Is affordable life insurance with abdominal aneurysm available?
When researching options for life insurance with abdominal aneurysm it is important to know where to look.
This article will provide you with information on how to find the most affordable life insurance with abdominal aneurysm in the marketplace. It will also attempt to give you an idea how life insurance underwriters view the risk of an abdominal aneurysm.
The absolute number one way to find the most affordable company in the industry for individuals with an abdominal aneurysm history is to find companies that specialize in this particular type of cardiovascular risk.
In order to find the companies that underwrite this particular risk the best, you must work with an agent who is independent and represents multiple companies.
In addition, your agent should have many years of experience working in the special risk life insurance arena. Being an expert in the special risk marketplace takes years of developing relationships with life insurance underwriters. A special risk agent will know the right questions to ask his prospect and know how to sell the case to the underwriter for the best offer.
Fortunately, you have landed on this page. We are experts at handling special risk life insurance.
What does the underwriter look for when evaluating abdominal aneurysm?
The aorta is the largest artery in the body. It carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the systemic circulation. The abdominal aorta extends from the diaphragm to the two iliac arteries, which go to the legs.
Life insurance underwriters are primarily concerned with the width of the aorta. Anything outside of the normal width of the aorta is said to be aneurysymal.
Normal width for women age 50 and older is 1.5cm. For men it is 1.7cm. If the width is 1.5 times normal range or 3cm. then the aorta is abnormal.
The typical reasons for disease of the aorta is aging or atherosclerosis. Aneurysms are asymptomatic until rupture/dissection. Tobacco use, high blood pressure, age and male gender are also risk factors. There is also a strong familial risk as well.
Below is is typical recommendations for an enlarged abdominal aorta:
- Aortic diameter less than 3cm- No follow-up needed
- Aneurysm 3-4.5cm in diameter- Annual ultrasound recommended
- Aneurysm greater than 4.5cm- Vascular surgeon referral recommended
- Aneurysm that grows greater than 0.5cm in 6 months or 1cm in 1 year- Vascular surgeon referral recommended
Typical underwriting guidelines used for evaluation of abdominal aorta aneurysm:
- Marfan Syndrome, Familial aortic aneurysm, Vasculitis, Ehlers-Danlos IV- Most Often Declined for Coverage
- Spontaneous Dissection without underlying pathology- Postpone application for year after recovery then potentially insurable at 50% rate up
- Trauma, after recovery, without underlying pathologh- Typically Standard Risk
- Dilated up to 3cm- Typically Standard Risk
- 3-4.5cm, stable for one year and good follow-up- Possible offer plus 100% rate up
- Greater than 4.5cm, not stable for one years or not well followed- Possible declination
- Degenerative disease of abdominal aorta, operated by traditional open repair- Possible offer plus 50% rate up
- Degenerative disease of abdominal aorta, operated by endovascular repair with stable ultrasound- Possible offer with 75% rating after 1 year from surgery.
The Secret to Finding the Best Rate
As an expert in the special risk marketplace, we typically know which handful of life insurance companies will make the best offer for coverage for a particular risk. In some cases though it may make sense to have the companies compete against each other for the privilege of making you an offer.
One way we do this is by submitting a request to multiple carriers on an informal basis or trial application. This may simply entail getting as much medical information as we can from our prospect either verbally or from their personal physicians.
We then send this to the different companies or speak directly to the underwriters to get their feel for what the best rates would be SHOULD we decide to formally apply to them for coverage. This makes the companies fight for your business.
Most traditional life insurance agents don’t do this. They simply have no idea what to do when a prospect says they have a history of an abdominal aneurysm. The typical agent won’t know what questions to ask or have any idea which insurance company will make the best offer.
So, left with no options, many unexperienced agents simply throw out a rate to their customer and take an application for whatever company they represent. This can be a huge disservice to the client. By doing this the agent has no control over the outcome. The company that underwrites the policy may be only in the preferred risk marketplace and have absolutely no experience underwriting life insurance with abdominal aneurysm.
Therefore, the clients information is then reported to the medical information bureau. If the insured is declined, the MIB report will now show this on the record of the insured. This can actually hurt the insured in finding other coverage elsewhere. This is a typical rookie mistake by many agents.
Number one rule again. ONLY WORK WITH AN AGENT THAT IS EXPERIENCED IN THE SPECIAL RISK MARKETPLACE…
Questions for evaluating life insurance with abdominal aneurysm
Below you will find the typical questions that most underwriters will need answered when evaluating you for protection. Answering these questions up front can save you quite a bit of time and perhaps money on if a company will insure you and what the possible rates may be:
- Male or Female?
- Date of Birth?
- Ever use tobacco?If stopped, when?
- Amount of coverage needed?
- Size of Aneurysm?
- Age at diagnosis?
- With operation or without?If operated when and what type? I.E. open repair or endovascular
- Date of last ultasound?
- Current Medications?
- Any other medical history? I.E. diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, etc.
- Height/weight?
Conclusion-
Important- Remember if coverage cannot be found thru traditional underwriting, coverage may still be available thru a guaranteed issue program.
If you need life insurance and have a history of abdominal aneurysm, coverage may be available. If you would like us to review your situation please contact us at 1-888-393-9003 or mike@specialriskterm.com We are experienced in this special risk area of life insurance underwriting. You will work personally with the owner of the agency. Thank you for reviewing this blog.
