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 Zetia or its generic form, Ezetimibe, to help lower one’s cholesterol levels.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

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

Yes, individuals who have been prescribed Zetia can and often will qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. In fact, they may even qualify for a Preferred rate!  This is why one of the first questions that we’ll commonly ask someone after we’ve learned that they are taking Zetia to treat their cholesterol levels is…

“Is this the only prescription medication that you are currently taking right now?”

Because if so, you might also be able to qualify for a Preferred rate when applying for a simplified-issue term life insurance policy that doesn’t require you to take a medical exam to become insured.

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

While most (if not all) life insurance companies will want to know about the fact that you have been prescribed Zetia to treat your cholesterol levels, most aren’t necessarily going to use this fact against you during the underwriting process, provided that your Zetia is working and that you’re cholesterol levels are at a healthy level.

In fact, here at IBUSA, we’ll often have better results with applicants who are already taking a medication like Zetia to help them control their cholesterol levels vs. someone who “believes” that their cholesterol levels are fine despite the fact that they haven’t actually had a physical in the past 2 years!

Which is another reason…

Why, if it appears that you might be a good fit for a simplified issue life insurance policy, being able to “avoid” taking a medical exam in order to qualify for a traditional life insurance policy may make all the more sense because by avoiding an exam, we might also be able to avoid finding out that you also have high blood pressure or elevated blood sugar!

This is why, when trying to determine what “kind” of insurance might be best for you and what “rate” you may be able to qualify for, we here at IBUSA like to ask many of the same questions that your typical life insurance company is going to ask so that we can get a pretty good idea about which life insurance company is going to provide you with the greatest opportunity for success.

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

• When were you first prescribed Zetia?
• Who prescribed your Zetia? A general practitioner or a cardiologist?
• Have you ever suffered from a heart attack or stroke or been diagnosed with heart disease?
• 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?
• How well is your Zetia prescription working to control your cholesterol levels?
• Are you taking any other prescription medications?
• Have any of your prescription medications changed in any way over the past 12 months?
• Have you used any tobacco or nicotine products in the past 12 months?
• What is your current height and weight?
• 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?

Typically, what we have found here at IBUSA is that while “technically” some life insurance companies will say that an individual who has been prescribed a medication like Zetia to treat their cholesterol levels will still be considered eligible for a Preferred Plus rate class, these cases will definitely be few and far between.

Now this doesn’t mean…

You might be able to qualify for such a rate. It’s just that in our experience, a Preferred rate will usually be the “best” that someone will be able to qualify for after being prescribed a medication like Zetia.  When you really think about it is not bad at all, considering the vast majority of individuals who haven’t been diagnosed with high cholesterol and haven’t been prescribed any kind of prescription medication still won’t be able to qualify for a Preferred rate because a Preferred rate is not something that most life insurance companies hand out all that easily!

The good news is that…

Medications like Zetia aren’t going to “automatically” prevent you from being able to qualify for a Preferred rate, which is nice because at least you’re going to have a fair chance right from the start!  That said, however, it’s important to realize that there are a lot of factors that will come into play when determining the outcome of a given life insurance application which is why it’s important for you, the consumer, to play an active role in helping oneself improve your chances at being able to qualify for the “best” life insurance policy that you can qualify for.

This leads us to the next 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?

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!