Burial Insurance with Congestive Heart Failure |It’s not too Late
Posted in Final Expense Life Insurance last updated on June 11, 2020
Generally, consumers with congestive heart failure (CHF) often find themselves denied for life insurance coverage. If you’ve been considering burial insurance while suffering from CHF, you’ve come to a great source!
In this review, we will be covering what CHF is, what policies are available, and what to expect from the underwriting process. It’s not too late to get Burial Insurance with Congestive Heart Failure.
About Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
Also known as cardiac failure or heart failure, congestive heart failure (CHF) is a medical condition in which the pumping action of the heart is inadequate and unable to regulate blood flow throughout the body. More specifically, fluid builds up around the heart and causes it to pump inefficiently.
According to the CDC, approximately 6.5 million U.S. citizens suffer from CHF. In fact, as of 2017, CHF caused one in every eight deaths in the U.S. Unfortunately, CHF affects everyone from children to elderly adults.
Congestive heart failure is actually a symptom caused by numerous medical conditions. Depending on the pre-existing illness, over time, the heart can “stiffen” or weaken, which causes it to work improperly. CHF is the end result of such heart problems.
There are several medical conditions that have the potential to lead to CHF, including coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, myocardial infarction (heart attack), leaky heart valves, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart issues, diabetes, and arrhythmias.
For insurance purposes, it’s relevant to understand what the underlying disease process is that has led an applicant to congestive heart failure.
After all, CHF is the end result of pre-existing medical conditions so, therefore, it’s an anomaly that can be reversed as long as the medical condition causing it is addressed.
Qualifying for Life Insurance with Heart Failure
Although it’s common for those with CHF to get declined by burial insurance companies, it’s often due to applying for an improper life insurance policy.
The correct policy is based on the underlying health condition(s) causing the congestive heart failure.
We are here to let you know that you can get full life insurance coverage while suffering from CHF, it just depends on the policy you’re applying for.
If medical underwriting is involved in order to obtain a certain life insurance policy, it’s almost certain that you’ll be denied coverage. With congestive heart failure as a serious medical issue, the majority of carriers will deny coverage right from the start.
Often, what life insurance providers won’t tell you is that you will qualify for guaranteed acceptance, which offers full coverage after the two-year waiting period is up because they don’t offer it.
The Underwriting Process with CHF
As a general rule of thumb regarding underwriting, if something is asked, then it’s a serious matter for the provider, and if something is not asked, the provider is not as concerned with it.
Health questions included in burial insurance companies’ underwriting ask about medical conditions or diseases, lifestyle, history of tobacco and alcohol use, and treatments or surgeries related to medical conditions present.
Every single life insurance provider will ask about congestive heart failure during their underwriting process. This is a progressive and chronic heart condition with no known cure, so you will always be asked about your diagnosis and treatment when applying for life insurance coverage.
Here are some example questions that will be asked of you about CHF:
In order to properly assess which burial insurance company is best and get the best rates, you will need to answer any health questions as honestly as possible.
If you have a positive family history of heart disease or if you’ve ever experienced any heart-related condition, such as a heart attack or irregular heart rhythms, you will want to be sure you have some sort of insurance policy in place.
A burial insurance policy will help protect your family and loved ones from the financial burden of your passing.
Prescribed Medications
A full review of your prescription medication history will be obtained during the underwriting process. The purpose of this is to know what treatments you’ve undergone as well as what other medical issues might be present.
It is not uncommon for those with CHF to be on multiple medications. The most common regimen includes water pills (diuretics) and blood pressure medication.
Some of the most commonly prescribed medications include BiDil, Milrinone, Primacor, Bumex, Lasix, Hydrochlorothiazide, Coreg, Lisinopril, and Lopressor.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list and these medications are often taken in combination with one another.
If you are on any of these medications and have not been diagnosed with CHF, you need not worry. Additionally, we will point you towards the best companies that do not depend on a drug combination protocol when deciding whether an applicant has CHF based on their medications.
Burial Insurance with Congestive Heart Failure
No matter how progressive your CHF is or what underlying conditions you may have, you will always be able to obtain coverage. Your premiums may be higher than you’d like, but they shouldn’t be completely exorbitant.
The best insurance coverage for CHF is a burial insurance policy, which has an immediate but partial benefit.
Due to the complexity and seriousness of congestive heart failure, most insurance providers will decline applicants with CHF outright. Fortunately, there are providers that will approve your application based on certain “modifications”.
Simply put, these modifications include a two-year waiting period and higher premiums. However, due to the intricate nature of these sorts of modifications, you will most likely benefit more from a guaranteed issue policy.
Guaranteed Issue Plan with Congestive Heart Failure
One of the greatest perks with guaranteed issue life insurance is that there are no medical questions on the application. More importantly, you do not even need to disclose that you have CHF.
These types of policies are for those applicants with higher risk pre-existing medical conditions.
In order to apply for this policy, you just need to check your state’s availability and be a U.S. citizen at least 40 to 85 years of age. That’s it! Guaranteed issue is the easiest and most unobtrusive way to receive burial insurance coverage.
A guaranteed issue policy contains the same key features regardless of the provider:
Important to note is that all guaranteed policies have some sort of waiting period. Typically the graded period is for two years, but some carriers go for three years.
Before you can qualify for full insurance coverage, you will be required to go through the mandatory waiting period. This graded death benefit clause places limitations on how much coverage your beneficiary will receive should you pass due to natural causes.
Should you pass during the graded period, your beneficiary will not receive the full death benefit, but rather all the premiums you paid in plus 10% interest.
The exception to Graded Period
Only one exception exists where your beneficiary will receive the full death benefit during the two-year graded period and that’s if you pass from an accident, such as a vehicular accident.
If this were to happen, your family would receive the full death benefit even if the accident occurred during the two-year waiting period.
How to find Burial Insurance with Congestive Heart Failure
If you suffer from CHF, we strongly recommend that you work with a reputable and experienced independent insurance agency life LJM Life Insurance.
With such a complex medical condition, you want to know what all of your options are. An independent insurance agency represents numerous top-rated carriers that locate the most optimal policy for your unique situation.
If it’s decided that a guaranteed issue policy is right for you, the application process will be simple, no medical questions will be asked, and you won’t have to wait for coverage.
Highly-rated companies that we represent:
