If you’re like most life insurance shoppers with GERD…
…you’re probably wondering if there are affordable insurance options for Acid Reflux. In this post we’ll answer that and show you step by step how to secure coverage.
Life Insurance with Acid Reflux
Required Tools:
Things Needed?
Steps to get approved with the best life insurance companies
Securing Life Insurance with Acid Reflux GERD
The first questions you need to ask is: How severe is your condition?
Just like other health conditions, that is possibly the most important factor that a life insurance underwriter will look for when approving you for coverage.
General Information on GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) & Acid Reflux
The following is a quick summary of GERD and acid reflux and how it applies to life insurance.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) or Acid Reflux (Heart Burn) happens when stomach liquid or food escapes posteriorly into your throat (esophagus).
This will lead to irritation of your esophagus which then causes other symptoms such as heartburn. When it becomes chronic, you then have GERD.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease may cause significant problems if not corrected.
These may include Barrett’s esophagus, erosive esophagitis, and esophageal bleeding. Typically, erosive esophagitis occurs when GERD damages the esophagus significantly.
Barret’s esophagus is when the tissue lining your esophagus changes to look like your stomach’s tissue. These changes in your lining of the esophagus may put you at an increased risk of an uncommon cancer named adenocarcinoma.
Can I get life insurance coverage with GERD & acid reflux?
Absolutely.
Your ability to receive an approval for life insurance with acid reflux or GERD…
…depends on the how severe your condition is.
Other important factors on an approval are how well your GERD is being controlled and for how long.
- Are you taking an over the counter medication?
- Is it controlling your acid reflux?
- If so, you could very well qualify for a preferred best health class rating.
Do you take prescription medication for your GERD? If you do and you are controlling your acid reflux well, you can still qualify for a preferred best health class. The following are the 6 most common medications that are used to treat GERD and acid reflux.
- Zantac
- Tagament
- Prilosec
- Pepcid AC
- Nexium
- Aciphex
Bottom line?
Most will qualify for the preferred health rated class. What if your situation is worse?
Acquiring a life insurance policy may become a bit more difficult if your symptoms are more severe or you have a diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus.
Typically, the best case scenario is a standard rate health class if you have a mild case of Barrett’s esophagus. Receiving a Table B or Table C rate class is fairly common for many who have erosive esophagitis or Barrett’s esophagus.
If you have a severe case, you may receive a decline.
Acid Reflux, GERD and the cost of life insurance
Look:
There are approximately 16 separate rate classes…
…that life insurance companies use to determine your rate.
Your cost will typically be determined by the rate class that you will qualify for.
If you don’t have other health problems and your GERD is controlled, you will typically receive a preferred or preferred best rate class.
[box] What does this mean? If you have a mild case of GERD or acid reflux, you should qualify for the best rate class. The best rate class equals the lowest available premiums. Want to know what your premiums will look like? Just use our free quoter on this page and you’ll be able to compare preferred plus and preferred ratings. [/box]
If you have additional health concerns and don’t know what your health class would be, simply reach out to us and we’ll help you.
Medical Exam or Non Medical Exam?
Here’s the deal:
The majority of people purchasing term life insurance…
…opt for a fully written policy that includes a medical exam.
However, many of our clients with GERD or acid reflux are interested with another option.
A non medical exam life insurance policy is a quick way to secure coverage by answering qualifying questions about lifestyle and health. A non medical policy does not have the paramedical exam and is a little more expensive for this convenience.
A fully underwritten policy with a medical exam is a great choice if you know you don’t have any other health issues and you are confident that your blood work will reveal a healthy outcome.
The Life Insurance Medical Exam
The medical exam typically involves a nurse or examiner who comes to a convenient location of your choice.
They will check your weight, height & take a small urine and blood sample. The results of the exam are sent to the life insurance company that you applied with.
This is the beginning of the underwriting process. The company may want additional information and request Attending Physician Statements (APS) from your doctor. These are simply your past medical records.
The life insurance company will also conduct a check on your current and past medication use. After all of this is completed, the company’s underwriter will then give a rate class based on assessing your risk. Did you know that not all life insurance companies will rate GERD?
Each life insurance company evaluates risk differently.
That’s why it’s important to work with an independent life insurance agent. I will help you find the best companies, apply easily online and handle the entire process. All you have to do is wait for the final approval.
Not all life insurance companies look at you the same
Most people think that every company will look at their health the same way. The life insurance industry is not standardized. They are fighting for your business and trying to find an edge among their competition.
Companies cater to specific “niches” in order to be the top carrier in specific markets. So certain life insurance companies may be better for certain conditions. In other words, not all companies are great for high blood pressure, Thyroid disease, Colitis, or Cardiomyopathy.
Why does this matter?
This results in many life insurance companies creating niches in order to gain a piece of the market. Knowing these niches is a key feature of ours and saving our clients MONEY.
We work with over 60 life insurance companies and each of these companies have their strengths with these niches.
The best part?
There are companies that don’t consider GERD or acid reflux as much as a risk as other companies. These are the companies that may provide you the best class rating.
Make sure you work with an agent who is not handcuffed to one company. It’s in your best interest that your agent can work with multiple companies. This will insure that you will be able to apply with the best available company for GERD or acid reflux.
How we can help
The benefit of working with Life Insurance Blog is that you will have your own personal agent who is assigned to you from beginning to end.
Hear’s how:
From getting quotes, researching the best companies for you, applying online, setting up the medical exam, and all the way to policy delivery. Your personal agent is available during this entire process.
You will receive convenient updates via email, text, and/or phone call as the application process moves forward. Once you are approved, we’ll review the final approval and make sure that is the best deal available.
What if the life insurance company that you applied with rates you at a higher rate class? We simply take your medical exam and reapply with another life insurance company. This simple process makes sure that you receive the best price and the best policy available.
Thanks for reading our post, Life Insurance with Acid Reflux GERD. Please leave a comment or ask a question below.
