Life Insurance for Prozac users.
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 Fluoxetine HCL or one of the common brand names it is sold under, including Prozac and Sarafem to treat symptoms of:
Questions that will be directly addressed will include:
- Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been prescribed Prozac?
- Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been prescribed Prozac?
- What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?
- What rate (or price) can I qualify for?
- How can I help ensure 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 Prozac?
Short answer: Maybe.
Long answer: It depends.
While we would love to be able to answer this question with a simple “yes” or “no” answer, the truth is that because Prozac is used to treat such a wide variety of pre-existing medical conditions, an insurance underwriter wouldn’t be able to know for sure whether or not you’re going to be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy simply by knowing that you’ve been prescribed Prozac. To make that kind of determination, they will first need to understand “why” you’ve been prescribed Prozac.
Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been prescribed Prozac?
While it’s true that any “mood-altering” medication can be potentially psychologically addictive, this isn’t what concerns most (if not all) life insurance companies when it comes to the fact that you’ve been prescribed Prozac. Instead, insurance companies are more worried about the fact that you had to be prescribed Prozac in the first place.
This is why…
You’ll generally find that before being approved or denied coverage, the insurance underwriters will want to ask you a series of questions about “why” you’ve been prescribed Prozac and perhaps even order medical records from your doctor if warranted.
Insurance companies aren’t all concerned that you’ve been prescribed Prozac; what concerns them more is that you need to be prescribed Prozac.
What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?
The first thing an insurance underwriter will want to know about your Prozac prescription is “why” it was prescribed in the first place. From there, they will then begin to narrow down their questions to get a better idea of how severe your pre-existing medical condition may be, which will provide them insight into what kind of “risk” you may pose as a potential insured.
For the sake of this article, we’ll now look at what “kind” of questions you’ll likely be asked based on “why” you’ve been prescribed Prozac in the first place.
Common questions for those suffering from Depression:
- When were you first diagnosed with Depression?
- Who diagnosed your Depression? A general practitioner or a psychiatrist?
- Have you received any “official” diagnosis about the “type” of Depression that you are suffering from?
- Is Prozac the only medication/treatment that you are currently receiving?
- In the past 12 months, has your prescription for Prozac changed in any way?
- How often do you take your Prozac?
- How well is it working to manage your symptoms?
- Have you ever been hospitalized due to your Depression?
- Have you ever contemplated or attempted suicide?
- Do you have any history of drug or alcohol abuse?
- Are you currently working now?
- In the past 12 months, have you applied for or received any form of disability benefits?
Common questions for those suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD):
- When were you first diagnosed with Depression?
- Who diagnosed your Depression? A general practitioner or a psychiatrist?
- Is Prozac the only prescription medication that you are taking to treat your OCD?
- How does your OCD manifest itself?
- How often do you take your Prozac?
- How well is it working to manage your symptoms?
- Are you currently working now?
- In the past 12 months, have you applied for or received any form of disability benefits?
Common questions for those suffering from panic disorder:
- When did you first suffer from your first panic attack? Or, in other words, when did you first start suffering from your panic disorder?
- Have you been “officially” diagnosed with panic disorder? And if so, by whom? A general practitioner or a psychiatrist?
- Is Prozac the only medication that you are taking to treat your panic disorder?
- Is your condition “triggered” by certain things? Or is it more of a general anxiety condition?
- In the past 12 months, has your Prozac prescription changed at all?
- How well is your Prozac prescription working?
- Have you ever required hospitalization as a result of your panic disorder?
- 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?
Generally, what you’re going to find is that if someone has been diagnosed with “mild” Depression or “mild” obsessive-compulsive disorder, they will typically be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy and may even be able to qualify for a Preferred rate.
The problem is…
There isn’t a “test” one can take to prove that they’re only suffering from a “mild” case of Depression or OCD, and Prozac isn’t typically prescribed to folks simply suffering from mild Depression. Instead, Prozac is usually used to treat major Depression, which isn’t going to be able to qualify for a Preferred rate. In fact, many times, these folks won’t be able to qualify for traditional coverage at all.
This is also the case for those who have been diagnosed with “panic disorder,” which is defined as a psychiatric disorder in which the patient is suffering from “debilitating anxiety” and fear, which frequently disrupts one’s life without reasonable cause.
The good news…
Is that because there aren’t any “definitive tests” available to insurance underwriters that will automatically determine whether you have a “mild” or “severe” version of any one of these disorders, most (if not all) life insurance companies will instead look for “clues” indicating how server your condition is.
This means that if you:
- Haven’t required any hospitalizations for your condition,
- Are currently maintaining a full-time job,
- And you’re not currently receiving any disability benefits
You might qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. After all, it would appear that your current treatment method is working, and you are maintaining a normal lifestyle. In cases like these, we would aim to find a life insurance company that would consider you a “standard” or “normal” risk and then go from there.
How can I help ensure I get the “best life insurance” for me?
Unfortunately, with these particular pre-existing medical conditions that Prozac is used to treat, aside from making sure that you’re working with a life insurance professional who fully understands what the different insurance companies will be looking for when making their decision, there’s not a whole lot one can do to help increase one’s chances of qualifying for the “best” life insurance policy from them.
This is because there’s really not much one can do to improve their condition from a life insurance application standpoint other than being sure to apply for coverage with a company that will be most “lenient” when it comes to those applying for coverage after being diagnosed with Depression, OCD, or panic disorder.
The good news is…
Here at IBUSA, we have plenty of experience helping folks like yourself qualify for traditional life insurance coverage. Because we work with so many different life insurance companies, you won’t need to spend days and days calling different insurance companies- we can do that for you simultaneously!
So, what are you waiting for? Give us a call today and see what we can do for you!
