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 Simvastatin or one of the common brand names it is sold under, including FloLipid or Zocor to help lower or manage one’s cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Simvastatin also may help reduce the risk of suffering from a future heart attack, stroke or other related health condition in some patients.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

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

Yes, individuals can and often will be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy after they have been prescribed Simvastatin.  In fact, they may even be able to qualify for a Preferred rate!

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

There are basically three reasons why a life insurance company is going to “care” if you’ve been prescribed Simvastatin.  The first reason is that knowing this is going to help them place whatever your current cholesterol and triglyceride levels are in context with the fact that you are currently using a medication to help lower them. This means that if your cholesterol and triglyceride levels are within a healthy range, the insurance companies are going to be happy.  But suppose your cholesterol and triglyceride levels are at an “unhealthy” level, AND you are taking a medication to specifically lower these values. In that case, they are probably going to be pretty concerned!

The second reason why…

A life insurance company might “care” if you’ve been prescribed Simvastatin because, in addition to just helping folks lower their cholesterol and triglyceride levels, it is also a medication that is commonly prescribed to folks who may be considered a higher risk for developing a more serious medical condition later on.  Now this may or may not be the case with you, however that will be something that a life insurance underwriter will want to ultimately determine on his or her own.

Lastly, insurance companies may “care” that you have been prescribed Simvastatin because it shows that you “care” about yourself.  In this way, your Simvastatin prescription shows that at least at one point in time:

• You went to your doctor,
• You had a physical,
• You learned that you had high cholesterol and/or high triglycerides,

And you decided to do something about it!

“Good for you!”

This is more than a lot of other folks do, which is why life insurance companies actually sometimes prefer folks in your situation vs those who haven’t been diagnosed with high cholesterol because they haven’t seen their primary care physician for nearly a decade!

That said, however…

You’re still likely to be asked a series of questions about your Simvastatin prescription prior to being approved for coverage so that the life insurance underwriter can become completely certain that you don’t represent some kind of serious threat to them should they decide to extend an offer of coverage to you.

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

Common questions you may be asked may include:

• When were you first prescribed Simvastatin?
• Who prescribed your Simvastatin? A general practitioner or a cardiologist?
• Why have you been prescribed Simvastatin?
• Have you been diagnosed with heart disease or ever suffered from a heart attack or stroke?
• Have any of your immediate family members (mother, father, brother or sister) ever been diagnosed with heart disease or suffered from a heart attack or stroke?
• Are you taking any other prescription medications?
• Have any of your prescription medications changed in any way over the past 12 months?
• What is your current height and weight?
• In the past 12 months, have you used any tobacco or nicotine products?
• 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?

Now, as you can see, there are a lot of factors that can come into play when trying to determine what kind of “rate” an individual might be able to qualify for.  This is why it’s pretty much impossible to know what kind of “rate” you might be able to qualify for without speaking directly with you.

That said, however…

If you’re only using your Simvastatin to help you reduce your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and you have not been “red-flagged” as a high-risk candidate. In that case, it is fair to say that there is a good chance that your Simvastatin prescription isn’t going to play a huge role in the outcome of your life insurance application.

And while, it may be true that you may no longer be eligible for a Preferred Plus rate class by most life insurance companies, you should still be eligible for a Preferred, which given the fact that the vast majority of life insurance applicants aren’t going to be able to qualify for a Preferred Plus rate anyways isn’t so bad when you think about.

Now…

Suppose you’re one of those who have been prescribed Simvastatin to lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and you’ve been “flagged” as someone who may be at an increased risk of developing heart disease later in life or you’ve already suffered from a heart attack or stroke. In that case, there may still be a chance that you’ll still be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy, only now you’re probably not going to be able to qualify for a Preferred and will most likely only be able to qualify for a Standard or “sub-standard” rate.

The good news is that here at IBUSA, we have tons of experience helping folks with all sorts of pre-existing medical conditions find and qualify for the life insurance that they need.  This brings us to the next topic that we wanted to take a moment and discuss with you, which is…

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

Because life insurance companies tend to use a lot of “random” factors in determining who they will and won’t insure and at what price, we here at IBUSA have found that the “best” way for us to be able to ensure that our clients are able to find the “best” life insurance policy that they can qualify for is to be sure to know our STUFF and offer a TON of options.

You see…

By only employing true life insurance professionals who have tons of experience helping folks with all sorts of pre-existing medical conditions and then providing them with tons of options to offer their clients, we here at IBUSA truly do offer a one-stop shop for folks looking to protect their families.

Which is why…

Our advice to anyone looking to purchase a life insurance policy is to be sure that the insurance agent that they choose to work with is truly an expert and that he or she has dozens of options for you to consider because even if they are the greatest life insurance agent in the world if they don’t have access to the “best” life insurance policy for you what good is that going to do you?

So, what are you waiting for?  Give us a call today, and let us earn the right to protect your family today!