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 Geodon or it’s generic form, Ziprasidone, to help treat schizophrenia and/or manic symptoms commonly associated with bipolar disorder.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been prescribed Geodon?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been prescribed Geodon?
• What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?
• What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

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

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

Now, we here at IBUSA never like to use words like “always” or “never” (yes, we are aware of the irony of this sentence), but the truth is when it comes to purchasing a life insurance policy, until you hear back directly for an insurance underwriter, you never really know what you’re going to get.

That said, however…

Because Geodon or its generic form, Ziprasidone, is primarily an antipsychotic medication used to help those who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia treat their psychotic episodes, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to learn that most (if not all) life insurance companies are going to immediately deny anyone applying for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy particularly if they are applying for a no medical exam life insurance policy.

Now, you might be thinking…

That’s fine, but I don’t have schizophrenia; I’m using my prescription to help treat manic episodes I experience as a result of my bipolar disorder.  Now if this is the case, then we might have a chance at qualifying for a traditional term life insurance policy, we’re just going to have to learn a little bit more about your situation before we can know for sure.

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

Oddly enough, most life insurance companies aren’t all that worried about Geodon the medication because “all in all,” Geodon doesn’t have all that many negative side effects that would make a life insurance underwriter all that nervous.  Yeah, sure suffering from:

• Feelings of restlessness,
• Tremors,
• Nausea,
• Diarrhea or constipation,
• Ect…

It doesn’t sound like all that much, but at the end of the day, none of these potential side effects are likely to kill you.  Plus, for the most part, Geodon is not the “kind’ of medication that one is likely to abuse.  For this reason, insurance companies aren’t necessarily worried about Geodon. Rather, they’re worried about why you’ve been prescribed it! This is why, prior to being approved or denied coverage, most (if not all) life insurance companies are going to want to ask you about “why” you’ve been prescribed Geodon and how severe your underlying medical condition might be.

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

Common questions you’ll likely be asked by the insurance companies will likely include questions like:

• Why have you been prescribed Geodon? What is/was your “official” diagnosis?
• When were you first prescribed Geodon?
• Who prescribed your Geodon, a general practitioner or a psychiatrist?
• How long have you been taking Geodon?
• Have you ever been hospitalized for your condition?
• In the past 12 months, has your Geodon prescription changed at all?
• Are you taking any other prescription medications for your condition?
• Do you have any history of drug or alcohol abuse?
• Have you ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor?
• Are you currently working now?
• In the past 12 months, have you applied for or received any form of disability benefits?

What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

Now, if you’ve been diagnosed with schizophrenia, to the best of our knowledge, you will not be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. But that does not mean that you won’t be able to qualify for “any” type of insurance.  It’s quite possible that you may be able to qualify for an accidental death insurance policy, which will provide coverage to you in the event that you die from an accident such as a:

• Motor vehicle accident,
• Slip and fall,
• Victim of crime,
• Or a natural disaster.

This is great, however, most folks also want to be covered for “natural” causes of death as well such as:

• Cancer,
• Heart disease,
• Stroke,
• Diabetes,
• Etc, etc…

And unfortunately, accidental death policies WILL NOT PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR THESE TYPES OF CAUSES OF DEATH. This is why a lot of folks will then turn their attention to a type of life insurance policy which is called a guaranteed issue life insurance policy.

Now…

These “types” of life insurance policies do not require one to take a medical exam or answer any health-related questions in order to qualify, which means that these “types” of life insurance policies won’t deny coverage to anyone due to a pre-existing medical condition (with one major exception which we will discuss later) they do come with what we consider three significant disadvantages compared to a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.

So…

Let’s take a moment and discuss what those disadvantages are so that you can get a better idea of purchase a guaranteed issue life insurance policy is going to be “right” for you.

#1 Disadvantage to Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance Policies.

Cost.  Now, when we say that cost is a major disadvantage to these “types” of life insurance policies, we don’t want to give you the impression that they are super expensive because, in many cases, they are.

