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Life Insurance With Heart Disease | How to Secure Low Rates

Here’s the good news – you CAN buy life insurance with heart disease.

Because life insurance companies are in the business of risk assessment and absorption, the process to secure a policy needs a few extra steps on your part.

Why? It is worth your time to understand how your specific heart disease diagnosis will affect the type of policy you qualify for – and just how much it costs.

That way, before submitting a life insurance application, you will know you are securing the best policy you qualify for at the best price.

Everything you need to know about buying life insurance with heart disease is found here – the underwriting process, your policy options, the best carriers to look at, and sample quotes.

Table Of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Underwriting
  3. Companies
  4. Quotes
  5. How to Apply
heart disease

Overview

Heart disease, as you know, is very common in the United States – in fact, it is the most prevalent health complication.

The term, heart disease, is used to describe a number of cardiovascular conditions. Carriers rely on the medical community to understand just how much risk each specific condition poses.

While it sounds impersonal, they look to statistics surrounding your heart disease to determine what type of policy you qualify for and how much to charge you.

Thankfully – due to medical advances, heart disease is underwritten more favorably than ever before.

From congestive heart failure to a heart attack, we will cover how your exact diagnosis affects your coverage options.

Underwriting

During the application process, be prepared to answer specific questions about your condition – and overall health.

heart disease

Buying traditional life insurance involves answering a number of health and lifestyle questions.

What is that? Traditional coverage includes term (like a 20-year policy) and certain whole life insurance policies.

Note – some forms of no exam life insurance do not include comprehensive underwriting. You can buy a policy with no health questions. But, your face amount (policy size) will be limited.

1. When was your diagnosis?

Date of diagnosis is an important underwriting factor.

The more recent your heart event, the more difficult it will be to find traditional coverage.

Carriers require a wait time between when you were diagnosed and when they will issue a policy.

Wait times are dependent on the specific diagnosis will vary by each life insurance company. For example, a heart attack typically requires you to wait at least 12 months.

2. What type of heart disease do you have?

Remember, the term “heart disease” is used to describe a multitude of cardiovascular conditions.

For example, you will need to communicate if you have experienced:

  • Congestive heart failure
  • Heart attack
  • Congenital heart disease
  • Atherosclerotic disease
  • Heart arrhythmia
  • Cardiomyopathy
  • Heart infection
  • Valvular heart disease
  • Other

Underwriters evaluate each condition differently based on the amount of risk it poses.

In addition, you will need to communicate if you have experienced multiple heart disease events.

Note – if you have experienced a heart attack within the last 12 months, or have congestive heart failure, you should plan to buy a guaranteed issue policy.

3. What is your treatment plan?

Plan to share the forms of treatment your physician has prescribed to you.

Best case scenario? Your condition was improved with lifestyle changes, alone. For example, you may have improved your diet, increased exercise, and lowered sources of stress.

For many, however, the treatment plan includes prescriptions or medical procedures (e.g. stents, bypass).

The more involved your treatment plan, the more details you will need to share during the application process.

4. Do you take medications?

Jot down all prescriptions, including the specific names, you have been prescribed.

Common forms of medications for heart disease include:

  • Diuretics
  • Statins
  • Anticoagulants
  • Beta-blockers
  • ACE inhibitors

While these prescriptions are often life-saving, carriers evaluate their potential negative side-effects.

5. What is your prognosis?

In addition to your immediate heart health needs, you will communicate your long-term prognosis.

For example, has your cardiologist determined that one year from now, with proper diet and exercise, your health outlook is positive?

Or, on the other end of the spectrum, is your heart disease quite serious, and has been deemed a form of terminal illness?

Underwriters will want to see evidence of your prognosis:

  • Heart and artery imaging
  • Ejection fraction percentage
  • Stress test
  • Angiogram
  • Echocardiogram
  • Lab results (blood tests)

Note – underwriters want to see regular checkups with your physician. That way, you are demonstrating proactive care for your health.

6. How is your overall health?

Often, heart disease does not occur in a vacuum.

Plan to answer questions about your overall health, too.

