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High Risk Life Insurance

impaired risk life insurance

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High Risk Life Insurance

Do you have a health or lifestyle risk that may make it difficult to buy life insurance? Do you know how to compare life insurance companies based on your specific risk? In this post, you’ll learn how to shop the right way for impaired and high risk life insurance.

Life insurance for high risk people

Have you have been turned down or received a life insurance decline in the past? Perhaps you think that you can’t get approved for life insurance? Just know that it’s very possible to secure coverage and you need to explore your options for a high risk life insurance policy.

We are experts in helping people get approved for life insurance and in this article I’ll discuss some options for getting coverage.

Risk

Find out how life insurance companies look at your high risk condition

Advice

Learn life insurance insider tips on how to get the best outcome for your impaired risk

Cost

Learn about how high risk life insurance situations can affect your rate

High Risk Life Insurance Quotes

Click below and compare rates from all the top life insurance companies in the USA. Select “Standard” for your health class rating to get an idea of what you may end up paying for coverage.

Pro Tip: Looking for the most accurate rates for high risk life insurance? Get a customized quote based on your specific health risk. CLICK HERE TO BEGIN

What is considered high risk life insurance?

There are various levels of what might be considered high risk.

Ranging from a type 1 or type 2 diabetic, to more severe health conditions such as cancer, there is a wide range of impairments that life insurance companies see as riskier than the average healthy person. 

Not all impairments are the same. While the diabetic may have more health risks than a non diabetic, they can still get approved for a regular term or permanent life insurance policy.

However when it comes to more severe conditions such as someone who has recovered from cancer within the last few months, or has had a stroke recently, other options for coverage will need to be considered. Some risks may not be rated as severely, but have Flat Extra Charge added to them due to the risk.

Let’s explore all your options with an understanding of high risk life insurance cases and their health ratings.

Evaluating High Risk

It all comes down to how much risk a life insurance company is willing to accept before they offer you a policy. Medical underwriting for life insurance is a process that manages that risk.

Each life insurance company has a unique underwriting process. This process is put in place to evaluate every applicant who is applying for life insurance.

Although similar in many ways, each company is different in how they may rate you based on the most common underwriting criteria.

Here are the typical areas that companies use to evaluate if an applicant is insurable and their related underwriting health class:

10 Steps To Get Impaired Risk Approval

Your life insurance agent will be your best friend throughout this process. In order to avoid getting denied, they’ll need to get 8 health and lifestyle details from you. These 8 factors are what the life insurance company underwriters will be researching before they approve you. Your agent will find the company who will approve you at the best rate based on your specific answers.

Here are the 10 details needed to get approved for coverage:

  1. Your health
  2. height/weight
  3. blood pressure
  4. cholesterol
  5. tobacco
  6. alcohol/drug use
  7. cancer history
  8. hazardous occupations/activities
  9. DUI & driving history
  10. family history

Finding the best life insurance solutions

Are you concerned that you may have a situation that may be considered a high risk? That is why it’s very important to work with an independent life insurance agent.

Your agent should be taking the time by asking you specific questions about your health and history. Answering your agent’s questions thoroughly and accurately gives them the best chance to find the right company for your high risk situation. Understand that high risk cases are not an “All” or “Nothing” grouping.  This means that your situation may be extremely risky to one company, but not as severe to another.  

Understanding high risk life insurance policies

If you have seen a life insurance quote form on the internet, you’ve probably seen a choice of health ratings to categorize yourself in.

The typical ratings that insurance companies use are:

  • Preferred Plus
  • Preferred
  • Standard Plus
  • Standard

Preferred ratings are designed for people that are in excellent health while Standard ratings are reserved for those who may be in good health but have a few extra pounds, or a minor health issue such as asthma, or sleep apnea.

What most people don’t see on the quote forms are “table ratings”. These usually have a letter or number and are considered “substandard” or below standard health ratings. 

Insurance companies use a number between 1-8 or letters A-H to rate people that have an increased risk associated with their health.

life insurance table rating

Going back to a type 2 diabetic example: 

  • If their A1c levels are well controlled they will typically see somewhere between Table 2-4 pricing, and still be able to get approved for a regular policy.
  • However, someone with Mild or Moderate MS may see a Rating of table 4-6
  • Ratings vary from company to company. You have to choose the right company to apply with – which we help you do.
life insurance help

This means that if you have a pre-existing condition it doesn’t mean that you can’t get approved for life insurance. It just might mean that your pricing will be a bit higher depending on the condition and that you can get approved for a “rated” policy which has a table rating.

Simplified and Guaranteed Issue life insurance

If you have a pre-existing condition which is a bit more severe you may not get approved for a rated policy. In these cases you could explore a simplified or guaranteed issue policy.

The way these policies are different than a standard policy is that they have an initial waiting period, usually of two or three years depending on the insurance company.

If the insured passes away in the initial waiting period, their family would get back all the premiums they they paid for the policy and some additional interest. Once the waiting period is over the death benefit becomes in effect just like any other insurance policy.

Simplified Issue

With Simplified Issue life insurance you only need to answer a few health questions to qualify for coverage. Many people who have been denied for a regular policy can get approved for coverage. With simplified issue you can typically get more coverage, up to $500,000 with most companies. Some other carriers will go higher and some lower.

Guaranteed Issue

Guaranteed Issue life insurance sounds exactly what it is. It’s a guaranteed life insurance policy without any health questions. Guaranteed issue policies don’t have any health questions at all and anyone can qualify for coverage. The only requirements are based on age and if the policy is sold in your state.

Guaranteed issue policies, also known as GI, are usually limited to around $20,000 for the maximum benefit amount. Learn more about the best guaranteed issue companies here.

Navigating high risk life insurance coverage can be complicated and requires an expert who has experience and understands the underwriting guidelines of the life insurance companies.  For most people, trying to navigate underwriting guidelines from over 60 companies can be quite difficult.

life insurance quote

High Risk life insurance companies

Finding the best company for you may not be the best company for your wife, friend, neighbor…the list goes on. 

Every company is different.

Here are just a few examples of using the right company for a specific high risk condition.

  • AIG: American General provides guaranteed issue life insurance without any health questions. 
  • 5Star Life Insurance is a company that offers a great opportunity for a variety of people with high risk circumstances. One of their great advantages is that they offer policies for people that travel and work in dangerous places. Their underwriting guidelines are very different from other companies and are a go to company for certain clientele.
  • Prudential: What if you were a marijuana user and needed coverage? Choosing the wrong company could be disastrous. Prudential for marijuana users is often times the company we recommend. Prudential will offer non smoker rates depending on frequency of use as well as other factors.

Life insurance companies do not have a 1 size fits all guideline.

Each company will look at you differently. Make sure you work with an agent or agency that can find the companies that will give you the best chance at coverage at the best rate. At Life Insurance Blog, we specialize in high risk life insurance and can help you narrow down your options for what type of policy you may be able to get approved for, and at what price.

life insurance tip

To explore this further call us or complete a quote request below and one of our licensed agents will help qualify you. We’ll be able to start researching your options based on your individual details. Thank you for reading our post, High Risk Life Insurance. Please leave a comment or question below. 

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