It’s time to get life insurance and you want to know how life insurance companies will look at applicants who are diagnosed with arthritis. It’s a legitimate concern since securing a policy will not be as easy as it is for an individual without arthritis. However, it’s not impossible since millions of Americans are diagnosed with the condition and life insurance companies are getting pretty good with underwriting that risk. Being an independent agency, we have helped people secure life insurance policies with arthritis at affordable rates. The key is to find the company that will look at your health most favorably while also providing a competitive rate.
In summary, if you have Osteoarthritis that’s mild you can expect to get preferred to standard rates and can actually run quotes on our quoter. If the type you have is Rheumatoid, then you’re looking at a standard to substandard rating based on treatment and severity. Substandard is a category that has 10 tables and each table will have a 25% premium increase. For Rheumatoid arthritis feel free to call us and get a custom quote. Worst case if you don’t qualify for one of the many companies we represent you can get a guaranteed issue policy or an accidental death plan.
Life insurance companies look at certain factors when considering an applicant with arthritis. That’s why the underwriter will look at the type of arthritis you have, the severity of your condition, medications being taken, your ability to complete daily living activities and other factors such as any additional medical conditions, smoking habit or build.
Most distinctive factor right off the bat will be the type of arthritis that you have. The outcome of the underwriting between Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid arthritis can be drastic. Both conditions bring unnecessary discomfort to its patients but Rheumatoid arthritis sufferers have a much harder time securing a life insurance policy. This lies in the fact that osteoarthritis is due to years of wear and tear on the joints while rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. That’s why it’s very common to get preferred to standard rates if you have osteoarthritis. If that’s the type of arthritis you have, feel free to compare rates with the quoter on your right!
Being an autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis can spread to other parts of the body, such as heart, blood, lungs or nerves. It also requires medications that can affect the overall health of an individual negatively because unlike osteoarthritis where an otc pain pill will do. Rheumatoid arthritis requires anti-inflammatory and steroidal drugs. If you only take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs you can expect a better rate and outcome than someone taking Methotrexate or Prednisone.
The company will also look to see how does the condition affect your daily living. In other words, do you have difficulty walking, taking a shower, sleeping and etc. Are you currently working or are you on social security disability. Your employment status can be the difference between getting approved or declined since its a great indicator of how much affect the disease has on your life. That’s not to say that you’re automatically declined if you’re disabled.
Once all the factors are considered you can expect to get a standard, substandard rating or a decline. In most cases a substandard rating is very common which has ten tables ranging from table one to ten with each table will have a 25% increase in the premium. If you have mild symptoms with non-steroidal drugs and the condition has no effect on your daily living it is possible to get standard rates. For those who have moderate rheumatoid arthritis with stronger medication use, it is likely to get substandard rates ranging from table 2 to table 4. However, if your condition is severe, requiring multiple medications and or you’re on disability the company will give you high table rating or decline your application.
When looking for life insurance with arthritis, it’s important to remember that not all companies will look at your condition the same. There have been instances where an applicant gets declined by one company and approved by next. This is exactly why you want to work with an independent agency that can shop your case and get the best outcome for you. In our agency, we also like to include a cover letter which brings some life to the applicant and can increase the odds of getting a better rating.
Preparing for Rheumatoid Arthritis Underwriting
Getting turned down or approved for life insurance with Rheumatoid Arthritis comes down to doing all the right steps before pulling the trigger on the application. So let’s review what are some steps you and your agent can take to ensure you have the best odds.
- Prequalify- This is where you and your agent need to gather all the information on your overall health, exact name of medications you take, occupation information, family history, height/weight and any other factors that underwriters will look at.
- Quick Quote- Once there is a detailed profile of all your information it is time to send an anonymous email to all the underwriters at top companies with all your info. A quick quote will come back with exactly the type of rate classification you can expect with Rheumatoid Arthritis. This offer can later be attached with your application to further increase your success with getting approved.
- Cover Letter- A letter providing additional details to make you look great in the eyes of the underwriter. This is not a required step but I highly recommended one, we do this for every client with a pre-existing condition.
- Notify Your Doctor- It is also important to let your physician that is treating your Rheumatoid Arthritis know that company will be requesting records. Don’t forget to make sure that the information on the records is up to date and accurate. There are many cases where the records have not been updated and it makes the underwriting a disaster.
Work with the Pros!
If you value your time, we got some good news! Here at InsureChance we work with over 60 top rated insurers and we will find the best one if you have arthritis. In addition to that we will do all the leg work for you so don’t wait and call us today at 888.492.1967 or simply email or chat us.
