Many different medical conditions can affect the outcome of one’s life insurance application. Some conditions may prevent someone from qualifying for coverage completely, while others may only affect the price of their insurance.

“But that’s just ½ the problem.”

Because…

Most medical conditions aren’t going to “automatically” disqualify someone from being able to qualify for a traditional life insurance policy. Instead, insurance companies will want to learn more about an individual (and their condition) before making a definitive decision about their life insurance application.

This is why…

We here at IBUSA have created individual articles about many of the most common pre-existing medical conditions that we encounter and how they will affect the outcome of one’s life insurance application.

It’s also why…

We wanted to take a moment and discuss here in this article some general questions many applicants will have about how they should approach buying a life insurance policy after they have been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition, which will likely make it more difficult to qualify for coverage.

Questions that will be addressed in this article will include:

• Do all life insurance companies use the same rules and regulations when determining who they will and won’t insure?
• What ways do life insurance companies have in determining the health of an applicant?
• What can I do to help increase my chances of finding the “best” life insurance policy for me?

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

Do all life insurance companies use the same rules and regulations when determining who they will and won’t insure?

No, each life insurance company will have its own unique set of guidelines, which they will use to determine who they will and won’t insure. Now, since most of these “guidelines” will be determined on statistical data, most life insurance companies will have “similar guidelines”.

This means that…

It’s fair to say that most (if not all) life insurance companies are going to deny a person’s application if they:

• Are currently being treated for cancer,
• Are suffering from heart or kidney failure,
• Have been diagnosed with some “type” of serious mental health issue,
• Etc..

Which makes sense…

When you think about it because the purpose of “underwriting” a life insurance application is to avoid unacceptable levels of “risk”.

This is why you’re probably going to be denied a traditional life insurance policy if you have been diagnosed with a “serious” pre-existing medical condition.

“But here lies the problem.”

Defining what constitutes a “serious” medical condition can vary from carrier to carrier, which is why it’s often difficult to determine who WILL and WON’T qualify for coverage at first glance. This brings us to our next topic, which is…

What ways do life insurance companies have in determining the health of an applicant?

Insurance companies have a variety of different tools they can use to learn more about your health before making a decision about your life insurance application. The two most common tools will be the written application itself and the medical exam you will likely need to take before being approved (unless you are applying for a no medical exam life insurance policy).

These two tools…

Will provide an insurance company with a lot of useful information along with some basic diagnostic measurements they can use to “screen” for any obvious issues they might like to avoid.

Issues such as:

• Uncontrolled hypertension or cholesterol levels,
• Proteinuria,
• Elevated liver enzyme levels in one’s blood,
• Elevated blood sugar levels,
• Presence of drugs or alcohol,
• Etc…

Which all have the potential to cause one to be denied coverage.

But…

Those are the only two tools an insurance company is going to use when trying to determine who they will and won’t insure.

Insurance companies are also going to order a variety of different reports on an applicant, such as a:

• Credit report,
• DMV report,
• Prescription medication report,
• Medical Information Report (MIB) which keeps track of previous life insurance application results,
• Criminal background report,

And in some cases, a request for one’s medical records from an applicant’s primary care physician as well.

Which when reviewed…

In total, it can create a pretty complete picture of the relative health of an individual for a life insurance underwriter to make his or her decision upon.

It’s also why…

Many life insurance companies no longer rely so heavily on medical examinations, and why many insurance carriers are increasing the amount of no medical exam life insurance policy products that they are willing to offer.

This brings us to the last topic that we wanted to discuss here in this article, which is…

What can I do to help increase my chances of finding the “best” life insurance policy for me?

Suppose you have been with a pre-existing medical condition (regardless of how “insignificant” you believe it may be). In that case, the best thing that you can do to increase your chances of finding the “best” life insurance policy for you is to be open and honest about your condition.

From there..

You’ll want to find an agent who is not only familiar with your condition but also has access to a wide variety of different insurance products offered by various insurance companies so that they’ll be able to “shop” your application around for you so that you’ll have a better chance of finding one that is “right” for you!

The good news is…

That here at IBUSA, we work with dozens of different life insurance companies and have the experience you’ll need to find and qualify for the coverage you deserve. So, what are you waiting for? Give us a call today, and let us show you what we can do for you!