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How do pre-existing conditions affect life insurance coverage



The beginning phases of any decision that impacts the future of your family or those you love can be a stressful time. Typically its accompanied by many questions. No matter how hard we try to remember all of them when we are having the important conversations leading up to making our ultimate choice there is usually a few we forget. With our series of life insurance blog posts we aim to answer some of those questions ahead of time for you so when we ultimately have that conversation the transition from uninformed to informed customer can be a seamless as possible. An informed customer is a long term customer and that benefits both us as your insurer and you as a consumer! So today we will be talking about what impacts pre-existing conditions may or may not have on your getting a life insurance policy. Hopefully we can answer any questions you may have and dispel a few myths in the process. If you have questions regarding something specific reach out here through our quote from and we will address any specific questions you may have directly!!

What is a pre-existing condition?

First and foremost we should cover what exactly a pre-existing condition in terms of life coverage includes. While this may seem pretty straight forward its always good to ensure everyone is one the same page as to what this includes before deep diving into the conversation. So what exactly is considered a pre-existing condition? It is a previously diagnosed medical condition that negatively impacts your long term health. So if on the day you get your medical check for your policy you have a cold, this will not affect your rates as its not a long term health detriment. However if that cold is a result of previously diagnosed asthma, that would be considered a pre-existing condition and could impact your rates. However if you are issued a policy and two years down the road are diagnosed with asthma then that will not negatively affect your already put in place rates until the end of the term of your coverage. (In the event that your carry a term policy)


What pre-existing conditions will affect my life insurance rates and which will not?


Before we dive into exactly what will and will not make your rates go up or down we would like to touch on a few things. First and foremost is that many of these things are things that you can impact. There are ways in which you can improve your overall health and reduce your rates either previous to getting your policy or before you sign up for a new term (where term coverage is concerned) health and medicine are an ever evolving thing. A smoker can quit smoking and as the years go on their health will improve. This is something that while It may not make a difference in one day on your rates will make a dramatic improvement as time goes on. So remember that in some situations you are the master of your own destiny as far as life rates are concerned.


Life insurance rates are typically broken down by tier. The tiers vary slightly from provider to provider but typically range from something like “preferred plus” or “preferred premium” for people who are in excellent health and have no long term health detriments, to “regular” which varies a bit from provider to provider but loosely means “average health” however someone with medium risk pre-existing conditions may also fall into this window. Obviously the higher your tier the better your rates will be. These rates are fixed for the duration of your policy. So obviously that would be whether or not you carry term or whole life. With term these rates are open to reevaluation at the completion of the current term. Below you will see a list of some of the conditions that may affect your life insurance premiums,


  • Acid reflux

  • ADHD or ADD

  • Alzheimer's disease

  • Anemia

  • Anorexia or bulimia

  • Arthritis

  • Asthma

  • Autism

  • Bipolar disorder

  • Bladder cancer

  • Blindness

  • Breast cancer

  • Cardiovascular or heart disease

  • Chronic bronchitis

  • Crohn's disease

  • Cystic fibrosis

  • Dementia

  • Depression

  • Diabetes

  • Epilepsy

  • Heart murmur

  • Heart palpitations

  • Heart patients requiring a pacemaker

  • High cholesterol

  • HIV or AIDS

  • Insomnia

  • Irritable bowel syndrome

  • Kidney stones

  • Lung cancer

  • Migraines

  • Multiple sclerosis

  • Narcolepsy

  • Obesity

  • Osteoarthritis

  • Osteoporosis

  • Pancreatitis

  • Panic disorder

  • Peptic ulcer

  • Prostate cancer

  • Psoriasis

  • Pulmonary heart disease

  • Renal failure

  • Rheumatoid arthritis

  • Schizophrenia

  • Skin cancer

  • Sleep apnea

  • Thyroid cancer

  • Tuberculosis


Well this is obviously a long list it is in no way a complete list. Obviously as mentioned above things like smoking and other health impacting life choices will also potentially impact your rates.



Life coverage without a medical check.


Don’t fret, our goal as agents to make our coverages as available as humanly possible to everyone. Staying true to that there are solutions if that long list above or some other sort of life circumstance has your wondering whether or not life coverage its right for you! Many insurers today (us included, get a quote now!) Offer life coverage with no medical check! These policies typically offer somewhere in the neighborhood of a fixed $250,000 benefit and can often times be signed up for quickly over the phone! These policies are crafted for people who for many reasons may not want to visit with a medical professional, believe their are not in good enough health to be accepted for another policy or other people looking for end of life coverage such a seniors or people with more severe pre-existing conditions. What the import take away is, is that no matter what your life situation there is a coverage for you. Life insurance coverage is a necessity that most people undervalue till it’s served its purpose. 1/2 Americans have a pre-existing condition. A legacy of love is for everyone to leave behind. If you have questions regarding a life policy or about a quote please reach out today!




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