In this article, we wanted to take a moment to answer some of the most common questions we get from folks applying for life insurance after they have been diagnosed with Cor Pulmonale.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been diagnosed with Cor Pulmonale (Chronic)?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been diagnosed with Chronic Cor Pulmonale?
• 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 Chronic Cor Pulmonale?

Unfortunately, Cor Pulmonale is a pre-existing medical condition that will prevent someone from being able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. This means that if an individual still wishes to purchase an insurance policy, they will need to seek out some kind of “alternative” product, such as a guaranteed issue life insurance policy or an accidental death policy, which won’t require an individual to have to be able to “medically” qualify for coverage.

Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been diagnosed with Chronic Cor Pulmonale?

Pretty much any time an individual has been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition which has to do with the functioning of one’s heart or circulatory system, you can bet that most (if not all) of the best life insurance companies (in our humble opinion) are going to be “interested” in knowing more about it.

Which is…

Exactly what we find when it comes to those who have been diagnosed with Cor Pulmonale. The only difference, in this case, is that because suffering from Cor Pulmonale is so “serious,” in most cases, simply having been diagnosed with this condition is reason enough for most life insurance companies to “automatically” deny one’s application!

Now, this may seem…

A bit severe, which is why we wanted to take a moment and examine exactly what it means to be diagnosed with Cor Pulmonale and hopefully shed some light on why most (if not all) life insurance companies are going to be unwilling to approve an individual who has been diagnosed with this pre-existing medical condition. 

Cor Pulmonale Defined:

Cor Pulmonale is a condition that occurs when the right side of the heart is abnormally enlarged as a direct result of some “kind” of disease of the lungs or pulmonary blood vessels.

Common causes of Cor Pulmonale may include:

• Blood clots in the lungs,
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD,
• Lung tissue damage or poorly functioning lung tissues,
• Sleep apnea,
• Cystic fibrosis.

Common symptoms of Cor Pulmonale may include:

• Chest pain,
• Edema within the lower extremities,
• Fainting spells,
• Cyanosis,
• Breathing difficulties.

But…

What worries life insurance companies the most is that the overall five-year survival rate for Cor Pulmonale patients can be quite low (approximately 50%), particularly when their condition may be “complicated” by other health issues and may ultimately require quite aggressive treatment plans, including either a heart or lung transplant in some cases. 

This is why it only makes sense that a life insurance company would be “nervous” about choosing to insure someone who has been diagnosed with this condition.

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

Now, because Cor Pulmonale is a pre-existing medical condition that will likely cause one to be “automatically” denied coverage once it has been determined that one has been diagnosed with this condition, most life insurance companies aren’t going to need to learn all that much more about your situation given that you won’t be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.

But…

Here at IBUSA, we pride ourselves on trying to help even the most difficult cases find a life insurance policy that can hopefully help them meet their life insurance needs. This is why even when it’s clear that an individual might not be able to qualify for a “traditional” life insurance policy, we do like to point out that they may be able to qualify for an “alternative” product such as a guaranteed issue life insurance policy or an accidental death policy.

“Which is great!”

But…

There is a reason why these “types” of products are usually an individual’s second choice, which is why we want to take a moment and briefly discuss some of the pros and cons of each of these “types” of products so that you have a complete understanding of how each of these products works PRIOR to spending any money on either of them.

Alternative options that may be available:

Guaranteed issue life insurance:

Guaranteed issue life insurance policies are life insurance policies that won’t require an individual to have to answer any medical questions or take a medical exam in order to be able to qualify for them. In fact, there are only three requirements that one must meet in order to be able to qualify for one of these “types” of life insurance policies.

• First, they must be a US citizen,
• Second, they must live in a state where these “types” of life insurance policies are offered,
• And lastly, they must meet the minimum age requirements.

And that’s it…

Before you get too excited, we want to point out what we feel are three serious disadvantages to these “types” of life insurance policies that everyone who is considering purchasing must be aware of.

#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 dollars in coverage. So, if you’re looking to purchase life insurance 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” called a graded death benefit.… This clause is designed to 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 a “natural cause” of death.

You see…

Because the insurance company hasn’t asked you any medical questions or requires you to take a medical exam, there really is nothing 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 the price.

Accidental Death Policies.

A second option that one might want to consider is an Accidental Death Policy. Now, with these “types” of policies, it’s important to understand that when you purchase an Accidental Death Policy, you’re NOT purchasing a life insurance policy. You’re actually purchasing an Accident Policy. This means that this policy is only offering coverage in the event that you suffer from an accident.

So…

If you happen to die from a “natural” cause of death such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, or any number of complications that could arise from having been diagnosed with Cor Pulmonale, these “types” of policies will not provide a death benefit to your beneficiaries.

But if…

You do end up dying from an accident like a:

• Motor vehicle accident,
• Natural disaster,
• Victim of crime,
• Etc…

Your policy would pay in full. While this may not be exactly what you are looking for, here at IBUSA, we’ll often recommend one of these “types” of policies when used in conjunction with another TRUE life insurance product simply because they are a great way to affordably supplement one’s insurance if they do die as a result of some kind of accident.

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, 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 help 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!