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 Relpax or its generic form Eletriptan to treat symptoms pain and other symptoms associated with suffering from a migraine.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

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

Yes, individuals who have been prescribed Relpax or its generic form, Eletriptan, can and often will be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. In fact, some may even be able to qualify for a no-medical exam life insurance policy! This is because Relpax is a prescription medication that is primarily (if not solely used) to help mitigate the effects of a migraine headache.

The only problem is that…

When it comes to applying for life insurance with a pre-existing medical condition such as migraine headaches, those who haven’t suffered from a migraine within the past 12 months will typically be eligible for rates much better than those who have recently suffered from a migraine.

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

In general, most life insurance underwriters aren’t all that concerned with the fact that you have been prescribed Relpax to help you manage some of the more painful aspects of suffering from a migraine headache. They’re also not all that worried about any “potential” side effects of this medication because while suffering from:

• Nausea,
• An upset stomach,
• General malaise,
• Drowsiness,
• Dizziness,
• Etc…

May be rather uncomfortable from the patient’s side of things; they’re generally not considered “life-threatening” side effects, which is ultimately all an insurance underwriter will care about.

What concerns a…

Life insurance underwriters know more about one’s Relpax prescription, “when,” where you originally prescribed it, and how often you have refilled your original prescription. This is important to an insurance underwriter because it will provide him or her with an insight into how often you are experiencing migraines, which can and often will affect the outcome of your life insurance application.

This is also why…

What you’re typically going to find once a life insurance underwriter learns that you have been prescribed Relpax and that you have been diagnosed with having experienced a migraine in the past is that they will then want to learn more about the frequency and severity of your migraines before they proceed with processing your life insurance application.

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

Once an insurance underwriter learns that you have suffered from migraines in the past, most (if not all) underwriters are going to want to know answers to the following questions:

• How old were you when you suffered from your first migraine?
• How often do you experience migraines?
• When was the last time that you had a migraine?
• How severe are your migraines?
• Aside from Relpax, are there any other medications to help treat or avoid future migraines?
• Have you noticed that your migraines are “triggered” by any environmental factors or events?
• In the past 12 months, have any of the medications that you take to treat your migraines 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?

Basically, when it comes down to what price one can qualify for when applying for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy, we’re generally going to look at three things. First, do you know what causes your migraines? If so, the cause could actually be more serious than the migraine itself, in which case the underlying cause could have more of an effect on the outcome of your life insurance application.

Now…

If you don’t know what is causing your migraines, the next question would be, has it been over one calendar year since you last suffered from a migraine? If so, in “theory,” you would be eligible for coverage. In fact, you would even be eligible for a Preferred rate!

It just gets a bit “tricky” if you have suffered from a migraine within the past 12 months or you have suffered from multiple migraines in the last month because there isn’t a “test” an insurance underwriter can use to try and determine the “severity” of your condition. As a result, he or she is going to look at whether or not:

• You’ve ever been hospitalized for your migraines?
• You’re currently working?

And whether or not you’ve ever been able to qualify for disability benefits in the past. If you have, it still may be possible to qualify for a traditional life insurance policy. Only now, you’re probably only going to be able to qualify for a Standard rate.

And…

You’re definitely going to need to be much more selective on “which” life insurance company you choose to apply with. This brings us to the next segment of our Relpax discussion, which is…

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

Unfortunately, with a pre-existing medical condition like migraines, there isn’t a whole lot an individual can do on the “treatment side” of things to improve their chances of qualifying for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.

That said, however…

There is a lot one can do on the pre-application research side to make a significant difference. Mainly, the first thing that you’re going to want to make sure and do is choose to work with an experienced life insurance professional who fully understands what the different insurance companies will be looking for when making their decision so that “if possible” they can help alleviate any concerns that an underwriter might have prior to deciding your fate!

Second…

Make sure that this same agent has access to dozens of different life insurance companies so that they aren’t limited to just one or two different companies when deciding which company might be the “best” for you. 

After all, suffering from migraines is just one of many factors that are probably going to come into play when it comes time to determine what kind of rate that you can apply for. So, having more options is almost always a better bet when it comes time to determine which life insurance company is going to provide you with the best opportunity for success.

The good news is…

That here at IBUSA, we have plenty of experience helping folks like yourself qualify for traditional life insurance coverage, and because we work with so many different life insurance companies, you won’t need to spend days and days calling different insurance companies because we can do that for you simultaneously!

Now will we be able to help out everyone who has been previously been prescribed Relpax?

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 so that in the event that 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, give us a call!