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 Remicade or its generic form Infliximab to treat a variety of pre-existing medical conditions including:

• Rheumatoid arthritis,
• Psoriatic arthritis,
• Ankylosing spondylitis,
• Crohn’s disease,
• Plaque psoriasis,

And ulcerative colitis.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

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

Yes, individuals can and often will be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy after they have been prescribed Remicade, but we have to warn you, it’s definitely going to complicate matters.

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

Life insurance companies “care” if an individual has been prescribed Remicade because basically every pre-existing medical condition which it is used to treat is a pre-existing medical condition which can affect the outcome of your life insurance application.

And…

In some cases, any one of these pre-existing medical conditions which might warrant a Remicade prescription could in fact ultimately prevent one from being able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.

This is why…

What you’re generally going to find is that prior to being approved for a life insurance policy, most (if not all) life insurance companies are going to want to learn a little bit more about “why” you’ve been prescribed Remicade and how “serious” this underlying condition is.  Especially because with each of the conditions which Remicade can be used to treat, there really isn’t any kind of “test” to determine how serious one’s situation may be.

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

Common questions you’ll likely be asked my include:

• When were you first prescribed Remicade?
• Who prescribed your Remicade? A general practitioner or a specialist?
• Why have you been prescribed Remicade?
• What symptoms (if any) led to your diagnosis?
• Are you still experiencing symptoms of your disease now?
• In the past 2 years have you been hospitalized for any reason?
• Are you taking any additional medications in addition to Remicade?
• In the past 12 months, have any of your prescription medications changed in any way?
• Has your doctor preformed or recommended any kind of surgical treatments for your condition?
• 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?

Unfortunately when dealing with a “complicated” medication like Remicade that can be used to treat such a wide variety of different pre-existing medical conditions, it’s really pretty much impossible to know what kind of “rate” an individual might be able to qualify for without knowing specifically what condition is being treated and how “serious” that condition is.

That being said however…

What we can you with the exception of Rheumatoid Arthritis, all of the other medical condition can “potentially” qualify for a Preferred rate assuming that the individual is only suffering from a “mild” case and seems to have their condition well under control.

But…

Before anyone get’s too excited, we should point out that qualifying for a Preferred rate is always difficult even for someone who hasn’t been prescribed Remicade or been previously diagnosed with any pre-existing medical condition so we don’t want to leave you with the impression that being able to qualify for a Preferred rate is going to be easy, we just want to let you know that it “could” happen.

As of those…

Who have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, chances are if one is able to qualify for coverage, they will most likely only be able to qualify for a “higher risk” category which will make it all the more important for these individuals to know for certain whether they are applying with the “right” life insurance company for them, right from the beginning.

Which brings us to the last topic that we wanted to take a moment and discuss 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 profession 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!