Having a heart attack can be a frightful experience. It can cause various problems, and one of those problems is with your life insurance.
You are unsure of your future and, if you have no life insurance, what your family will do without you.
My father had two heart attacks, the last taking his life. So, unfortunately I have more experience with heart disease and heart attacks that I would like.
In any economy it is a struggle to pay for medical, funeral, burial, and regular expenses all at the same time, as well as the enormous amount of stress and grief the family will be going through.
After a heart attack is when many people begin to realize their risks of death and the fact that they need life insurance. (Hopefully you already have it!)
The problem, though, is when people actually try to get life insurance with heart disease history. This is a red flag for many companies so some people shy away from trying. If you’ve had a heart attack, or other cardiovascular complications, you may have heard that you can’t get life insurance, or that your policy will be too expensive, but neither of these is true. There are still plenty of life insurance options for you to get affordable coverage.
Getting Approved For Life Insurance with Heart Disease
Good news about this is that you can get life insurance with heart disease, you just have to take the right steps. There is high chance of you not getting approval for the bigger and best rates but you can still get something simple that does pay for what you need it to.
To better your chances of being approved you can also work on everything for yourself. Take medication, do what your doctor says you should do, and choose a healthy diet along with exercising. When you show that you are taking the proper steps to control your heart disease and give yourself a better life then they will be more inclined to help.
Diet and exercise can help you on several different fronts. Of course, diet and exercise are great for your health, but as this improves your longevity, it improves your life insurance rates. Because premiums are directly tied to risk and mortality, keeping yourself in proper health can directly impact your wallet, as far as insurance goes.
Follow your doctor’s instructions!
They want to lead you to a better life and, if you plan on getting life insurance or living a longer life, that will help you. If they provide medication and instructions, like diet, exercise, and/or lifestyle changes, then accept them and try your best to keep up with those changes. They will not only have you living a stronger, longer life but also the life insurance companies will be more willing to approve you.
While medication exists for some issues that cause heart disease, there is nothing to replace a better diet and lifestyle. Those who give out life insurance want to see that you have been changing your life for the better, not just living the same life that brought into the predicament to start with.
Similarly, you’ll need to cut any tobacco out of your life. Using smoking or chewing tobacco drastically raises your risk of having several health complications, and that’s going to be reflecting in your life insurance premiums. Realistically, a person who does not quit smoking, or smokes too much to be considered a non-smoker, will likely pay increases of 200-300%.
You will appear to be a better customer for life insurance if you are taking the necessary steps to live, something they absolutely do look for.
Remember to write down every little thing you do.
You want affordable life insurance companies to look at your health records and think of you as the perfect customer, somebody who pays attention to his or her own health and wants to lower the risk of death. With all of the knowledge in front of them, they will see you as somebody they can get behind.
Other Options – Guaranteed Acceptance or Simplified Life Insurance
If you get declined for term life insurance, all is not lost. There are still some carriers that may approve you. These type of policies are often referred to as Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance or Simplified Life policies.
These type policies may cost more, have a graded death benefit and not provide as much coverage as you would like, but at least you have some life insurance coverage to protect your family.
Because the insurance company doesn’t get a clear picture of your health, they are taking a much higher risk by insuring you. The only way for them to offset that risk is by charging your more every month.
Most guaranteed issue policies contain some type of graded death benefit clause, which means that if you were to pass away within the first two years after buying the policy, they wouldn’t pay you the full amount of the plan. They would only refund your premiums, sometimes with interest.
Additionally, these plans have a much lower ceiling for their maximum coverage amounts. Every company is different, but most of them have coverage limits around $400,000, which isn’t enough for most families. If you want more life insurance coverage, you’ll have to apply for a medically underwritten policy, or purchase more than one plan.
Here’s a sample of questions that a simplified policy would ask:
Getting life insurance with heart disease history may seem like an impossible task but it really can be easy if you think about your life. Wait a year or two and, in that time, work on your own health and get yourself in a better condition. If those who work in the life insurance field see that you have done remarkably well since the incident and are working to improve yourself everyday then they will be happy to sign you up.
Perhaps one of the highest recommendations we can make, we suggest sticking to independent agents, like us, rather than a captive agent. Captive agents can only help you if you buy from their company. Independent agents are brokers, providing you access to all the best carriers.
Your time is valuable, don’t waste it talking on the phone to receive quotes.
If this is something you’d like to get more information on, or an area you’d like to go ahead and make a purchase, feel free to reach out to us at your earliest convenience. You can get a quote on this page, but, please understand a person with a heart risk may not be eligible for the rates shown. If you still want to get an estimate, mark yourself as “regular” when getting your quote.
Otherwise, we look forward to assisting you in your life insurance purchase, not matter what type of life insurance you truly need.
Rachel lick says
My dad has heart disease but id still like life insurance on him
Jeff Rose says
It will depend on the severity of his heart condition and what medications he’s currently on.