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 with Raynaud’s Disease.

Questions that will be addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance if diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease?
• What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?
• What rate (or price) can I qualify for?
• How can I help ensure 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’ve been diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease?

Yes, individuals who have been diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease can and often will be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. The only problem is that simply knowing that you have been diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease isn’t going to be enough information for a life insurance underwriter to be able to make their decision about your life insurance application.

This is why…

Before being approved for a traditional life insurance policy, one should expect to be asked a series of medical questions about Raynaud’s Disease so that they can learn more about just how “serious” your condition is before making their decision.

Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease?

The main reason why most top life insurance companies are going to “care” if you have been diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease is that, in some cases, it can cause an individual to suffer from some pretty severe complications. For this reason, we wanted to take a moment and discuss what Raynaud’s Disease is as well as briefly highlight some of the most common symptoms/complications of this disease so that we can gain a better understanding of what a life insurance underwriter will be looking at when making their decision about your life insurance application.

Raynaud’s Disease Defined:

Raynaud’s disease is a rare disorder whereby the blood vessels, usually in the fingers and toes, begin narrowing when an individual becomes cold or stressed out. When this occurs, blood can’t flow to these areas, causing one’s skin to turn white and/or blue.

Where things can…

It gets a bit “tricky” from a life insurance perspective when we begin looking at what causes one to suffer from Raynaud’s Disease because researchers have determined that there are actually two “types” of Raynaud’s Disease that one can suffer from.

The first type of…

Raynaud’s disease is commonly referred to as Primary Raynaud’s disease. Unfortunately, the cause of this “type” of Raynaud’s Disease is unknown. The second type of Raynaud’s Disease is often called Secondary Raynaud’s Disease or Raynaud’s Phenomenon and will be caused by some “underlying” pre-existing medical condition.

Symptoms of both “types” of Raynaud’s Disease may include:

• Cold fingers and toes,
• The skin of affected areas will change colors from pink to white to blue.
• Numb, prickly feeling, or stinging pain in the affected area.

Serious complications may include:

• Scaring of affected tissues,
• Development of ulcers,
• Gangrene.

Potential causes of secondary Raynaud’s Disease or Raynaud’s Phenomenon may include:

• Stress,
• Intense emotional responses,
• Lupus,
• Rheumatoid Arthritis,
• Scleroderma,
• Sjogren’s Syndrome,
• Other connective tissue diseases.

Treatment options may consist of…

Certain medications, such as calcium channel blockers, will help dilate blood vessels and promote proper circulation.

 “This brings us to an important point we think we ought to mention.”

First…

If you think you have a medical issue, don’t use the internet to try and diagnose yourself. After all, if you do and you’re correct, you’ll still need to see the doctor, and if you’re wrong, the time you spend being your own doctor could really cause significant harm to yourself!

Second…

Nobody here at IBUSA is medically trained; we’re certainly not doctors. All we are is a bunch of life insurance agents who just happened to be good at helping individuals find and qualify for the life insurance they’re looking for. So please don’t mistake any of the medical information we discuss as medical advice because it’s not!

We’re just trying to “prep” you for what it might be like to apply for a life insurance policy after you have been diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease… that’s it! This brings us to our next topic, which is…

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

Typical questions you’ll likely be asked may include:

• When were you first diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease?
• Who diagnosed your Raynaud’s Disease? A general practitioner or a specialist?
• What “type” of Raynaud’s Disease have you been diagnosed with?
• Have you been diagnosed with any other pre-existing medical conditions?
• Are you currently taking any prescription medications?
• In the past 12 months, have you used any tobacco or nicotine products?
• In the past two years, have you been hospitalized for any reason?
• Are you currently working now?
• In the past 12 months, have you applied for or received any disability benefits?

What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

As you can see, many variables can come into play when determining what kind of “rate” an individual diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease. This is why knowing what kind of “rate” you might qualify for is almost impossible without first speaking with you directly.

That said, however…

Most individuals who have been diagnosed with Raynaud’s Disease will usually fall into one of three different categories that we can make some “assumptions” about that will generally hold true.

Category #1.

Folks in this group will consist of those diagnosed with Primary Raynaud’s Disease (cause unknown). In cases like these, we’ll usually find that most folks can still qualify for a traditional life insurance policy. Only now will they usually be considered a “high-risk” applicant and can only qualify for a table rate.

Table rates…

Are life insurance rates that are typically reserved for “higher risk” applicants and range from Table A, which would be considered the “best” or least expensive table rate, all the way to Table J, which would be regarded as the “worst” or most expensive table rate.

Individuals who have been diagnosed with Primary Raynaud’s Disease will typically only be able to qualify for at Table D-H rate at best.

Category #2.

Individuals who fall into this category will be those diagnosed with Secondary Raynaud’s disease or Raynaud’s Phenomenon absent any significant pre-existing medical condition. These will be the folks who experience Raynaud’s Phenomenon due to stress, an intense emotional response, or an overreaction to cold weather.

In cases like these…

What you’re likely to find is that most (if not all) life insurance companies aren’t going to use this previous diagnosis as a reason to discriminate against you. This means that whatever “rate” you would have been able to qualify for before being diagnosed with Raynaud’s Phenomenon will probably be the same “rate” you would qualify for AFTER being diagnosed with Raynaud’s Phenomenon.

Category #3.

The last group of individuals we’ll commonly encounter will be someone diagnosed with Raynaud’s Phenomenon; however, in this case, it’s actually a “symptom” of some other condition entirely.

In cases like these…

Raynaud’s disease is treated as a “symptom” of this other disease and not the “primary” condition. For more information on this underlying pre-existing medical condition causing you to suffer from Raynaud’s Phenomenon, we encourage you to check out our Pre-existing Medical Conditions page.

The good news is that regardless of your situation, we here at IBUSA can help because we have tons of experience helping folks with pre-existing medical conditions like yours. We are committed to helping all our clients find the “best” life insurance policy they can qualify for. This brings us to the last topic that we wanted to take a moment and discuss, which is…

How can I help ensure I get the “best life insurance” for me?

In our experience here at IBUSA, 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.

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 help a more “challenging” case, they don’t have to rely on a…

“One size fits all approach!”

The good news is that this is precisely what you’ll find here at IBUSA!

Now, will we be able to help out everyone who has been previously diagnosed with Raynaud’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 Final Expense 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.

So, if you’re ready to see what options might be available, call us!