting at. From the sentiments of your comment, it seems as if you’re suggesting Choice Mutual isn’t acting in good faith.
Choice Mutual did not send out mail to anyone that says “state regulated life insurance”. We never have, nor would we.
This article was meant to educate people about the mail they are receiving so they can know the truth.
Now we are an agency that sells final expense insurance. If you happen to be looking for final expense life insurance, we can surely help with that.
We give consumers access to a quoting tool so they can compare costs from over 15 different carriers.
This way they can comparison shop and know what kind of price they will pay for coverage.
We give all consumers full access to pricing, faqs, sample policies and applications. You will not find another final expense insurance agency on this planet that gives consumers access to more helpful information in a transparent way than we do.
That disclaimer you quoted is necessary to comply with TCPA laws. While that disclaimer does grant us the ability to use automated dialing technology, we do not. We manually execute all of our calls.
Hope this clears things up.