For instance, conditions/lifestyle commonly related to heart trouble include:

Important – answer the underwriting questions honestly. Databases are cross-checked and dishonesty may hinder your ability to buy life insurance.

7. Does your family have a history of heart disease?

Underwriters also look into family history to understand if there is a genetic risk to certain health concerns.

Age plays a big factor, here.

Generally speaking, if a close family member (parents, siblings) died from a heart condition, cancer, or other common health complication, before the age of 60, it will likely be noted on your application.

Bottom Line

Before submitting a life insurance application, it’s important to understand just how much your heart disease will impact your ability to qualify for traditional life insurance, or not.

You will want to consult an independent agent.

Why? An independent agent will walk through qualifying questions with you before involving carriers. The last thing you want is any surprises, like being declined coverage when you were expecting approval.

Best case scenario – your heart disease is mild and occurred some time ago. You are able to buy traditional coverage, like a 10-year term policy.

Worst case scenario – your heart disease is serious and you only qualify for guaranteed issue life insurance, in which everyone qualifies.

Regardless, know that you can secure some form of coverage.

Best Life Insurance Companies For Heart Disease

The best life insurance company to apply with depends on your specific heart condition and your financial needs.

Best Life Insurance Companies For Heart Disease

ProtectiveBannerMutual of OmahaAIG
Policy TypeTerm, Whole, UniversalTerm, UniversalTerm, Whole, Universal, Guaranteed IssueTerm, Universal, Guaranteed Issue
Best For Heart diseaseDiabetics, family historyDiabetics, heart diseaseSleep apnea, diabetes, elevated liver enzymes

For further reading, especially pertaining to no physical options:

  1. Banner
  2. Mutual of Omaha
  3. AIG (guaranteed issue)

Quotes

Providing sample quotes for someone with a history of heart disease is difficult.

Why? Because there are so many variables that factor into your rates, without an individual analysis, quotes are simply a guessing game.

That being said, there are some “typical” outcomes for heart disease patients. Keep in mind, however, rates are purely examples are do not reflect your personal situation.

Sample rates are for a $250,000 10-year term life insurance policy.

Sample Life Insurance Rates With Heart Disease Male

AgeStandardTable 2Table 4Table 8
20 year old$16.65$19.99$24.94$34.83
25 year old$16.65$19.99$24.94$34.83
30 year old$17.32$19.99$24.94$34.83
35 year old$17.42$20.19$25.20$35.23
40 year old$21.07$28.67$35.51$52.19
45 year old$30.74$37.99$48.93$70.82
50 year old$45.31$55.86$72.75$106.55
55 year old$69.69$86.33$113.39$167.51
60 year old$109.00$134.78$177.99$264.41
65 year old$187.62$225.69$299.20$446.22
70 year old$313.75$393.55$523.01$781.93
75 year old$596.53$719.37$957.44$1433.58
Rates are examples only.

Sample Life Insurance Rates With Heart Disease Female

AgeStandardTable 2Table 4Table 8
20 year old$14.12$16.96$20.89$28.76
25 year old$14.12$16.96$20.89$28.76
30 year old$14.12$17.28$21.32$29.41
35 year old$14.34$17.48$21.58$29.80
40 year old$18.92$22.77$28.64$40.37
45 year old$25.63$31.28$39.99$57.40
50 year old$36.65$44.32$57.38$83.49
55 year old$50.87$63.32$82.71$121.48
60 year old$71.69$98.43$129.52$191.69
65 year old$125.18$165.33$218.77$316.15
70 year old$193.44$280.65$366.94$527.76
75 year old$386.32$499.10$663.48$994.07
Rates are examples only.

Unsurprisingly, the more serious your heart disease, the higher your table rating.

Again, if you have experienced a serious cardiac event within the last 12 months, it will be difficult to secure traditional coverage, but guaranteed issue is an option.

How To Apply

A serious medical condition, like heart disease, requires you do two things before applying for a life insurance policy.

First, it is a must to work with an independent agent. You want access to multiple life insurance companies because every carrier will underwrite your condition differently.

Second, you need to do some prep work. Gather your important medical information, including dates and your physician’s information. That way, you will be prepared for the application.

A great place to start is to fill out your free quote.