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 prescribed Lamictal or its generic form Lamotrigine to help treat folks suffering from epilepsy or some other “type” of seizure disorder

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

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

Short answer:  Yes.

Long answer:  It depends.

You see, unlike some medications which are used to treat more life-threatening diseases, simply having had been prescribed Lamictal will not cause one to “automatically” be denied life insurance coverage.  But, that doesn’t mean that it “couldn’t” cause one to be denied coverage or that it “couldn’t” cause one to have to pay more for their insurance than someone who has never been prescribed Lamictal.  Which leads us to ask our next question…

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

At the end of the day, most (if not all) life insurance underwriters aren’t all that worried by the fact that you’ve been prescribed Lamictal.  Afterall, it’s not like Lamictal is considered a “highly dangerous” medication with life threatening side effects.  It’s also not a medication that one might be inclined to abuse.  And while some of the common side effects such as:

• Backaches,
• Blurred vision,
• Chest pain,
• Drowsiness,
• Dizziness,
• Etc…

May cause quite a bit of discomfort, they’re not necessarily something that a life insurance underwriter would concern him or herself about.  Rather they’re going to be much more focused on the underlying pre-existing medical condition which caused you to be prescribed Lamictal in the first place… mainly what’s causing you to suffer from seizures and how severe are they when the occur.

Which is why…

What you’re generally going to find is that prior to any life insurance underwriter making any kind of decision about your life insurance application, he or she is first going to want to learn more about your medical history so that they can better gage what kind of “risk” you may pose as a potential client.

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

Common questions you’ll likely be about your condition will likely include:

• At what age did you first suffer from a seizure?
• What type of seizures do you suffer from?
• Have you been diagnosed with a specific seizure disorder?
• When was the last time that you suffered from a seizure?
• In the past 12 months, how many seizures have you experienced?
• Have you ever been hospitalized due to a seizure?
• Is Lamictal the only prescription medication that you use to control your seizures?
• In the past 12 months, has your Lamictal prescription changed at all?
• Do you currently hold a valid driver’s license?
• Have you been told by your doctor that you shouldn’t drive?
• Are you currently working now?
• In the past 12 months have you applied or received any form of disability benefits.

What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

As we stated before, assuming that you’re otherwise healthy, and you haven’t suffered from a seizure within the past 12 months, in theory, you should be eligible for a Preferred rate.  Which is fantastic because what that essentially means is that provided that you haven’t suffered from a seizure within the past 12 months most insurance companies are going to consider you an “average risk”.

Now…

Will you be able to qualify for a Preferred rate?  Who knows, after all, there are a lot of factors that will come into play when determining what “rate” you might qualify for.  That being said however, just knowing that you “could be” considered a Preferred applicant is good to know.

The problem is…

That not all Lamictal users are going to be able to claim that they have been seizure free for at least 1 year.  Which means that they’re most likely not going to be able to qualify for a Preferred rate.  But don’t fret, simply because you can’t qualify for a Preferred rate does not mean that you won’t be able to qualify for coverage entirely, and lets face it, the vast majority of life insurance applicants (even those who haven’t been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition like seizures) won’t be able to qualify for a Preferred rate.

Which means…

That we’re then going to want to look for an insurance company who may approve your application at a Standard or Standard Plus rate and compare rates for clients at this category.  We should also point out that there may be some folks who simply won’t be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy as a result of their pre-existing seizure disorder.

These folks…

Will likely suffer from seizures which are so severe that they aren’t allow to drive and they are most likely unable to maintain steady or full-time employment.  These folks may also be currently receiving some kind of disability benefit which will likely cause them to be ineligible for traditional life insurance coverage.  Here at IBUSA, we always like to first exhaust all traditional options with these “types” of clients prior to suggesting any kind of “alternative” products such as a guaranteed issue life insurance policy or an accidental death policy.

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

Ultimately what we have found that seems to give folks the best chance at finding the “best” life insurance policy for them is to adhere to 3 rules.

Rule #1.  Be sure that you’re working with a life insurance professional and not someone who is simply processing orders all day within a call center.

Rule #2.  Make sure that the professional that you choose has access to dozens of different life insurance companies so that you don’t have to simply rely on the decision-making process of just one or two different companies.

Rule #3.  Don’t be afraid to be completely honest with your life insurance agent.  By being completely honest, you’re going to give them the best opportunity to truly find the “right” life insurance company for you.  And by “right” we mean the company that is going to provide you with the greatest opportunity for success.

So, if you’re ready to see what you might be able to qualify for, why not give us call and see what we can do for you!