Because Addison’s disease is believed to only affect around 110-144 individuals per every million in developed countries, you’ll often find that many life insurance agents simply aren’t all that familiar with working with folks who have been diagnosed with Addison’s disease.
The good news is that…
Even with the apparent lack of experience by many life insurance agents out there, most final expense and burial life insurance companies will be very familiar with underwriting individuals with Addison’s disease. This “should” make finding adequate coverage much easier for those with Addison’s disease provided that they “know where to look”.
Now you may be wondering, what we’re referring to when we say…
“Those who know where to look”
And the answer to that question is simple. What we mean is that anytime someone is looking to purchase a simplified issue life insurance or guaranteed issue policy after they’ve been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition, it’s always important to be sure that they do a bit of “comparison shopping”.
Or in other words…
Don’t just rely on one insurance company for all the answers, instead, check and see what several different insurance companies think!
You see…
Not all insurance companies are going to utilize the same underwriting guidelines when it comes to determining who they will and won’t insure. This is why, even though we here at JustBuryMe could theoretically work with 100’s of different insurance companies, we’ve narrowed down our list to just a few dozen whom we feel currently offer some of the best rates and underwriting guidelines in the industry.
So… what you’re going to want to do is…
Make sure that the insurance company that you’re choosing to work with is going to be one that is going to be the most favorable based on your current medical history.
How do you do this?
Simple, be sure that your life insurance agent is aware of your condition, and have them “shop” your application around prior to actually submitting it to any “one” insurance company.
Now as all of this pertains to those with Addison’s disease…
What you’re generally going to find is that most fully underwritten term or whole life insurance policies (which are the types of life insurance policies that will require a medical exam), will typically allow “Addison’s Applicant’s” to qualify for any number of “rate classes” depending upon how well their condition is being managed as well as host of other relevant information that may have absolutely nothing to do with your Addison’s diagnosis.
(At this point you may be interested in reading our articles that focus on many of the most common types of life insurance policies which will include: Fully Underwritten Life Insurance as well as Simplified issue life insurance and Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance)
So now, we’re sure you’re wondering…
What type of questions will the insurance companies want to know about with regards to my Addison’s disease?
Life insurance companies are going to be interested in:
- When you were first diagnosed with Addison’s disease?
- How long have you been treating your Addison’s disease?
- How have you been treating your Addison’s disease?
- And how well is your Addison’s disease being managed?
How well your condition is being managed will largely depend on the severity of symptoms that you are suffering as a result of your condition which can include feelings of:
- General dehydration which can lead to pain in the abdomen or muscles.
- Dizziness, fainting and/or lightheadedness.
- General fatigue.
- Loss of a healthy appetite.
- Low blood sugar and low blood pressure.
- As well as water-electrolyte imbalance and excessive sweating.
Individuals may also experience an absence of menstruation, a darkening of one’s skin, excessive urination, a reduced sex drive as well as a craving for salty foods.
Now are any of these symptoms life threatening?
Certainly not, which is why many applicants who have been diagnosed with Addison’s disease will still be eligible for many of the “BEST” rate classes like Preferred or Preferred Best when applying for their life insurance coverage.
However, if the severity of the symptoms that you’re suffering are severe enough for concern, insurance companies may decide to lower that rate class that you can potentially qualify for which could result in you needing to pay more for your insurance.
For example:
For some, that find themselves suffer from fainting or dizziness or experience significant abdominal and muscle pain, it’s possible that they may not be currently working right now or have been approved for a disability benefit.
If this is the case, some insurance companies may view these applications as “higher risk” and thus underwrite them accordingly!
This is why…
It’s so important that you decided to work with an insurance brokerage like JustBuryMe, that not only has the experience of working with potentially “higher risk” applicants, but also has access to dozens of different life insurance companies so that we are not solely dependent upon the “whims” of “any one” company’s underwriting guidelines!
So what are you waiting for? Give us a call today and see what we can do for you!
You may also be interested in reading one of our more popular article JustBuryMe’s Best Final Expense and Burial Insurance Companies.