Life Insurance with Kidney Problems

People with pre-existing conditions will find getting life insurance to be more difficult than people with a clean bill of health.  Anyone with severe health complications can find that finding an affordable life insurance policy can be a long and frustrating process

When you buy life insurance online, you are essentially entrusting the value of your life over to a financial institution.

After you become deceased, the insurance will have to pay out a benefit to your beneficiaries.

To ensure they keep their investment for as long as possible, insurance companies will avoid insuring people who have a higher death rate than others who are guaranteed to live a long, healthy life.

If you have any kidney problems, your chances of getting approved for life insurance will be significantly lessened. However, there is a chance to get a reasonably good rate depending on your condition, how long you have had the condition and whether or not it has been fully treated.

If you have any kidney problems, you may have been told that you can get life insurance because of your health, but that isn’t true. In fact, there are still plenty of options for affordable and quality life insurance coverage, even with kidney problems

What is Kidney Disease?

Kidney disease refers to a group of conditions that affect the kidneys, the two bean-shaped organs located in the lower back that filter waste products from the blood and regulate the balance of fluids and electrolytes in the body.

There are several different types of kidney disease, ranging from acute conditions that develop suddenly and are often reversible, to chronic conditions that progress slowly over time and can eventually lead to kidney failure.

Chronic kidney disease, also known as chronic renal disease, is a common and potentially serious condition that can lead to a variety of health problems if not properly managed.

Here is a table summarizing some common types of kidney disease, their symptoms, and treatment options:

Type of Kidney Disease	Symptoms	Treatment
Acute Kidney Injury	Sudden decrease in urine output, swelling, confusion, fatigue, shortness of breath	IV fluids, medications to improve blood flow to the kidneys, dialysis (in severe cases)
Chronic Kidney Disease	Fatigue, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, sleep problems, trouble concentrating, muscle cramps	Control of underlying condition (e.g. diabetes, high blood pressure), lifestyle changes, medications, dialysis, kidney transplant
Glomerulonephritis	Blood in urine, foamy urine, swelling, high blood pressure, dark urine	Corticosteroids, immunosuppressive drugs, blood pressure control
Polycystic Kidney Disease	Pain in the side, back, or lower abdomen, large cysts on the kidneys, high blood pressure, urinary tract infections	Pain management, control of high blood pressure, dialysis, kidney transplant
Nephrotic Syndrome	Swelling, especially in the feet and ankles, foamy urine, weight gain, increased risk of infection	Control of underlying condition, medications to suppress the immune system, blood pressure control

Getting life insurance with kidney problems is difficult, but not impossible

You have several options if you have kidney problems. You can find an insurance company who accepts people with kidney problems, get premium financing, or check with guaranteed life insurance companies. If you work for a company that offers life insurance, then group benefits will be a great option for you. They are much easier to qualify for.

Consider Graded Insurance Policies

If that is not an option for you, consider graded benefit life insurance. You will not need a medical exam to apply for this type of insurance. The downside is, it takes up to three years for this insurance to payout.  

These types of plans have a waiting period in place, which means that if you were to pass away within the first two or three years after buying the policy, the insurance company would not pay the face value of the plan.

Guaranteed Insurance Policies Are Another Option

Guaranteed life insurance companies offer no medical exam life insurance. However, the rates may be higher, but you can be guaranteed $10,000 to $25,000 of coverage. You can use several of these to build up the coverage you need.

There are some obvious disadvantages to these guaranteed issue policies that you should be aware of when you’re shopping for life insurance. The first, as we mentioned, is that these policies are more expensive than a plan that requires a medical exam.

The insurance company wants to know what type of health you are in before they accept your policy, without the medical exam, they have less information to base their insurance on. To offset that risk, they are going to charge you much more every month.

Another disadvantage is the low limit on how much coverage you can purchase. Most applicants need more life insurance coverage than these guaranteed issue plans offer. Aside from having a life insurance plan, it’s vital that you have enough coverage for your family if anything were to happen to you.

While there are some disadvantages to these types of plans, they are a great option for anyone that has already been declined for insurance coverage by another company. You health shouldn’t prevent you from getting life insurance.

You can also obtain premium financing

This is a way to borrow money from the bank to pay for life insurance if you have impaired risk. The bank guarantees that the premiums will be paid and the insurance company promises the loan will be paid off if the insured dies. The payments for the loan will be fully or partially covered by the bank. If the loan is standard, you will have to make loan payments but those payments will be lower than any premium you would have had to pay. If the loan is non-recourse, then it will be paid off from the insured’s death benefit.

You can also ask your doctor if they will be willing to talk with the underwriting department of your insurance company on your behalf. Your doctor may be able to vouch for your condition with your insurance company. You should also shop around to different insurance companies to see which ones will allow you to get life insurance with kidney problems.

Potential kidney diseases that could affect your life insurance

There are several different medical conditions that can affect your life insurance coverage.  Each condition will have it’s own unique affect on the cost of insurance.  Here are a few sample conditions:

• Kidney Stones
• Glomerulonephritis
• Proteinuria
• Renal Insufficiency

If you have some sort of kidney disease, here are some questions that we’ll need answered to best get you with the right insurance company and the most affordable life insurance rate.

• Please provide date of first diagnosis with kidney disease.
• Please indicate specific name of the kidney disorder diagnosed by your physician.
• Please provide approximate dates and readings of known blood pressure measurements.

Approximate date, systolic/diastolic reading.

•  Please advise of the following laboratory findings if previously and recently done by your physician:

1. a. Protein in the urine (protein urea)
2. b. Blood in the urine (hematuria)
3. c. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN level)
4. d. Creatinine level.
5. e. Of these, we need to find the date of the most recent test, the level of findings and the normal reference range.

• Does the proposed insured take any medication? If so, list the name of medication, date used, quantity taken and frequency taken.
• Is there any know family history related to kidney or cardiovascular disease?
• If yes, please describe.

Ways To Lower Your Insurance Premiums with Kidney Disease

All of these factors are going to play an important role in how much you pay for your life insurance. The company is going to look at all of these and many more things to calculate how much of a risk you are to insure. The higher the risk, the more you’re going to pay every month for the policy. If you want to get lower premiums, there are several lifestyle changes that you can make to save yourself some money on the coverage.

Improve Your Health

The first is to improve your overall health through diet and exercise. Both of these are going to help you lose weight, lower your blood pressure, lower your heart rate, and much more. The better your health is, the lower your monthly premiums are going to be for your life insurance.

Eliminate Tobacco Use

Another way to increase your chances of being approved for coverage and to get lower rates is to cut any tobacco that you use. If you’re a smoker, that’s going to drastically increase how much you pay for coverage. In fact, it could double your premiums.

Shop Around For Premium Options

Also, make sure to shop around for different premiums based on your age, as one company may offer lower premiums than another. Generally, it really depends on your condition if you are able to get insurance or not. If you are in fairly good health otherwise, then your chances of getting insurance will be much higher.

Bottom Line – Life Insurance With Kidney Disease

Life insurance is one of the best purchases that you’ll ever make for your loved ones. If you have any pre-existing health conditions like kidney problems, you may think it’s impossible to find an affordable life insurance plan, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Don’t wait any longer to get the insurance protection that your family deserves.

FAQs on Life Insurance and Kidney Problems

Research Articles Cited

1. Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States (2021) CKD Is Common Among US Adults. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/kidneydisease/publications-resources/ckd-national-facts.html