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 they have been prescribed, Dicolofenac or one of the common brand names it is sold under, including Cambia and Cataflam to treat pain, migraines, and arthritis when prescribed in its “oral” form. 

When prescribed in its topical “cream” form, it can also help folks treat their actinic keratoses or skin damage caused by years of exposure to the sun.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been prescribed Cambia?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been prescribed Cambia?
• 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 prescribed Cambia?

The vast majority of individuals who have been prescribed Cambia can and often will qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy, particularly when they have been prescribed the topical form of Cambia to help them treat their actinic keratoses.

The only problem is…

That because Cambia can be used to treat a wide variety of pre-existing medical conditions, most (if not all) life insurance underwriters are going to want to know specifically “why” an individual has been prescribed Cambia and how “serious” this condition is prior to them being willing to make any kind of definitive decision about the outcome of your life insurance application.

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

Life insurance companies “care” about the fact that you have been prescribed Cambia because it is a prescription medication that is commonly used to treat three separate medical conditions that could potentially affect the outcome of your life insurance application.

This is why once a life insurance underwriter learns that you’ve been prescribed Cambia, it will usually cause them to ask you a series of questions about your Cambia use so that they can get a better idea about the underlying pre-existing medical condition that you are using your Cambia to treat.

Now…

It’s important to understand that this isn’t necessarily a “bad” thing because the truth is, with these different medical conditions that Cambia is used to treat, oftentimes, the more information that a life insurance underwriter has about them, the better!

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

Common questions you’ll likely be asked may include:

• Why have you been prescribed Cambia?
  • Was it to help you manage any pain?
    • If so:
      • What is the root cause of your pain?
      • How long do you anticipate having to take your Cambia?
    • Are you taking any other medications to help you manage your pain?
• Was it to help you manage your migraines?
  • • If so:
      • • When was the last time that you suffered from a migraine?
        • How many migraines have you had within the past 12 months?
        • Have you ever needed to be hospitalized due to your migraines?
      • Are you taking any other medications to help you manage or prevent your migraines?
• Was it to help you manage your arthritis?
  • If so:
    • What “kind” of arthritis have you been diagnosed with?
      • If Osteo:
        • • • Have you applied for any form of disability benefits?
      • If Rheumatoid:
        • • • • Are you taking any other medications to help you treat your Rheumatoid arthritis?
              • Have you been prescribed either Methotrexate or Prednisone?
            • Have you applied for any form of disability benefits?
          • Are you taking any other medications to help you treat or manage your arthritis?
          • In the past 12 months, has your Cambia prescription or any other medications that you are taking changed in any way?
          • 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?

Determining what “rate” an individual can qualify for after being prescribed Cambia can be tough. This is mainly because with each of the three conditions which Cambia is typically used to treat; there can be quite a range of “severity”. For this reason, we’re going to take a moment and just discuss each condition separately so that you can get a better idea of what kind of rate you may be eligible for.

Cambia for Migraines:

Unfortunately, underwriting guidelines for individuals who have been diagnosed with migraines is only “murky” at best. Most life insurance companies will make it quite clear what one will need to be able to qualify for a Preferred rate after being diagnosed with a migraine:

• No migraines for at least one year,
• No known cause for initiating a migraine,
• No hospitalization stays,
• No job-related issues,
• And no disability benefit claims.

Understanding what life insurance underwriters will consider a Standard or Standard Plus risk is a bit trickier. This is why here at IBUSA if we feel that an applicant might not be able to qualify for a Preferred rate due to some complications related to their migraines, we’ll often request a preliminary review by several life insurance companies before submitting an actual application.

Cambia for Arthritis:

Basically, when it comes to determining what kind of “rate” an individual will be able to qualify for after having been diagnosed with arthritis, it’s really going to come down to what “type” of arthritis an individual has been diagnosed with.

For osteoarthritis applicants…

What you’re generally going to find is that as long as your osteoarthritis isn’t preventing you from being able to live a “normal” life and you haven’t applied for or received any kind of disability benefit as a result of your arthritis, you should “theoretically” be able to qualify for a Preferred rate class. Now we say “theoretically” because you would still need to qualify for such a rate.

For rheumatoid arthritis applicants…

What you’re generally going to find is that most life insurance companies are now going to consider you a “higher-risk” applicant, meaning that you will probably only be able to qualify for a “sub-standard” or “table rate” particularly if you’ve been prescribed Methotrexate or Prednisone in the past.

Additionally…

It’s quite possible that individuals who have qualified for some type of disability benefit as a result of their rheumatoid arthritis may now find that they are no longer considered eligible for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. In cases like these, it may be necessary to pursue an alternative product, such as a guaranteed issue life insurance policy or an accidental death policy.

For pain management

Lastly, if you are using Cambia for pain management purposes, all that we can really tell you within the scope of this article is that if you expect your need for Cambia to diminish or stop sometime in the near future, it’s possible that you may be able to qualify for a Preferred rate because presumably, the underlying cause of your pain will have “cured” itself.

That said, however…

If the underlying cause of your pain is one that is likely to continue for some time to come, this “underlying pre-existing medical condition” will undoubtedly be the ultimate determinant of what kind of “rate” you will be eligible for. For this reason, we would advise you to take a look at our pre-existing medical conditions page and see if we don’t have an article specifically dedicated to your condition. This brings us to the last topic that we wanted to take a moment and discuss with you here today, 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 works best for folks who have been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition where the “severity” of the condition is often “subjective” is for the applicant to make sure that they first find a true-life insurance professional who will work as an advocate for you. Such an agent who can help guide you through the application process but also be perfectly “frank” with you about what options may or may not be possible for you.

From there…

You’ll also want to make sure that the very same agent you have chosen has access to dozens of different life insurance companies because, after all, it really doesn’t matter how “great” of a life insurance agent you might have if they don’t have access to the “best” life insurance policy for you! Now, does it?

Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that you’re completely honest with your life insurance agent prior to applying for coverage. By doing so, you will be helping him or her narrow down what options might be the “best.”

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

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!