If your looking for life insurance with congestive heart failure or “CHF”, your options are going to be limited. At this point, you may already know this and are looking for your best solution to owning life insurance.
Life insurance policies for people with congestive heart failure are “far and few between.” Life insurance companies consider this condition to be high risk and the vast majority of carriers will decline anyone with a chronic heart failure diagnosis.
So what are you supposed to do? The very good news is, this does not mean you cannot qualify for coverage with the right life insurance carrier and policy. In fact, you can even obtain coverage with no exam required.
In this post we are going to put you down the path of what to know if you want the best possible outcome for life insurance with CHF.
Life Insurance Options for Congestive Heart Failure Patients
With chronic heart failure, many life insurance agents will suggest that you will need (GI) guaranteed issue whole life insurance. While that is not necessarily the “wrong” answer, it is not the best life insurance solution for a great number of congestive heart failure patients. Only about 5-7% of our clientele actually need GI, even with a chronic health failure health history.
At Maple Valley Insurance Group, we have whole life insurance solutions for people with CHF that have better benefits and lower premiums than the guaranteed issue products on the market such as the 9.95 life insurance from Colonial Penn.
Pro’s of Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance
- No health history questions or electronic medical checks
- Builds cash value
- Locked, lifetime premium rates
- No expiration
- Policy benefits never decrease
Con’s of Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance
- Minimum Waiting Period of 2 years for full coverage
- Considerably higher lifetime premiums than other whole life insurance
Can You Really Get Better Life Insurance If You Have Congestive Heart Failure?
We can get life insurance with CHF in place for most people whether we are talking about a baby or a 90 year old senior. The younger you are at application, the better the lifetime rates.
Many life insurance consumers find out that it is very hard to get a good life insurance policy if they have a CHF diagnosis. It is a very serious situation and the insurance carriers realize they are taking a very sustantial risk with such a diagnosis.
What if I told you it is possible to get affordable,1st day whole life insurance for heart failure patients? This also means the premiums would never go up and the death benefit for your loved ones never goes down.
Yes, this is regardless of accidental or natural causes of death, your family would receive the full amount of the policy from day 1 of coverage.
Now, life insurance for people with CHF is only available from a few life insurance companies. Since most carriers will decline this condition, it is very important to talk to a seasoned and independent life insurance broker, not the general agent on the corner selling auto and homeowners insurance.
While a select couple or insurance companies do offer the 1st day, lifetime coverage, others have a 2 year limited benefit period before full benefits are available to your beneficiary. The later is called graded benefit whole life insurance though roughly 5% of the time, a guaranteed issue whole life policy is the only answer for a very complicated case.
What Will The Insurance Companies Want To Know To Approve Me With CHF?
First, any congestive heart failure life insurance application will ask your date of birth, address and how much coverage you would like to apply for. Additionally, your social security number will also be required. Why? The insurance company must confirm who you are to conform with the US “Patriot Act.” Assuming you are not applying for a guaranteed acceptance life insurance policy, the insurance company will have some health history questions on their application you must answer…if you really want “the best.”
In order for us to find the best life insurance for your congestive heart failure diagnosis, we will want to discuss your medications. Why the prescriptions? The point is to sort out any carriers who will decline you because of a particular medication you have been prescribed whether for CHF or any other medical condition.
If you are after the best life insurance for a CHF patient, discussing your prescription medications, the starting date, dosage and specific reason they were prescribed is vital to the best outcome.
Call your doctors office and speak with the nurse if you are not sure about your prescriptions. Include all medications sent to the pharmacy whether you’ve used them or not. The insurance company reviews your medication history and combines this with your health questionaire (on the application) to see if they can approve you for coverage. This is all done electronically and in real time. If you need a large amount of coverage, you may need to make application for a 2nd policy. Many insurers will not exceed $25,000 per policy for CHF life insurance cases.
