If you’ve been diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency, either from Addison ’s Disease or from something else, you can still get coverage.
It really comes down to the severity of your condition and whether you have your adrenal insufficiency under control. Don’t think you can get coverage because of your health conditions.
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Life Insurance Underwriting
During the application, the agent is going to ask you about a hundred health questions. As a person with adrenal insufficiency, they are going to ask you a handful of questions about your condition:
- When were you diagnosed with an adrenal insufficiency?
- Have you discovered the underlying cause of your adrenal insufficiency?
- Have you had any episodes of adrenal insufficiency in the past 5 years?
- Were you hospitalized?
- Do you have any other health issues?
- Are you taking any medications for this condition or anything else?
Some common prescriptions are: hydrocortisone, fludrocortisone acetate (Florinef), and dexamethasone.
The life insurance application questions can show are improving your adrenal insufficiency. Make sure to answer everything clearly because life insurance underwriters will want to know everything about your condition. If you leave out some information, it can lead to your application being rejected.
Life Insurance Quotes With an Adrenal Insufficiency
With an adrenal insufficiency, a life insurance company’s first question will be what is causing your deficiency. This deficiency is often caused by Addison’s Disease, an autoimmune disease that damages the body’s ability to produce cortisone and aldosterone. However, this deficiency can also be caused by several cancers like tuberculosis.
Insurance companies rate an adrenal insufficiency caused by cancer worse than one caused by Addison’s Disease. They’ll also consider how well you’ve been managing your treatment and your overall health.
Each of the top life insurance companies has different rules for this condition, there are some common rating classes:
- Preferred Plus: Impossible for anyone with adrenal insufficiency. This condition has too high a risk of future complications, especially if an applicant mismanages the medications for this condition.
- Preferred: Also generally impossible for applicants with an adrenal insufficiency. Once again, this condition is just too risky for insurance companies to consider giving a price discount, regardless of how healthy you are otherwise.
- Standard: Most likely best rating for someone whose adrenal insufficiency isn’t caused by cancer. An applicant should have waited at least a year since getting this diagnosis to show the condition is under control. Also, the applicant should not have had to go to the hospital in the past 2 years or had an episode in the past 5 years for this condition and is otherwise in good health.
- Table Rating (substandard): Most likely rating for someone with an adrenal insufficiency. It’s easier to get a rated policy when your deficiency is caused by Addison’s Disease, but some applicants with a mild form of cancer may also qualify. Insurers will consider whether you had to go to the hospital, how many episodes you’ve had from this condition, and your overall health to determine your rating.
- Declines: Applicants who apply within one year of their adrenal insufficiency diagnosis will likely be denied. Insurers want to see more time to make sure the applicant has this condition under control. Also, applicants with a more severe form of cancer or metastatic cancer will also be denied.
Life Insurance Rating Classes and Eligibility Criteria for Adrenal Insufficiency
| Rating Class | Description | Eligibility Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Preferred Plus | Unavailable Due to High Risks From Adrenal Insufficiency and Potential Medication Mismanagement | • Impossible for Anyone With Adrenal Insufficiency |
| Preferred | Generally Inaccessible Due to High Inherent Risks, Irrespective of Overall Health | • Generally Impossible for Adrenal Insufficiency Applicants |
| Standard | Best for Non-cancerous Cases; Requires a 1-Year Post-diagnosis Wait and Good Health | • Wait 1 Year Post-diagnosis • No Hospital Visits in 2 Years • No Episodes in 5 Years • Good Overall Health |
| Table Rating (Substandard) | Common for Adrenal Insufficiency; Easier With Addison’s Disease or Mild Cancer Cases | • Assess Hospital Visits • Evaluate Episode Frequency • Consider Overall Health |
| Declines | Likely Denied Within a Year of Diagnosis; Time Needed for Condition Control | • Apply at Least 1 Year Post-diagnosis • No Severe or Metastatic Cancer Cases |
Adrenal Insufficiency Insurance Case Studies
To help show the impact your health has on your application, here are some are some stories of previous clients we’ve worked with:
Case Study: Female, 47 y/o, diagnosed with an adrenal insufficiency at age 45 from Addison’s Disease, tried applying for life insurance soon after and was rejected
When this applicant found out she had an adrenal insufficiency from Addison’s Disease, it scared her into applying for life insurance immediately after the diagnosis. Since she hadn’t waited at least a year, her application was denied. This made her think she was uninsurable.
We knew this wasn’t true because she was otherwise in good health and had her condition well under control. Now that she had waited the appropriate amount of time, we recommended she try again. We also put her in contact with an insurance company that works with adrenal insufficiency patients. By trying again under these circumstances, this client received a standard rating.
Case Study #2: Male, 58 y/o, diagnosed with an adrenal insufficiency at 53 from Addison’s Disease, initially didn’t regularly take medications and was hospitalized at 55, doing a better job now
While this improved his health, it didn’t seem to help his life insurance rating. Why didn’t he get approved for a better plan? The insurance company was focusing on his previous health records.
What’s the next step for him? We told him to set up an appointment with his doctor and get a statement about his improved health. When he applied. The client got a Substandard Level 1 policy through Banner Life.
If you want to buy life insurance with an adrenal insufficiency, it helps to team up with an insurance expert.
How Much Coverage Do You Need?
Regardless of the company you choose or the plan you buy, you need to get enough protection. Before you can do anything else, you should complete some calculations.
The two numbers you need to add up are your debts and your paycheck. There are two main purposes of life insurance, to give your family enough money to pay any bills you leave behind and to replace your source of income.
