Life Insurance for Dimethyl Fumarate users.

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 prescribed Dimethyl Fumarate or one of the brand names it is sold under, including BG-12 or Tecfidera to help treat one’s multiple sclerosis.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been prescribed Dimethyl Fumarate?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been prescribed Dimethyl Fumarate?
• 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’s dive right in!

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

Individuals who have been prescribed Dimethyl Fumarate in the past or are currently taking Dimethyl Fumarate to help them minimize or slow down their multiple sclerosis can “potentially” qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.

That said, however…

Because multiple sclerosis is considered a pretty serious pre-existing medical condition by most life insurance companies, we can say for sure that having been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and subsequently being prescribed Dimethyl Fumarate to treat it is certainly going to complicate one’s life insurance application.

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

Because Dimethyl Fumarate is only used to help treat those diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, it’s prescription can be used as a “guide” or a “marker” for a life insurance underwriter gain a better understanding of when you were first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And how well you and your doctor are managing it.

And while…

Most (if not all) life insurance companies will require full access to all of your medical records before deciding your life insurance application. However, by simply ordering a prescription database check, most insurance companies will be able to gain a “rudimentary” understanding of how your condition is progressing which can then be used to determine whether or not they would like to “move forward” with your application

Then…

With this preliminary information in hand, they can then decide what additional questions they will need to have the answers to before making a decision about whether or not you would make an “acceptable” risk to the insurance companies and at what “price”.

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

Common questions that you’ll likely be asked may include:

• When were you first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis?
• Who diagnosed your multiple sclerosis? A general practitioner or a specialist?
• What symptoms led you to believe you may have multiple sclerosis?
• Have those symptoms worsened since first diagnosed, or have they remained stable?
• Aside from BG-12, what other prescription medications are you taking to treat your MS?
• In the past 12 months, have any of the medications that your taking to treat your MS changed in any way?
• In the past 12 months, have you suffered from any “episodes” or “attacks”? If so, how many?
• 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?

When it comes time determining what kind of “rate” an individual may be able to qualify for, what we can typically assume is that any individual diagnosed with multiple sclerosis will no longer be eligible for a Standard or “better” rate.

Which means that…

If you’re going to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy, you’re most likely going to qualify for a “table rate.” So, let’s now take a moment and describe exactly what a table rate is.

Table Rate defined.

When getting approved for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy, there are approximately 16 different rate classes an individual can qualify for. There are your Preferred rates, your standard rates, and then your “table rates”.

Table rates…

Are life insurance rates that are typically reserved for “higher risk” applicants and range from Table A, which would be considered the “best” or least expensive table rate, all the way to Table J which would be considered the “worst” or most expensive table rate.

Now when it comes…

To folks that have been prescribed with MS, what you’re generally going to find is that if you’re MS has been stable for at least one year absent any “attacks” (or limited to just one attack), you may be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy at a Table Rate ranging from Table A to H.

Which…

When you think about it, it isn’t really all that helpful, but the truth is, MS isn’t a medical condition that is easy to make “assumptions” about. Additionally, it’s not like there’s a “test” that someone can take that will demonstrate how “severe” or how “mild” they MS is!

This brings us to the last topic that we wanted to discuss here in this article, 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…

Will not only 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”.

So, what are you waiting for? Give us a call today and see what we can do for you!

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

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!