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Life insurance, current and clear

Timely takes on life-insurance trends, data, and decisions — written for families across Sioux Falls and South Dakota.

Mike Moore, a life insurance advisor, pointing to a table rating line on a life insurance approval letter spread on a desk next to a laptop showing a side-by-side carrier comparison

Health and Underwriting · Oct 28, 2026

What Is a Life Insurance Table Rating? 2026 SD Guide

A table rating letter looks like bad news, but it isn't a decline. How table ratings and flat extras work, what they add to a premium, and how to push back.

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Mike Moore, a life insurance advisor, reviewing a loan and insurance worksheet with a South Dakota small business owner at a workbench in her workshop

Business Owners Oct 27, 2026 23 min read

Key Person Life Insurance: A 2026 SD Business Guide

A federal rule effective October 2026 can require life insurance before an SBA loan closes. Here is how much coverage South Dakota owners actually need.

Mike Moore, a life insurance advisor, reviewing a cholesterol lab results printout with a client across a desk in a bright office with River Navy accent walls

Health and Underwriting Oct 26, 2026 21 min read

Life Insurance With High Cholesterol: A 2026 SD Guide

Nearly 1 in 3 South Dakotans have high cholesterol. Here is how it actually changes your life insurance rate class, with real carrier numbers, not guesses.

Mike Moore of Big Sioux Life at a kitchen table with a young family reviewing a coverage chart on a laptop, the Meridian Bridge over the Missouri River visible through the window on a late October morning in Yankton, South Dakota

Families and Parents Oct 25, 2026 22 min read

How Much Life Insurance Do Yankton, SD Families Need?

Run the DIME method with Yankton, SD's own income and home-price numbers to find out what life insurance coverage your family actually needs in 2026.

Mike Moore, a life insurance and annuity advisor, reviewing a pension buyout letter and a retirement income worksheet with a South Dakota client at his desk

Seniors and Final Expenses Oct 24, 2026 24 min read

Pension Lump Sum or Monthly Annuity? 2026 SD Decision Guide

A pension buyout letter gives weeks to decide: lump sum or a check for life. The 2026 math on IRS rates, PBGC limits, and South Dakota taxes, explained.

Mike Moore, a life insurance advisor, reviewing a kidney function lab report and a life insurance application with a South Dakota client at his desk

Health and Underwriting Oct 23, 2026 22 min read

Life Insurance With Kidney Disease or Dialysis: 2026 Guide

Chronic kidney disease rarely closes the door on life insurance. CKD stages, dialysis, transplants and guaranteed issue, explained for South Dakotans in 2026.

Mike Moore, a life insurance advisor, reviewing a medical records folder at his desk in a bright office with River Navy accent walls

Health and Underwriting Oct 22, 2026 21 min read

Life Insurance With COPD: A 2026 South Dakota Guide

COPD does not automatically close the door on life insurance. How South Dakota carriers weigh a diagnosis in 2026, and how to prepare before you apply.

Editorial illustration of two separate winding paths in river navy and copper tones that converge into a single wider path leading toward a horizon line, representing two lives underwritten as one survivorship life insurance policy

Health and Underwriting Oct 21, 2026 21 min read

Survivorship Life Insurance in South Dakota: A 2026 Guide

One spouse got rated or declined, the other qualified easily. Survivorship life insurance prices the two of you together. Here's when that helps.

Editorial chart illustration titled Credit Life Insurance vs. Term Life, showing a declining staircase of five copper bars under Credit Life Insurance labeled benefit shrinks as the loan is paid down, beneficiary the lender, next to five equal-height evergreen bars under Term Life Insurance labeled benefit stays level for the entire term, beneficiary whoever you choose

Life Insurance Basics Oct 18, 2026 22 min read

Credit Life Insurance in South Dakota: A 2026 Guide

Credit life insurance pays off a loan if you die. South Dakota's own pricing rule shows how little of each premium dollar it's actually built to repay.

Editorial illustration of a human silhouette with four softly glowing points at the joints, chest, abdomen and head, in River Navy and copper tones, representing how autoimmune conditions affect different parts of the body

Health and Underwriting Oct 17, 2026 21 min read

Life Insurance With Autoimmune Disease: A 2026 SD Guide

Lupus, RA, MS, and Crohn's don't automatically block life insurance. See what two carriers' 2025-2026 guides say about autoimmune disease in South Dakota.