In this article, we wanted to take a moment and answer some of the most common questions we get from folks applying for life insurance after being diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse or one of the other names this pre-existing medical condition is commonly referred to including:

• Billowing Mitral Leaflet Syndrome,
• Click-Murmur Syndrome,
• Floppy Valve Syndrome,
• Or Barlow’s Syndrome.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been diagnosed with a Mitral Valve Prolapse?
• 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’ dive right in!

Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse?

Yes, individuals who have been diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse or Barlow’s Syndrome, can and often will be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. 

The only problem is…

That anytime you have been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition having to do with the heart, you can bet that your life insurance application is likely to become much more complicated than had you not been diagnosed with such a condition.

This is why…

Even though it may be “theoretically” possible for someone who has been diagnose with mitral valve prolapse to be able to qualify for a No Medical Exam Term Life Insurance Policy, here at IBUSA, we tend to advise our clients who have been diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse to avoid applying for one. 

Mainly because…

These “types” of life insurance policies tend to be more difficult to qualify for vs. traditional life insurance policies that require a medical exam.

Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been diagnosed with a Mitral Valve Prolapse?

Probably the easiest way to understand why most top-rated life insurance companies are going to “care” if you have been diagnosed with a Mitral Valve Prolapse or the Click-Murmur Syndrome is by first taking a look at exactly what this pre-existing medical condition entails and then examining what some of the possible consequences of having such a pre-existing medical condition are.

Mitral Valve Prolapse Defined.

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a condition in which one of the heart’s valves, the mitral valve, does not function properly. The mitral valve is located between the left atrium (upper chamber) and left ventricle (lower chamber) of the heart and helps control the flow of blood between these two chambers. In MVP, the mitral valve is “floppy” and does not close properly, causing blood to flow backwards into the left atrium.

This can cause a number of symptoms, including:

• chest pain,
• shortness of breath,
• palpitations (irregular heartbeats),
•  arrhythmia,
• a valve “leakage,”
• and fatigue.

MVP is often benign and does not require treatment in many cases. However, in some people, it can lead to more serious complications, such as:

• heart failure,
• endocarditis,
• strokes.

Symptoms of this disease may include:

• development of an irregular heartbeat,
• palpitations,
• shortness of breath,
• chest pressure,
• and mitral valve regurgitation,

If MVP is causing significant symptoms or complications, treatment may be necessary. This can include medications to control symptoms, such as beta blockers or calcium channel blockers, or surgery to repair or replace the mitral valve. Fortunately, most individuals who suffer from a mitral valve prolapse won’t ever need to receive treatment for their condition however, in those few cases which prove severe enough to need medical attention, medications and surgical procedures are available, which will usually resolve any issues adequately.

“Which is great!”

But it still doesn’t change the fact that before getting approved for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy, you can bet that most (if not all) life insurance companies are going to want to ask you a series of medical questions about your mitral valve prolapse so that they can get a better idea of how “serious” your condition might be and where or not you’ll pose a “significant” risk to them should they decide to offer you a life insurance policy.

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

When you apply for life, health, or disability insurance and disclose that you have mitral valve prolapse, the insurance company will likely ask you a number of questions to assess your risk of future medical issues. Some of the information they may ask for includes:

• When were you first diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse?
• Who diagnosed your mitral valve prolapse? A general practitioner or a cardiologist?
• What symptoms (if any) led to your mitral valve prolapse?
• Has your doctor recommended any treatment options?
• Have you had any surgical procedures performed to correct your condition?
• Has your doctor suggested that you may need surgery in the future?
• Are you currently taking any prescription medications now?
• Have you been diagnosed with any other pre-existing medical conditions?
• Have you been diagnosed with any other “kind” of heart disease?
• Have you suffered from a previous heart attack or stroke?
• Have any of your immediate family members (mother, father, brother or sister) ever suffered from a heart attack or stroke? Or been diagnosed with heart disease?
• In the past 12 months, have you used any tobacco or nicotine products?
• Are you currently working now?
• In the past 12 months, have you applied for or received any kind of disability benefits?

Now at this point…

We want to take a moment and remind all of our readers that we here at IBUSA aren’t medical professionals, and we’re certainly not doctors!  

All we are…

Is a bunch of life insurance agents who just happen to be really good at helping folks who have been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition like mitral valve prolapse find and qualify for the life insurance that they’re looking for.

Which means that…

If you are looking for help finding a life insurance policy, you’ve found the right place, but if you’re looking for medical advice, you’re going to want to keep the search alive because we’re certainly not qualified for that!

What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

As you can see, there are many potential factors that can come into play when trying to determine what kind of “rate” an individual diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse might qualify for. This is why it’s pretty much impossible to know for sure without a least asking a few preliminary questions first.

That said however…

It’s safe to say that if you have been diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse or Barlow’s Syndrome and your doctor does not believe that you need to anything about it, there is a very good chance that your diagnosis isn’t going to affect the outcome of your life insurance application at all. Or in other words, whatever “rate” you would have been able to qualify for PRIOR to being diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse should be the same “rate” AFTER having been diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse.

Where we can…

Run into trouble is when an individual has been told that they might need surgery to correct their condition or they have already had valve “correction or replacement” surgery they’re still experiencing symptoms indicating that the condition hasn’t been fully resolved. 

In cases like these, one still might be able to qualify for coverage only now you would be looking at qualifying for “high risk” rates vs. Preferred or Standard!

The good news is…

That regardless of your situation, we here at IBUSA can help because we have tons of experience helping folks with all sorts of pre-existing medical conditions like yours and are committed to helping all of our clients find the “best” life insurance policy that they can qualify for. This brings us to the last topic that we wanted to take a moment and discuss, which is…

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

In our experience here at IBUSA, what we have found that usually, the folks who seem to find the “best” life insurance policy for them are those that:

• Take their time reviewing their options.
• Ask a lot of questions.

And seek out those life insurance agents who not only have experience working with individuals who have been diagnosed with a wide variety of pre-existing medical conditions but also have access to dozens of different life insurance companies so that when it comes time to helping a more “challenging” case, they don’t have to rely on a…

“One size fits all approach!”

The good news is that this is exactly what you’re going to find here at IBUSA.

Now, will we be able to help out everyone who has been previously diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse?

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 Burial Life Insurance Companies as well so that 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!