Millions of people have one form of anxiety or another but in this article, we are covering general anxiety and not more severe forms such as OCD or PTSD. When applying for life insurance, companies look at you as an overall risk based on your health, family history, dangerous hobbies or occupations and background. Anxiety is considered a mental health disorder so it can affect your eligibility for life insurance. To what extent will be determined by the life insurance company you choose and the severity of your condition.
When applying for life insurance with anxiety the company will want to know the date you were diagnosed, type of treatment, medications used, were you hospitalized or did you take time off work due to the condition. On top of that, they will look at other factors such as your build, other medical conditions and if you are a smoker or not. By using this information you will be assigned different rate classes that will determine your monthly payment. Life insurance rate classes range from Preferred, Standard and Substandard. Substandard is usually assigned to people that are high risk and has ten levels known as tables. The higher the table, the higher the premium.
What to Expect When Getting Life Insurance With Anxiety
One of the most important factors to getting the best outcome when diagnosed with anxiety is to apply with the right company. That is one of the reasons we work with 60 different companies so we are capable of applying to those most lenient for your condition. Once the company is identified the rate class you get will depend on the severity of your condition. Below are some possible outcomes:
Mild Anxiety
If you need a minimal amount of medications with no counseling, no time off work and have not been hospitalized for anxiety than you can get the best rate class. So expect preferred to standard rate classes. This means that you can apply for any type of fully underwritten or simplified issue life insurance plan. A lot of our past clients get the same rate a person without anxiety would get since mild anxiety doesn’t have a strong effect on mortality.
Moderate
With moderate anxiety as long as it’s under control with no more than 2 weeks off of work and outpatient psychotherapy you expect standard to substandard table 4 rate classes. In this case, you should stick to life insurance plans that require full underwriting with an exam since they will be most likely to give you an approval. If you have any other conditions that will further increase your rate class so is best to work with high-risk carriers like Prudential, TransAmerica or American General.
Severe
If you have recurring episodes which require hospitalization and or you are unable to work due to your severe anxiety. Expect to get rated substandard table 4 or higher. In some occasions, it is possible to get declined altogether.
(Just to get an idea let’s run life insurance quotes for a 42-year old female with anxiety looking for $250,000 with different rate classes to see how they affect the premium.)
Here are the best rates for this specific situation:
- Preferred Rate – $22.75 per month
- Standard Rate – $34.13 per month
- Substandard Table 6 Rate – $64.86 per month
What happens if you get declined?
If your anxiety is severe and you have tried to apply with multiple carriers with no luck then your last option may have to be a guaranteed issue life insurance plan. This is a whole life coverage that is usually capped at $25,000 of coverage that you can get with no exam and no questions asked. The catch is that if you die within the first two years then the company will only pay out the premiums you put in plus 10% interest. Sometimes we can also stack multiple policies together to get the desired amount. Although this may not sound as good as traditional plans it is something versus nothing.
You can also go with an accidental death benefit coverage too since there is no underwriting for those plans. An accidental death plan will not cover death due to illness or natural cause but only death that resulted from an accident. This option may not be bad for people under 50 since death at that age group is usually the result of an accident.
Tips for Life Insurance Application with Anxiety
Getting approved with any preexisting condition takes a little bit more effort and experience. If you want to increase your odds of getting life insurance with anxiety then the tips ahead will find you well:
- Apply with the right company- as a life insurance brokerage we work with lots of companies and we can tell you that no one company will look at you the same. There are companies that are more lenient with anxiety than others and we know which ones you need to go for.
- Quick Quote- speaking of picking the right company, a quick quote is an anonymous email blast to all the major carriers with your health details to get an idea of a preliminary offer to expect. This offer can then be added on top of your application for a better result.
- Cover Letter- This is something we do for all of our clients. A good cover letter to go with your application can make a difference in getting approved with a competitive rate to downright turned down. The goal here is to show the company what you do, who you’re getting a policy for and anything else to make you stand out from boring ol’ applications that they get on their desk.
- Organize Medical Records- Most likely the company will request medical records from your doctors so you want to make sure for one that they are aware of this and for two that the records are accurate and good order. There have been a lot of times where the medical record errors make it seem like your condition is worse than it actually is. So be sure to dot your “i’s” and cross your
“T’s”.
The best thing you can do is work with an experienced life insurance brokerage like ours to save yourself time, money and stress. If you have mild anxiety you can run quotes here, just make sure to select preferred or standard health class to get accurate quotes, once you find a plan you can request an application. If you have moderate or severe anxiety you will likely get substandard rates which is a custom quote. For a custom quote please call us at 888-492-1967 and we will be glad to help you!
