Secrets to the best term life rates for sleep apnea
Finding affordable term life rates for sleep apnea patients may seem like a struggle. Perhaps you were already rated higher than you think you deserve by another company. Or perhaps you were even declined for coverage.
It’s important to remember that every life insurance company evaluates your health and lifestyle differently. What one company may rate or even decline, another company may offer with no rating whatsoever.
This post will take all the mystery on how to find the companies that offer the lowest rates for those that suffer with sleep apnea or other medical conditions.
Now, there are lots of life insurance companies that offer term life rates for sleep apnea. But there are only a handful of companies that actually specialize in underwriting the lowest term life rates for sleep apnea.
Finding the best term life rates for sleep apnea
Okay, so how do you actually find out which life insurance company will offer you the best term life rates for sleep apnea? You must use an agent or broker who is consider a “special risk” agent. A special risk agent will typically have access to dozens of life insurance companies. A captive agent would only have access to one primary company.
If you use a captive agent then you are stuck with only one choice. What if that company does a lousy job underwriting people with sleep apnea? You must work with an agent who is experienced in dealing with people who have pre-existing medical conditions. These special risk agents typically have been in business for many years.
They know the marketplace. They know the life insurance companies that offer the best term life rates for sleep apnea. This alone will save you time and perhaps hundreds if not thousands of dollars over the lifetime of your policy.
Fortunately you have landed on this blog. We are experts at the finding affordable coverage for those with sleep apnea.
What actually is sleep apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea is very common and often under diagnosed. It is a respiratory condition consisting of bouts of breathing that stops during sleep. This can be a very dangerous condition.
Some of the symptoms of sleep apnea include excessive daytime sleepiness and loud snoring. In addition, the sleep partner may report cessation of breathing. Complete cessation of breathing is know as apnea. Partial cessation of breathing is known as hypopnea.
Obesity is strongly associated with obstructive sleep apnea. This is because the excess tissue in the throat can lead to a collapsed airway when lying down to sleep.
Life insurance underwriters are not only concerned with the sleep apnea when evaluating individuals for life insurance. Some of the other dangers associated with sleep apnea include high blood pressure, heart failure, heart irregularities and lung damage. There may also be signs of depression and dulling of memory. There is also a high risk of motor vehicle accidents due to daytime sleepiness.
What do life insurance underwriters look for when evaluating sleep apnea?
Often times your physician will want to confirm their diagnosis of sleep apnea by evaluating a sleep study test. A sleep study test is done to record how often and how long you go without breathing during the night. It also measures other oxygen levels and blood pressure results. A sleep study test is an important piece of information for an underwriter.
This information along with a complete study of your medical history can help the underwriter determine if any additional premium is warranted with your policy.
Many individuals with sleep apnea also use a machine called a CPAP. This machine is used when sleeping. It helps to pump airflow into the lungs during inhalation. Life insurance underwriters will want to know if you are using a CPAP machine and how long you have used this.
Favorable compliance of the CPAP machine can make all the difference in your final rates. Other devices that may help with sleep apnea are oral devices for the mouth while sleeping or certain dental devices to keep the jaw aligned.
While surgery can sometimes help reduce some of the tissue in the throat area, this often does not cure sleep apnea. Losing weight is another way to help reduce the affects of sleep apnea.
Can you still get preferred rates with sleep apnea?
Yes, it is possible to still get preferred rates with a history of sleep apnea. The sleep apnea would need to be a mild and there would need to be a consistent use of CPAP machine. Along with this you would also need to have excellent controlled blood pressure and no other pre-existng medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes.
As stated earlier in the article finding the lowest term life rates for sleep apnea is really about finding the right company. And to find the right company you must use the right agent or broker.
An agent who is new to the life insurance business or perhaps has never worked with clients that have sleep apnea would have no clue on what companies to look at. In fact, many agents tend to shy away from prospects with any type of medical history other than perfect health.
They simply don’t know the questions to ask and the companies to turn to for the best offer.
Life Companies that specialize in term life rates for sleep apnea
In my many years of experience, I have found that there is consistently a handful of life insurance carries that do a better job underwriting pre-existing medical conditions. Here are a list of some of those companies:
- PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
- BANNER LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
- PROTECTIVE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
- LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUP
- UNITED OF OMAHA LIFE
- TRANSAMERICA LIFE
- PRINCIPAL NATIONAL LIFE
- AMERICAN GENERAL LIFE
- MET LIFE
This list is not all inclusive but these carriers are always competitive.
Questions to be ready to answer
If your agent is a “special risk” agent they will need to ask you several questions about your medical history. This helps the agent know what particular carrier might offer the lowest rates.
This is very important. You do not want to submit an application to an insurance company until you get a tentative offer for coverage.
An agent with no experience will typically make this mistake. Not knowing what to do or how to proceed with this type of case, they oftentimes will just submit an application an hope it sticks.
How does this help? If the underwriter knows nothing about your condition then you are just hoping and dreaming for the best. Unfortunately, this often leads to disappointment when the policy comes back declined or highly rated. Don’t waste time applying until your agent feels really confident that the tentative offer for coverage will be approved.
Here are some of the general questions your agent will ask:
- Date of birth
- When were you diagnosed with sleep apnea
- Have you had a sleep study completed?
- Do you have the results of your sleep study?
- Do you use a CPAP machine?
- Height/weight?
- Have you used tobacco in last 5 years?
- Any current medications?
- Any other major medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, etc.?
In addition to the medical questions, it will important to know how much protection you need and for how long?
Conclusion-
So, there you have it. Your complete guide on how to find the lowest term life rates for sleep apnea. For a free consultation please contact us at 1-888-393-9003 or mike@specialriskterm.com
