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Do Health Issues Affect Life Insurance?

2009-07-06

General health and health issues are factors for life insurance and can affect rates. Health issues that may affect life insurance and rates are: coronary artery disease, cancer, diabetes, history of stroke, weight gain, HIV, asthma, alcohol abuse, and smoking.

HIV, smoking, alcohol, and weight can negatively impact life insurance.

In regards to HIV, most major life insurance companies don't insure individuals with the virus. Companies that insure individuals with HIV do so with restrictions. For instance, some companies may require applicants with HIV to meet certain criteria before being insured. Criteria include an age bracket and whether or not the person can work and live actively. Individuals must have a limited amount of the virus in their bloodstream, and individuals with full blown AIDS are not insured. Additionally, the manner in which the individual contracted the virus is taken into consideration, affecting eligibility for life insurance.

Smokers face higher life insurance rates due to associated risks with smoking related diseases. Applicants who smoke are generally viewed as a risk despite their current health.

Alcohol impacts life insurance based on certain medical conditions caused by alcohol use, the presence of elevated liver enzymes, and the possibility of a DUI. These factors categorize applicants who drink as potential risks.

Weight also impacts life insurance and individuals who exceed a certain weight tend to pay higher premiums. Most insurance companies take a person's build into consideration. A person's weight relative to height is also a key factor. Life insurance companies generally determine the type of risk an individual poses based upon these factors. Overweight people are an increased insurance risk since they are susceptible to developing health problems with age.

Benefits are available to individuals with terminally ill conditions. Most life insurance companies issue accelerated death benefits, if a policyholder's life expectancy is less than one year. Life insurance companies have stipulations regarding accelerated death benefits. Most insurance companies acknowledge catastrophic conditions as legitimate reasons to award accelerated death benefits. These conditions include heart attack, stroke, coronary bypass surgery, kidney failure, life-threatening cancer, and occasionally, organ transplant, AIDS, vision or limb loss, and paraplegia.

Jobs with high fatality rates are considered dangerous and typically lead to health issues. These professions include: fishing, logging, aircraft pilots and flight engineers, steel workers, farmers and ranchers, roofers, electricians, truck drivers, refuse and recyclable materials collections, and police officers.

If you need additional information regarding life insurance but you have a health issue, you should speak to a professional to determine the type of insurance that you are eligible for. Contact us at TermLifeInsuranceQuotes.com with any inquiries.

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