In this article, we wanted to take a moment to answer some of the most common questions we get from individuals who are applying for life insurance after they have been diagnosed with herpes.

Questions that will be addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance if I have been diagnosed with herpes?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I have been diagnosed with herpes?
• 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”?

So, without further ado, let’s dive right in!

Can I qualify for life insurance if I have been diagnosed with herpes?

Yes, individuals who have been diagnosed with herpes can and often will be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. Some may even be eligible for a no-medical exam life insurance policy at a Preferred Plus rate! This is because, for the most part, herpes isn’t something that will cause someone to suffer from any symptoms or “complications” that would necessarily cause a life insurance underwriter to become all that worried about an individual’s long-term health.

Why do life insurance companies care if I have been diagnosed with herpes?

Most of the best life insurance companies aren’t going to care all that much about whether or not an individual has been diagnosed with herpes.   After all, if you have been diagnosed with herpes and it’s not causing you to suffer from any serious complications, then it’s not something a typical life insurance company is going to care all that much about.

But if…

You have been diagnosed with herpes, and it is causing you to suffer from a “serious” medical condition; most life insurance applications will have specific questions about “screening” for those “kinds” of issues, which will make having to specifically ask someone if they have been diagnosed with herpes irrelevant.

That said, however, you will be asked some “general” questions, which may inform a life insurance underwriter that you have been diagnosed with herpes. It makes sense for us to briefly define herpes. As well as highlight some of the most common symptoms you may experience due to your infection.

Herpes Defined:

Genital herpes is a common sexually transmitted disease caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). It is believed that nearly 16% of all Americans between the ages of 14 and 49 are infected with this disease.

Common symptoms may include:

• Pain or itching,
• Small red bumps or tiny white blisters covering the affected area(s),
• Ulcers,
• Scabbing.

Complications of genital Herpes may include:

• Increased risk for contracting other more serious sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS,
• Bladder infections and or complications,
• Meningitis.

This is why, even though you may not be asked a direct question about whether or not you have been diagnosed with herpes, most insurance companies will use a variety of different methods, including:

• a prescription database check, 
• and an application questionnaire, 

To “weed out” those, they would consider ineligible for coverage.

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

Now, because you’re not being directly asked if you have been diagnosed with herpes, all life insurance applicants will be asked the standard questions. But if you look closely, you will see that many of the questions asked can be used to determine that an individual has been diagnosed with herpes. A few should be able to determine whether an individual has developed any other severe medical conditions resulting from their original Herpes diagnosis.

So, let’s now take a look at some of the most common questions you’ll likely be asked:

• How old are you?
• What are your current height and weight?
• Have you been diagnosed with any severe pre-existing medical conditions (think meningitis, which is a severe complication of herpes)?
• Have you ever been diagnosed with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or depression?
• Have you ever suffered from a heart attack or a stroke?
• Have any of your immediate family members (mother, father, brother, or sister) ever been diagnosed with cancer, heart disease, or diabetes?
• Have any of your immediate family members (mother, father, brother, or sister) suffered from a heart attack or stroke?
• Are you currently taking any prescription medications (think antiviral drugs for herpes treatment)?
• In the past two years, have you been hospitalized for any reason?
• In the past 12 months, have you used any tobacco or nicotine products?
• Do you plan to travel outside the United States in the next year or so?
• Do you actively participate or plan on participating in any dangerous hobbies or activities?
• 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?

As you can see, many factors can come into play when trying to determine what kind of “rate” an individual will qualify for, regardless of whether or not they have been previously diagnosed with herpes. This is why knowing what “kind” rate you might qualify for is almost impossible without first speaking with you!

There are, however…

A few “assumptions” that we can make about someone who has previously been diagnosed with herpes and is currently applying for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. For example, suppose you are someone who has been diagnosed with herpes but doesn’t suffer from any other pre-existing medical conditions and is in good health. In that case, it is reasonable to assume that your previous Herpes diagnosis doesn’t affect the outcome of your life insurance application.

Or, in other words…

Whatever “rate” that you may have been able to qualify for before being diagnosed with herpes should be the same “rate” that you would be able to qualify for AFTER having been diagnosed with herpes.

“Which is great!”

Now for those…

Who may not be in perfect health or have been diagnosed with a potentially severe medical condition directly related to your Herpes infection? Chances are that “condition” will determine what “kind” of rate you will or won’t be able to qualify for. In cases like these, we recommend you check out our Pre-Existing Medical Conditions page for more information about this “other” condition.

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”?

In our experience here at IBUSA, we have found that usually, the folks who seem to see 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!”

This is precisely what you’ll find here at IBUSA!

Now, can we help out everyone previously diagnosed with herpes?

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 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.