Heart disease has a way of giving you perspective. Goals that once seemed important fade to the background, and you focus on what really matters: caring for your family and preparing for the future.<\/p>\n
For many people, this means laying a solid foundation with life insurance to protect your loved ones financially. If the worst happened, a life insurance payout could replace lost income or fund your children\u2019s college savings accounts.<\/p>\n
It could even finance a legacy gift to a charity or alma mater.<\/p>\n
However, having a heart attack or a diagnosed heart condition can limit your life insurance options, creating a Catch-22: The reason you need coverage is the reason you can\u2019t find it.<\/p>\n
Heart disease comes in many forms. It affects men and women almost equally, and it contributed to 1 in 4 deaths in America in 2017.<\/p>\n
Such a staggering statistic explains why people diagnosed with a heart condition struggle to find quality, affordable life insurance coverage.<\/p>\n
Insurers calculate risk<\/a> into every policy they write. When underwriters see your heart condition, they tend to respond to the heightened risk by raising your premiums or, in some cases, denying your application.<\/p>\n People who have had heart attacks, or just blockages in coronary arteries without a heart attack, may find it most difficult to get quality life insurance. Congestive heart failure also limits your options.<\/p>\n Even irregular heartbeats, heart valve abnormalities, and genetic conditions affecting the heart can bump your application into a less favorable rating class. In these cases, an independent life insurance agency with access to dozens of carriers and knowledge about each company\u2019s underwriting tendencies can help.<\/p>\n By knowing which insurance companies\u2019 underwriting processes favor your specific challenges — and by helping you lower your risk to underwriters — an independent agent can connect you with the right policies, saving you time and money.<\/p>\n When you seek the help of an independent insurance agent, he or she should give you access to a wide variety of carriers. But there\u2019s another side to the equation: The agent should also tell you how to reduce your risk to underwriters.<\/p>\n As you already know, even the best insurance agents typically do not have medical degrees. So the advice you get relates only to increase your insurability and shouldn\u2019t be confused with medical advice.<\/p>\n Even when you have heart disease, insurance underwriters consider a variety of other factors when you apply for coverage:<\/p>\n As we\u2019ll discuss below, not all types of insurance will require a medical exam. But even some no-exam policies<\/a> can ask some detailed health questions.<\/p>\n It\u2019s nice when you can give answers that steer you into a healthier pool of applicants.<\/p>\n Managing your heart condition by keeping regular appointments with your cardiologist and following your specialist\u2019s advice may be the biggest way you can help yourself access better coverage.<\/p>\n Insurers fear the unknown. If you had a heart attack three years ago and stopped following up with your cardiologist, underwriters could decide you\u2019re too much of a risk to cover.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Routine tests measuring your heart\u2019s health can help your case.<\/p>\n For example, your left ventricular ejection fraction ratio (LVEF) can tell doctors (and insurance underwriters) how well your heart is pumping blood through your body. The higher your reading, the better off you\u2019ll be for insurance purposes.<\/p>\n A string of test results over the course of a couple of years, showing steady improvement in your heart\u2019s health, will strengthen your case even more.<\/p>\n Of course, the tests may show bad news, but at least you\u2019d be working with data and not navigating the unknown.<\/p>\n They need to know if you’ve had any other diagnoses or symptoms, ranging from a small heart murmur, up to AFIB<\/a> or stents.<\/p>\n Each will be treated, and each may end up affecting what additional questions might be asked on your application, or on the phone interview from the insurance company if required.<\/p>\n When applying for something as important as life insurance, it can be tempting to slant your answers on the questionnaire in a favorable way.<\/p>\n Other times, people simply don\u2019t remember their prescription details or their last blood pressure reading.<\/p>\n Regardless of the reasons, putting less-than-truthful information in an application will likely backfire. Underwriters routinely check your answers against other sources, such as:<\/p>\n Even after you have been approved for coverage, insurance companies often reserve the right to waive your coverage during a two-year contestability period. You can save yourself a lot of time, trouble, and money by being as upfront as possible throughout the process.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re dealing with more than one chronic health condition, or if you need a smaller amount of coverage immediately, you may be willing to pay more for less coverage through plans such as:<\/p>\n However, you could still possibly save money and get more coverage with a medical exam.<\/p>\n Even when you\u2019re looking for alternative coverage types, an independent life insurance agent can save you a lot of time and effort by helping you find companies most likely to classify you favorably.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s this question which many insurance agencies don\u2019t think to ask:<\/p>\n Do you even need coverage?<\/em><\/p>\n Some older people who have saved money and built a variety of financial assets may be able to provide for their loved ones in other ways. If you\u2019re not sure, a financial advisor can help.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have much in savings, you have a lot of debt, and you have financial dependents, life insurance offers an efficient way to plan for the future. In fact, you may be the perfect candidate for coverage.<\/p>\n We have helped hundreds of people with a history of heart disease find life insurance solutions. Many of them had been told by other insurance agents that they\u2019d never find quality coverage.<\/p>\n They were advised to seek guaranteed issue life insurance which does not consider your health.<\/p>\n Guaranteed issue policies have their place, and they can be valuable tools for clients who actually need them. But they cost more and have coverage caps so low they may not accomplish your goals.<\/p>\n Because of graded benefits, they often won\u2019t pay anything until you\u2019ve had the policy for a few years.<\/p>\nReduce Your Risk of Future Heart Problems<\/h2>\n
Improving Your Overall Health for Life Insurance<\/h3>\n
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Managing Your Heart Condition for Insurance<\/h3>\n
Being Honest On Your Application with Heart Disease<\/h3>\n
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Other Insurance Options for Heart Patients<\/h2>\n
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Do You Need Insurance?<\/h3>\n
Independent Agents Specialize in Heart Conditions<\/h2>\n