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 diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.

Questions that will be directly answered will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance if I have been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis?
• What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?
• What “rate” 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 Ulcerative Colitis?

Yes, individuals who have been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis 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 problem is…

That because Ulcerative Colitis can and often will be considered a “chronic” medical condition characterized by “flare-ups” which can significantly vary in severity and frequency from one patient to the next, most of the best life insurance companies that we commonly work with are going to want to know a lot about an individual’s condition prior to making any kind of decisions about their life insurance application.

Which is why…

It’s helpful to take a moment and review exactly what it means to have been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and review some of the most common symptoms associated with this disease so that we can be familiar with what most life insurance underwriters are going to be looking for.

Ulcerative Colitis Defined:

Ulcerative Colitis is defined as an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes and individual to suffer from long-lasting inflammation and/or sores (AKA ulcers) within one’s digestive tract.  In most cases, Ulcerative Colitis will affect the innermost lining of one’s large intestine and rectum.

Common symptoms may include:

• Diarrhea, which may or may not contain blood or pus,
• Abdominal pain and cramping,
• Rectal bleeding, and possible pain,
• Feeling the need to defecate,
• Constipation,
• Unexplained weight loss,
• Fatigue,
• Etc…

Fortunately…

Over the years, researchers have gained a better understanding of Ulcerative Colitis which has helped provide those who suffer from this condition find better ways to manage their disease through a variety of prescription medications which may include sulfa drugs, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents and antibiotics.

The only problem is…

That despite these “advancements” Ulcerative Colitis usually remains a “chronic” medical condition which will be characterized by repeated “flare-ups”, which can prove quite serious in approximately 10% of individuals.

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

When applying for life insurance, it is important to disclose all relevant medical information to the insurance company, including any diagnoses of serious medical conditions such as ulcerative colitis. If you have been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, the insurance company may ask for additional information about your diagnosis, such as:

• The severity of the disease: The insurance company may want to know how severe your ulcerative colitis is, such as whether it is mild, moderate, or severe.
• The extent of involvement: The insurance company may want to know how much of your colon is affected by the disease and whether you have had any complications as a result.
• Any treatments that you have received or are currently receiving: The insurance company may want to know what treatments you have received for your ulcerative colitis, such as medication or surgery, and how effective they have been.
• Any other medical conditions: The insurance company may want to know if you have any other medical conditions that may be related to your ulcerative colitis or that may impact your overall health.

It is important to be honest and forthcoming when answering these questions, as the insurance company will use this information to assess your overall health and determine the terms of your policy. I

 “Which brings us to an important point that 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 your correct, you’re still going to need to see the doctor, and if you’re wrong, the time you spend being you’re on doctor could really cause great harm to yourself!

Second…

Nobody here at IBUSA is medically trained and we’re certainly not doctors.  All we ware is a bunch of life insurance agents who just happened to be really good at helping individual find and qualify for the life insurance that they’re looking for.  So please don’t mistake any of the medical information that we talk about 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 Ulcerative Colitis… that’s it!  Which brings us to our next topic which is…

What “rate” can I qualify for?

Now as one can see, there are a lot of factors that can come into play when trying to determine what kind of “rate” that one may be able to qualify for after having been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.  Which is why, it’s pretty much impossible to know what kind of “rate” you might be able to qualify for without first speaking with you for a few minutes.

That said however…

There are a few “assumptions” that we can make that will generally hold true that may provide you with a general “idea” about what rate you might be able to qualify for.  For example, simply having been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis isn’t something that is going to “automatically” disqualify you from being able to qualify for a Preferred rate.

Which means that…

If you have been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, but don’t seem to suffer from frequent “flare-ups” and/or when a “flare-up” does occur it’s not too severe, it’s possible that you may be able to qualify for a Preferred rate!  That said however, we should make it clear that these “cases” are usually few and far between and what we usually see is that most folks who only suffer from a “mild” case of Ulcerative Colitis will usually only be able to qualify for a Standard or Standard Plus rate.

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.  Which 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 Ulcerative Colitis?

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 in the event that 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 to you, just give us a call!