Buying life insurance with heart disease

Is affordable life insurance available if I have heart disease?

Heart disease is the number one cause of death among both men and women in the United States. So, as you can probably imagine finding affordable coverage for life insurance can be more difficult.

The good news is if you know how to locate the life insurance carriers that specialize in underwriting heart disease the best, your odds improve dramatically.

Some of the common areas of heart disease that life insurance underwriter’s encounter is:

• Angina
• Heart arrhythmia’s
• Heart enlargement
• Cardiomyopathy
• Valve disorders
• Heart Stents
• Coronary By-pass
• Congenital Cardiac Abnormalities
• Atrial Fibrillation or EKG Abnormalities

There are numerous other impairments that can affect the heart. The life insurance underwriter must determine how severe the heart disease is in order to price a policy that is affordable to the insured and represent the appropriate amount of risk for the carrier.

How do life insurance companies evaluate heart disease?

In order for a life insurance company underwriter to properly evaluate the risk of heart disease, they depend on several pieces of information.

One of the most important pieces of information is the medical records from your current personal physician and cardiologist. This information will typically give a detailed report of the history of the heart disease and the progression of the disease. It will also provide information on how compliant the applicant has been in following their treatment regiment.

If a heart surgery has been done, then typically a copy of the surgeon’s report may also be warranted.

Underwriters will also want to look at current lab reports, echo-cardiograms, EKG’s, treadmill tests, angiograms, etc.

Underwriters will also want to know of any family history of heart disease, any tobacco use and current and past build.

All of this information will give the underwriter a clearer picture of your health and assist them in evaluating your risk.

Which life insurance carriers offer the best rates on heart disease?

So, this is the number one question applicants want to know. Who’s going to offer the lowest rates? The answer is it depends. You see in the life insurance industry their are over 1,000 insurance companies in the United States. And quite frankly, most are not interested in the risk of taking on applicants with heart disease.

But, there are a handful of highly rated life insurance carriers that specialize in underwriting applicants who have heart disease. These companies have underwriters on staff who are experts in interpreting the risk of those with heart disease. Often times these carriers will also have a cardiologist or medical doctor on staff that helps in determining the outcome of these type of cases.

Finding these expert companies is much easier if you use an agent or agency that specializes in helping people with heart disease find affordable coverage. Much like the insurance carriers, these agents are few and far between. But, they are out there and can be a lifesaver for those that need them.

These agents typically are independent agents who have been in the life insurance industry for many years. They have lots of experience working with these particular insurance carriers. The special risk agent will gather the medical information needed and help negotiate the best rate among the carriers who specialize in this type of coverage. Using an agent who specializes in this market will save you lots of time and money in finding the lowest rates.

Conclusion-

Yes, finding affordable life insurance for individuals with heart disease can be more difficult. But, if you know some of the secrets to locate the right carriers this could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars over the life of your policy. I hope this article encourages you to seek out those agents who specialize in this particular niche. I think you will find your agent will be the greatest ally.