It’s just that…

Dollar for dollar, guaranteed issue life insurance policies will cost more than traditional term or whole life insurance policies.  This is simply another way of saying that per “unit of coverage,” these “types” of policies charge more than a traditional term or whole life insurance policy would.

#2. Disadvantage to Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance Policies.

Coverage Amount.  Guaranteed issue life insurance policies generally won’t provide more than $25,000 dollar in coverage.  So, if you’re looking to purchase life insurance in an effort to:

• Cover the cost of a mortgage,
• Replace lost wages,
• Or protect a spouse or child,

Chances are $25,000 dollars in coverage isn’t going to get the job done!  Now it is conceivable that you might be able to buy several different guaranteed issue life insurance policies from several different insurance companies which is perfectly acceptable to do, however this is where the previous problem of “cost” can certainly set in.

#3.  Disadvantage to Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance Policies.

The Graded Death Benefit Clause.  Guaranteed issue life insurance policies will include a “clause” in them called a graded death benefit.  And… what this clause is designed to do is protect the insurance company from insuring someone who is really, really sick! And what it states is that you the insured will need to stay alive from some “set period of time” prior to the insurance policy paying a death benefit in the event that you die from an “natural cause” of death.

You see…

Because the insurance company hasn’t asked you any medical questions or required you to take a medical exam, they really don’t know a thing about you or your health.  So, it’s conceivable that someone might want to purchase one of these life insurance policies while on their “deathbed”.

This is why…

Insurance companies use a Graded Death Benefit clause to protect themselves from this happening.  Now because there are many different insurance companies out there, and because they’ll all have their own “unique” graded death benefit clauses, we don’t really want to go into specifics here in this article, however, we will tell you that when helping folks decide “which” guaranteed issue life insurance policy is going to be the “best” there are three things we like to look at which should help one decide on which company is the “best” for them.

These three factors are:

• The reputation of the company,
• Graded death benefit wait time,
• And price.

Now, that last topic…

We want to touch upon is where a “medical condition” could prevent you from being able to qualify for a guaranteed issue life insurance policy.  You see, at the end of the day, all life insurance policies are essentially legal contracts where you, the insured, agree to pay a premium to the insurance company in exchange for them to guarantee that your beneficiaries will receive a “death benefit” in the event that you die while the policy is in place.

“Which is a good thing!”

And it’s why those of us who decide to purchase a life insurance policy want to own one.

But what happens…

If one of the participating parties isn’t of “sound mind” capable of entering into a legal contract such as a life insurance policy/contract?  Well, when this happens, what we have is a whole separate issue and one that we here at InsuranceBrokersUSA like to hand off to the insurance companies directly to deal with.

You see, because Geodon is a medication used to help folks who are suffering from a mental cognition issue, we here at InsuranceBrokersUSA have found that the “best” way that we can help our clients out is by providing them with who we feel currently offer the best-guaranteed issue life insurance policies out there and then provide them with this information so that they can contact these insurance companies directly.

Now, this is…

A bit different from how we usually handle our client’s applications because, usually, we like to submit a client’s application so that we can simultaneously shop several companies at the same time however, when it comes to folks taking Aricept, we like to allow the insurance companies to handle the entire application so that if there is ever an issue later on about where an insured was “mentally” competent to enter into a legal contract only the insurance company will be involved.

Also…

For those looking for coverage for a loved one suffering from mental conditions causing them to experience psychotic episodes, it’s possible that you may be able to assist them in getting coverage, assuming you have power of attorney to do so.

Now for those…

Who are simply taking Geodon to treat symptoms associated with manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder, it’s possible that you may be able to qualify for a traditional life insurance policy provided that you seem to be living a “normal” life and that your pre-existing medical condition isn’t preventing you from being able to work full time or be a productive member of society.

In either case, we simply just want to help point you in the right direction.  So, what are you waiting for?  Give us a call today and see what we can do for you!