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 either Truvada or Descovy or its generic alternative which consists of two separate medications Emtricitabine/Tenofovir to help treat HIV infection and possibly reduce the risk of HIV infection.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

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

This may surprise a lot of folks out there but the truth is, there are individuals who have been prescribed Truvada who may be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.  Now they’re certainly not going to be able to qualify for a Preferred rating but given the fact that just a few years ago having tested positive for HIV automatically meant that you would not be able to qualify for any traditional life insurance policy form any company this is certainly a encouraging move in the right direction.

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

Life insurance companies “care” if an individual has been prescribed Truvada because it is a prescription medication that is specifically used to help treat HIV infection and reduce the risk of HIV infection.  It is described as a medication which does not necessarily “cure” an HIV infection, but because it can slow down the progress of the disease it is generally considered a medication that can prolong one’s life after having been diagnosed with this disease.

Now…

One does not need to be an insurance expert to understand why a life insurance company might want to avoid insuring someone who have tested positive for HIV, but as more and more medications like Truvada become available and as being diagnosed with HIV slowly transforms from a terminal illness to a chronic one, it only makes sense that some life insurance companies will make this same adjustment along the way.

This is why…

As we stated in the beginning that there will be some that may be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy even after testing positive for HIV and being prescribed a medication like Truvada.  For this reason, unlike before when an individual would automatically be declined coverage once it was learned that an individual has tested positive for HIV, now there are a “few” life insurance companies that will be willing to dive in a little deeper and see if an individual might meet their VERY strict requirements for coverage.

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

Now we’ve got to admit that we’re a bit hesitant to dive right into all of the questions that a life insurance company will ask when considering whether or not an individual life insurance company will or won’t insurance an HIV positive applicant mainly because in the past we have had individuals who we feel would be an excellent candidate be turned down for coverage.

That said…

What we can tell you is that is at a minimum it appears that you’ll need:

• Be between the ages of 20 and 60 at the time of your application.
• To have been on an anti-retroviral medication regiment for a minimum of 6 months.
• Have an extremely low viral count.
• Not show any active symptoms of AIDS.
• To be under the direct care of a doctor specializing in HIV treatment.
• And not have any other health “issues” which could potentially affect your chances at being able to qualify for coverage.

We should also state for the record that these “requirements” seem to change quite frequently which is why we’re being a bit “vague” about them because at the end of the day, if you have tested positive for HIV and you are looking for coverage, it’s typically best just to give us a call.

What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

For those who do end up qualifying for coverage, they ultimately end up qualifying for what would be considered a “high risk” category.  These “high risk” categories are called table ratings and range from a Table A, which would be considered the “best” table rate all the way to a Table J which would be considered the “worst” or most expensive rating.

And while…

We wouldn’t be able to guess exactly which rate an individual might be able to qualify for without speaking with them directly what we can say for sure is that if you have been diagnosed with HIV, and you are able to qualify for coverage, you’re probably going to be looking at getting approved at a higher rate much closer to a J than an A.

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