Answers to the Questions Texas Families Actually Ask.

At its core, life insurance creates a tax-advantaged lump sum of money for your beneficiaries if you pass away while the policy is in force. That money can help:

• Replace lost income and keep the household on solid footing.
• Pay off or continue paying the mortgage, so your family isn’t forced to move.
• Handle everyday expenses, medical bills, and final expenses.
• Fund long-term goals such as college, retirement income for a spouse, or leaving a legacy.

The goal is simple: your family’s lifestyle doesn’t collapse just because something happened to you.

There’s no one “right” number, but a common starting point is 10–15× your annual income, or enough to:

• Pay off or protect the mortgage balance.
• Replace several years of income for your family.
• Cover debts, final expenses, and a cushion for the surviving spouse.

During a quote call, we walk through your specific situation and help you decide on an amount that fits both your needs and your budget — we don’t oversell just to increase a commission.

No. Homeowners often look at mortgage protection, but anyone with people who rely on their income should consider life insurance — renters, business owners, stay-at-home parents, and single parents included.

Most employer policies are group plans with relatively low death benefits (often 1–2× salary) and coverage that can end when you leave the job.

Individual coverage through Hovelson Financial is:

• Designed around your family’s needs, not a one-size group number.
• Portable — it stays with you even if you change jobs or retire.
• Customizable in terms of amount, length, and riders.

Term life provides coverage for a specific period (for example 10, 20, or 30 years).

• Typically the most affordable way to protect income and a mortgage.
• Designed to cover the years when your family is most financially dependent on you.

Whole life is permanent coverage that can last your entire lifetime, as long as premiums are paid.

• Includes a cash value component that can grow over time.
• Often used for legacy planning, final expenses, or long-term guarantees.

During your quote, we’ll help you decide whether pure term, permanent coverage, or a blend makes the most sense for your goals and budget.

Mortgage protection is a type of life insurance structured around your home loan. The benefit is typically designed to help your family:

• Pay off the mortgage in full, or
• Cover several years of payments so they’re not forced to sell under pressure.

In many cases it’s simply a term policy with the coverage amount tailored to your mortgage balance and budget, sometimes with built-in riders such as critical or terminal illness benefits.

Yes. Many carriers offer “simplified issue” or “accelerated underwriting” policies where decisions are made using your application, prescription history, and other data — without a full exam.

Whether this is available to you depends on your:

• Age and desired coverage amount.
• Health history and medications.
• Specific carrier guidelines.

When we go through your quote, we’ll let you know up front if you’re likely to qualify for no-exam options.

Many carriers offer optional riders that can:

• Advance a portion of the death benefit if you’re diagnosed with a qualifying illness.
• Provide benefits in the event of certain disabilities or chronic care needs.
• Allow you to increase coverage later under specific conditions.

We’ll walk through which riders are actually useful for your situation and skip the ones that don’t provide real value.

Most families move through four simple steps:

• 1. Quick intake. We gather the basics: who the coverage is for, your goals, and your budget range.
• 2. Carrier & plan match. We compare options from multiple carriers and narrow it down to one or two that fit.
• 3. Application. We complete the application together over the phone or video — no confusing forms on your own.
• 4. Underwriting decision. Depending on the carrier, decisions can be instant, a few days, or a few weeks if medical records are needed.

Our role is to make sure you understand each step and never feel rushed or pressured to choose something that doesn’t fit.

No. Carriers may use third-party data (including credit-based insurance scores in some cases) as part of underwriting, but these are not handled like a loan application and are not treated as a “hard” credit inquiry for consumer lending.

If you have concerns, we can discuss how a specific carrier handles data before you apply.

It varies by carrier and health profile. Some applications are approved the same day, especially for healthy applicants and smaller coverage amounts. Others may take a few days to a few weeks if:

• Additional medical information is needed.
• Doctor’s records must be requested.
• Additional underwriting review is required.

We’ll give you realistic timing expectations when we submit your application so you’re not left guessing.

Most clients choose to complete the entire process remotely — by phone, video call, and secure electronic signatures.

This lets you handle everything from home on your schedule, while still having a live advisor walk you through each step.

In many cases, yes. Different carriers have different appetites for conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, anxiety/depression, heart issues, and more.

Our job is to:

• Get an accurate picture of your health history.
• Match you with a carrier that’s historically friendly to clients with similar profiles.
• Be honest about what’s realistic so nobody is surprised later.

Having health conditions doesn’t automatically disqualify you — it just makes choosing the right carrier even more important.

Because life insurance is medically underwritten, your health history, prescriptions, and lifestyle factors directly affect:

• Which carriers will consider you.
• Which products you qualify for.
• The rate class and final premium.

Giving us accurate information up front lets us:

• Quote realistic numbers instead of “best case only.”
• Reduce surprises or declines later in underwriting.
• Save you time by avoiding carriers that don’t fit your profile.

Everything you share is used only for the purpose of matching you with an appropriate policy and is handled confidentially.

A prior decline doesn’t automatically mean you’re uninsurable. It usually means:

• The wrong product or carrier was chosen for your health profile, or
• Timing, recent treatment, or incomplete information affected the decision.

We’ll ask what happened, review the details, and look at whether a more suitable carrier or a different type of policy is available now.

Cost depends on several factors:

• Age, gender, and tobacco use.
• Health history and prescriptions.
• Coverage amount and length of term.
• Type of policy (term vs. permanent) and optional riders.

Many families are surprised to find that basic term coverage can often be structured for less than what they spend on streaming services, eating out, or coffee each month.

On our call, we start with a budget range you’re comfortable with and build around that — not the other way around.

Many term policies have level premiums — the amount you pay each month is guaranteed not to change during the selected term (for example, 20 or 30 years), as long as payments are made on time.

Some permanent policies can have flexible premiums or values that depend on performance and how the policy is structured. We’ll explain how your specific policy works before you commit, so you know whether premiums are guaranteed, adjustable, or subject to change.

In many cases you can:

• Apply to increase coverage (subject to new underwriting), or
• Reduce coverage and lower premiums on certain policies.

Some policies also have built-in options to convert term coverage to permanent coverage within a set timeframe. We’ll go over what flexibility your chosen carrier provides and what would require new underwriting in the future.

Most policies include a grace period — a short window where you can make a late payment and keep the policy in force. If payments are not made within that period, coverage can lapse.

Exact rules vary by carrier and policy type. We’ll show you your policy’s grace period and options, and we encourage setting up automatic payments to avoid accidental lapses.

Hovelson Financial works with multiple reputable carriers instead of being locked into a single company.

That means we can:

• Compare options side-by-side for your age, health, and goals.
• Look for competitive pricing and underwriting flexibility.
• Recommend the carrier that fits you best — not just the one with our logo on it.

Our compensation comes directly from the insurance carriers, not from added fees charged to you. The premium you pay is the carrier’s premium — whether you go through an independent agency like us or directly to the company.

Our job is to make sure you understand your options, choose coverage you’re comfortable with, and feel confident about how it all works.

Our primary focus is serving families and homeowners in Texas. Licensing is state-specific, so if you live in another state, availability may vary.

When you request a quote, we’ll confirm your state of residence and let you know exactly what we can offer in your area.

We do follow up to make sure you received your options and had a chance to ask questions — but we don’t believe in high-pressure tactics.

If you tell us clearly that you’re not moving forward right now, we respect that. You can always reach back out when timing is better.

We use secure tools and industry-standard practices to gather and transmit application information to carriers. We do not sell your information to outside marketing lists.

For full details, please review the privacy policy on our website or ask us directly during your quote call.