In this article, we wanted to take a moment to answer some of the most common questions we get from folks applying for life insurance after having been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease.

Questions that will be addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance if I have been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I have been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease?
• 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 if I have been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease?

Yes, individuals who have been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease 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 at a Preferred rate.

The only real question will be…

Whether or not you have had your Hirschsprung’s Disease surgically corrected, and if so, when?

This is because those who have had their condition surgically corrected (and have made a full recovery from their surgery) will generally be viewed more favorably by most of the best life insurance companies in the industry than those who have not had their “condition” surgically treated.

Why do life insurance companies care if I have been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease?

The main reason a life insurance company is going to “care” if an individual has been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease is that it can potentially become a life-threatening condition if left untreated. This is why, for most individuals who suffer from this congenital condition, it will be surgically repaired early on in life.

As a result…

Most life insurance companies aren’t really going to be all that concerned with the fact that as a child, you were born with this condition and had it repaired years and years ago. The problem is that in some cases, the severity of one’s Hirschsprung’s Disorder was so “mild” that it either went undiagnosed for many years or it never really caused any significant symptoms or side effects, which led one not to undergo surgery to repair it.

In cases like these…

It’s still theoretically possible that some of the possible negative consequences of having Hirschsprung’s Disease could still occur which is why “these” folks will usually find it more difficult to be able to qualify for a Standard or better rate and will often times be considered a “high-risk” applicant.

Which begs the question…

“Why?”

Which is why it only makes sense of us to take a moment and briefly describe exactly what Hirschsprung’s Disease is and also highlight some of the most common symptoms of this disease so that we might gain a better understanding of exactly what a life insurance underwriter will be looking for when making his or her decision about your life insurance application.

Hirschsprung’s Disease Defined:

Hirschsprung’s Disease is a congenital defect disease whereby a person is born missing nerve cells in the muscles of the large intestine (colon), causing one to have difficulty passing stools.

Common symptoms may include:

• Constipation,
• Swollen belly,
• Diarrhea,
• Extremely fussy baby,
• Vomiting,
• Etc…

Fortunately…

Hirschsprung’s disease can be treated with surgery by bypassing the portion of the colon that is lacking the necessary never cells allow for normal bowel movements. Occasionally, this “portion” of the affected cells isn’t obvious, which is why some folks won’t have this condition immediately treated and may be affected by this condition later in life. Leaving the susceptible to one day suffering from possible complications as a result.

Which is why…

Once a life insurance company learns that you have been diagnosed with this condition, they are likely to ask you a few questions about it, particularly if you have not had it surgically corrected.

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

When it comes to questions you might be asked about your Hirschsprung’s Disease, things will usually go one of two ways. The first path your questions might take is if you have had your Hirschsprung’s Disease surgically corrected. In cases like these questions will usually go something like this:

• When did you have your Hirschsprung’s Disease surgically corrected?
• Have you fully recovered from your surgery?
• Do you still suffer from any symptoms from your disease?

And that’s about it because once properly treated, Hirschsprung’s Disease essentially becomes irrelevant within the life insurance application process.

Now for those…

Who haven’t had their disease surgically treated, what you’re likely to find is that now the insurance companies are much more likely to ask you questions like:

• When were you first diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease?
• Who diagnosed your Hirschsprung’s Disease? A general practitioner or a specialist?
• What symptoms (if any) do you suffer from as a result of y our Hirschsprung’s disease?
• Why haven’t you had your Hirschsprung’s Disease surgically corrected?
• Has your doctor recommended that you have surgery to correct your Hirschsprung’s Disease?
• 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?

When it comes time to determine what kind of “rate” an individual might be able to qualify for after having been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease what you’re going to find is that for those who have had their disease surgically treated/cured, their previous diagnosis shouldn’t pay any kind of role in the outcome of their life insurance application.

Or in other words…

Whatever “rate” they might have been able to qualify for PRIOR to being diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease should be the same “rate” that they would be able to qualify for AFTER having been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease.

As for the rest…

Of folks who have been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease but haven’t had it surgically treated, what you’re typically going to find is that most will not be able to qualify for anything better than a Standard rate, and even there most applicants will have to settle for a “sub-standard” rate because technically regardless of how “minor” their symptoms may be, at the end of the day because they have failed to surgically correct their condition in the eyes of a life insurance company they’re still considered a “higher-risk”.

The good news is…

That regardless of your situation, we here at IBUSA can help because we have tons of experience helping folks with all sorts of pre-existing medical conditions like yours and are committed to helping all of our clients find the “best” life insurance policy that they can qualify for. This 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 usually the folks who seem to find the “best” life insurance policy for them are those that:

• Take their time reviewing their options.
• Ask a lot of questions.

And seek out those life insurance agents who not only have experience working with individuals who have been diagnosed with a wide variety of pre-existing medical conditions but also have access to dozens of different life insurance companies so that when it comes time to helping a more “challenging” case, they don’t have to rely on a…

“One size fits all approach!”

The good news is that this is exactly what you’re going to find here at IBUSA!

Now, will we be able to help out everyone who has been previously diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease?

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 Burial Life Insurance Companies as well so that if 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.