In this article, we wanted to take a moment and try and answer some of the most common questions we get from folks applying for life insurance after they have been prescribed Celexa or its generic form Citalopram to treat anxiety or symptoms of anxiety.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been prescribed Celexa?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been prescribed Celexa?
• What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?
• What rate (or price) can I qualify for?
• What can I do to help ensure that I get the “best life insurance” for me?

So, without further ado, let’s dive right in!

Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been prescribed Celexa?

Short answer: Yes.

Complete answer: It depends.

You see, because Celexa is a prescription medication used to treat symptoms associated with depression or anxiety, what you’re generally going to find is that before an insurance underwriter being able to make a decision about your life insurance application, he or she is first going to want to know more about your underlying pre-existing medical condition.

Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been prescribed Celexa?

In truth, most life insurance companies aren’t all that “concerned” that you’ve been prescribed Celexa. This is why having been prescribed Celexa won’t automatically affect the outcome of your life insurance application. This is mainly because there really aren’t that many serious side effects associated with taking Celexa other than potentially experiencing:

• Potential problems with concentration,
• Headaches and/or drowsiness,
• Dry mouth, hot flashes,
• Tachycardia,
• Insomnia
• Etc…

And while many of these side effects may be uncomfortable to deal with, they aren’t necessarily life-threatening, which is why life insurance companies aren’t too concerned with Celexa per se.

What they are concerned about is…

The fact that this medication is used to treat those suffering from depression and anxiety, which are two medical conditions that can potentially cause folks to suffer from symptoms that can potentially be life-threatening. This is why most (if not all) traditional life insurance companies are going to want to learn more about “why” you’ve been prescribed Celexa before making a decision about your life insurance application.

What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?

To learn more about “why” you’ve been prescribed Celexa (or its generic form Citalopram), what you’re going to find is that most life insurance companies will ask you a series of medical questions designed to learn what condition you may have and then determine how serious that condition might be.

Questions such as:

• Why have you been prescribed Celexa?
• Who prescribed your Celexa? Your primary care physician or a psychiatrist?
• How long have you been taking Celexa?
• Is Celexa the only medication you are using to treat your condition?
• How frequently do you take your Celexa?
• Over the past 12 months, has your prescription for Celexa changed in any way?
• Have you ever been hospitalized for your condition?
• Have you ever attempted suicide or contemplated suicide?
• Are you currently working now?
• In the past 12 months, have you applied for or received any form of disability benefits?

At this point, most life insurance companies will have a pretty good idea about what “kind” of life insurance you may or may not be able to qualify for as well as whether or not they will need to order medical records from your doctors before moving forward with the underwriting process.

We should also point out that…

Now for many, some of these questions may seem a bit “shocking” simply because their Celexa prescription is simply being used to treat a “mild” or “moderate” case or anxiety or depression.

However…

For those less fortunate who understand just how serious depression and/or anxiety can become, it’s easier to understand why a life insurance underwriter might want to know the answers to these questions and in some cases even want additional information before they are willing to consider one’s application for approval.

The good news is…

That even if you find yourself answering “yes” to some of these more “serious” questions, there is still a pretty good chance that you might qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. 

Heck… 

You may even be able to qualify at a Standard or Normal rate! This brings us to the next section of this article, which is…

What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

Assuming that you will be considered “eligible” for coverage, what you’re going to find is that the rate that you qualify for is going to be directly related to First, how severe your condition is, and Second, which life insurance company you choose to apply with.

You see…

In most cases, assuming that your anxiety or depression is a “mild” one, what your typically going to find is that there are life insurance companies out there that will not only approve of your application, they may even be willing to provide you with a Preferred rate assuming that despite your depression or anxiety you would otherwise qualify for such a rate.

In cases like these…

You just want to make sure that you apply with the “right” life insurance company that tends to be more lenient in its underwriting guidelines when it comes to approving folks who have been diagnosed with mild cases of depression and/or anxiety.

Things start to become…

More complicated when an individual may be suffering from more than just a “mild” case of depression or anxiety or may be suffering from other pre-existing medical conditions in addition to just depression or anxiety. In cases like these, not only does one need to account for why an individual has been prescribed Celexa, they also need to understand what other medical conditions may or may not affect the outcome of their life insurance application.

This is when…

Working with an insurance brokerage like IBUSA can make all the difference in the world because not only do we have a ton of experience working with folks with a wide variety of pre-existing medical conditions, we also have access to dozens of different life insurance companies so that when the time comes to trying to determine which life insurance company is going to be the “best” for you, we don’t have to rely on just one or two different options.

What can I do to help ensure that I get the “best life insurance” for me?

Probably the most important thing that you can do you help ensure your chances at being able to qualify for the “best” life insurance policy for you is to be sure that your first working with a life insurance professional and not someone simply “processing” life insurance applications from a call center. 

Second…

You want to make sure that you’re completely honest with your life insurance agent from the beginning.

This way…

You can be sure that your life insurance agent has all the facts when considering which life insurance company is going to provide you with the best opportunity for success!

Now, will we be able to help out everyone who has been prescribed Celexa?

No, probably not. But what we can tell you is that in addition to offering a wide variety of different term and whole life insurance policies, IBUSA has also worked very hard to establish relationships with many of the Best Final Expense Insurance Companies as well.

This way…

If someone isn’t able to qualify for a traditional life insurance policy, chances are there may be some other “type” of product that you CAN qualify for.

So, if you’re ready to see what options might be available to you, just give us a call!