The Best Life Insurance for People With CHF & Other Serious Heart Problems
So we’re clear that you are looking into congestive heart failure life insurance here today. However, what is “best” for your needs is a guess at this point. Without some overall health history insight beyond the heart failure diagnosis, it is hard to say what your best life insurance for CHF is. If you are bound to a wheelchair and need help with your activities of daily living such as bathing or dressing, we are going to recommend Gerber guaranteed issue whole life. However, if you are able to get around and following your doctors treatment, you may very well be able to obtain a graded whole life insurance policy or even a full, 1st day whole life insurance policy.
If you’d like to have an idea what a graded whole life policy might cost you per month, use the final expense tool on this page. Under “Health Class” select “Decent.” This will lock in graded plans. While these are up to date rates, most graded plans will not approve CHF, so giving us a phone call is adviseable so we can make an appropriate carrier recommendation. Sorry, the tool is not designed to anticipate specific medical conditions. All insurance companies have different qualifications for their policies.
Can You Qualify For Full 1st Day Congestive Heart Failure Life Insurance?
Yes, there are a couple of life insurers who may be able to offer this to you, even with CHF. This will also depend upon other conditions you may have as well. It would be irresponsible of us to tell you those 2 carriers without doing a health assessment first to see if your overall health could prequalify you. Our goal is to get you approved, not declined by submitting an application to an insurer who will not approve you because a combination of factors.
As someone who has CHF, your best bet is to adhere to all the lifestyle changes your doctor has recommended including diet, exercise and prescribed perscription medications. Obtaining a premium, no exam,1st day, whole life policy is possible but the insurance company will want know you are following the “doctors orders” to a “T” in order to approve you.
For example, you may have a question like this for immediate, first day coverage with CHF:
In the past 10 years, have you been medically diagnosed, for which you have not been treated by a licensed
member of the medical profession, or have not taken medication for the following: uncontrolled diabetes,
uncontrolled high blood pressure, stroke/TIA, paralysis, Congestive Heart Failure, heart disease,
cardiomyopathy, lung disease (including COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)/emphysema), liver
cirrhosis or failure, kidney (renal) failure/insufficiency, or chronic/end-stage kidney disease (including dialysis)?
Please keep in mind, this is just one, very long question from one particular insurance company. There are other questions you would be asked but beyond the scope of this article.
The key in this question…are you are being treated by a medical doctor and following his or her treatment plan for the heart problem you have? If so, you may be in good shape to proceed in applying. This particular company rewards applicants for following the doctors treatment plan for any of the conditions mentioned. An individual who choses not to follow the treatment protocol would not be eligible for 1st day, full coverage.
Not everyone is willing to following the treatment protocol as prescribed by their doctor. That is ok, that is your decision not the insurance company’s. Either a graded or guaranteed acceptance policy can or will get whole life insurance in place.
Take-home On Life Insurance Policies For People With Congestive Heart Failure, CHF
If you do not want to speak with an independent insurance agent or broker regarding your health, only a guaranteed issue policy (GI) will approve you with congestive heart failure, CHF. Health questions are part of obtaining the best rates and policies. There is NO way around this. Be clear, no one can get full, first day coverage without a health history questionaire. No insurance company will take that risk.
If you are adament there to be no health questions, get a free, instant quote for “guaranteed acceptance” from the “Final Expense” tool located on this page. Under the “Health Class” select “Poor.” This will lock in all the guaranteed acceptance policies so you know how much it will cost you to go that route. There is still no health exam, just remember the limitations (2 year limited benefit period).
With that said, we always recommend answering a few health history questions to see if you can qualify for a better policy. This will always put those you care about in the best position.
Why?
Most often, it also results in better benefits and significantly lower premiums as a bonus. Almost daily we talk with clientele looking for life insurance with a heart failure diagnosis. We know preexisting medical conditions very well and how they impact consumers.
Now is the time to secure protection. A general rule to be mindful with life insurance…time works against you. None of us are getting any younger are we? Age is one of the key factors in the price of your policy. The younger you are, the lower your lifetime price. Take the next step to make sure your family has the care you want them to have. We know who offers the best products and value for you and your goals, even with a CHF diagnosis. Let us know how we can help. Our consultation is always free. 269-244-3420
