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 diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) which is also commonly referred to as:

• Asymmetric Septal Hypertrophy or Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?
• 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 Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)?

Yes, some individuals who have been diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) can and often will be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.

The only problem is…

That many other individuals won’t be able to qualify. For this reason, most (if not all) of the best life insurance companies that you’re probably already familiar with will want to ask individuals who have been diagnosed HCM a series of medical questions before making any decisions about their application. 

This is also why…

If you are thinking about applying for a traditional term life insurance policy, we would recommend that you avoid any No Medical Exam Term Life Insurance Policy.  

Because applying for one of these with a pre-existing medical condition like an HCM will likely cause you to be automatically declined.

Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?

Any time an individual has been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition that is going to affect one’s heart, you can assume that a life insurance company is going to “care” about it.

Particularly when the condition in question is one that causes the patient to develop an abnormally thick heart muscle which has the potential to cause one to suffer from some pretty serious consequences.

Consequences such as:

The potential risk of developing a dangerous arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) that can, in some cases, lead to one suffering from cardiac arrest or death!

The good news is…

That such dire consequences are somewhat rare and for the vast majority of individuals suffering from HCM few if any symptoms may be present and most won’t experience any significant symptoms related to this disease.

The bad news is…

That still isn’t going to prevent most life insurance companies from considering you a “higher risk” applicant. Which will undoubtedly complicate your life insurance application and make it more difficult to qualify for coverage should you choose to apply with the “wrong” insurance company!

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

Common questions you’ll likely be asked by the life insurance companies may include:

• When were you first diagnosed with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOC)?
• Who diagnosed your hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? A general practitioner or a cardiologist?
• How old were you when you were first diagnosed?
• What symptoms (if any) led to your diagnosis?
• Have you been diagnosed with any other “serious” pre-existing medical conditions?
• Have you ever suffered from a heart attack or stroke?
• Have you been prescribed any medications?
• Has your doctor recommended any surgical procedures such as a pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator?
• What is your current height and weight?
• 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 form of disability benefits?

Now at this point…

We always like to remind folks that nobody here at IBUSA is a medical professional, and we’re certainly not doctors. So, if you have any specific medical questions or concerns, the last thing you’re going to want to do is to look to us for answers.

After all…

We’re just a bunch of life insurance agents. That said, however, what we are good at is helping folks who have been diagnosed with pre-existing medical conditions like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy find and qualify for the life insurance policies that they’re looking for. 

So, if life insurance answers are what you’re looking for, you’re in luck because you’re exactly where you need to be!

What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

Basically, what you’re going to find when applying for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy after having been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is that either you’re going to be able to qualify for a “high risk” category or you’re simply going to be denied coverage all together.

And when…

It comes to understanding who will and won’t be approved, what you’re generally going to find is that only those that have been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy over the age of 30 and don’t suffer from any symptoms of their disease will be able to qualify for coverage (In most cases). 

Which means that…

If you were originally diagnosed before age 30 or you are suffering from symptoms, chances are you will not be able to qualify for coverage, and you will need to seek out some kind of “alternative” product like a guaranteed issue life insurance policy or an accidental death policy.

The good news is…

That regardless of what “kind” of applicant you might be, here at IBUSA we’re going to do our very best to make sure that you are able to find the “best” life insurance policy that you can qualify for. This brings us to the last topic that we wanted to take a moment to discuss…

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

You can do three things to make sure that you increase your chances of finding the best life insurance policy that you can qualify for. 

The first thing…

That you can do is make sure that you choose to work with a life insurance agent that fully understands your condition and knows what a life insurance underwriter will be looking for when making their decision about your application.

The second thing…

That you’re going to want to do is make sure that the agent that you choose to work with has access to dozens of different life insurance companies. 

After all…

Even the best life insurance agent in the country isn’t going to be all that great for you if he or she doesn’t have access to the policies or companies that are going to be the most “lenient” towards individuals who have been diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)… RIGHT?

Lastly…

You want to make sure that you choose a life insurance agent that is really good at explaining things. By explaining “things”, we mean that you want to make sure that your life insurance agent not only explains the “type” of life insurance options available to you but also why one life insurance company might be better for you than another.

This will include…

Explaining things like:

• What “type” of life insurance policy you may be considering.
• How long the policy will stay in force.
• What will the price be, and will that price ever change?

As well as…

“What additional features, one policy may have that another one won’t”.

The reason why…

We like to stress this point here at IBUSA is because you would be amazed at how often folks will simply choose the least expensive option, not realizing that they are missing out on a lot of additional “features” that could become quite important to them later on. This is particularly disheartening when the price difference may only be a few pennies a day!

But don’t fret…

Because now you know and should you decide to give us a call, you’re not going to have anything to worry about!