In this blog post I’ll discuss some key questions you might have about buying life insurance while pregnant, and also discuss an interesting case I recently had which is the inspiration for this blog post.
Yes you can. Years ago this was not a possibility, but in today’s age the risk of dying or damage to your health while pregnant is very low and life insurance companies will approve you for life insurance while pregnant and you can qualify for the best rates.
No. The insurance company will ask you for your pre-pregnancy weight and will price your policy based on that. They will also be able to verify your pre-pregnancy weight by reviewing your doctor’s records. A weight increase during pregnancy will not cause you to pay more for life insurance.
With any planned surgery most insurance companies will postpone issuing a policy until after surgery has been completed. This is because having any type of surgery has risk and you are likely to get postponed for coverage if you’re having a C Section.
A common pregnancy related health issue is gestational diabetes. If you have gotten gestational diabetes you can still get approved for coverage, however you won’t qualify for the best rates.
Recently I had a client that was in excellent health applying for life insurance. We were hoping that she would get the best rates for coverage since she was in good health. After getting the results of her exam, her cholesterol was a bit high and the insurance company - in this case - Protective Life, approved the coverage at Standard Non Tobacco. This wasn't what we were expecting as the rate was higher than I initially quoted her.
The first thing I did was look at the results of the exam and noticed that while she won’t qualify for the best rates with Protective, she will qualify for the best rates with ING Reliastar. ING happens to have more liberal guidelines when it comes to cholesterol. So we put an application in with ING.
In the meantime I had further discussion with the client who told me she spoke to her doctor, and an increase in Cholesterol is common during pregnancy and is not a concern. Armed with that knowledge I went back to the Protective Life underwriter and explained the situation - that the client never had high cholesterol until their pregnancy which was common. The underwriter agreed and we were able to get the case approved at the Select Preferred Rate - which is the best health rating .
I share the above case with you for a few reasons. First, the case is proof that you can get the best rates while pregnant. However the case is also an example of why working with an experienced independent life insurance agent is beneficial. If Protective Life would not have budged from their original pricing, we would have gotten a better rate with ING. Knowing how to handle a life insurance case and get the best rate for a client is a skill that is learned over time, and working with an experienced agent can help you navigate life insurance and the underwriting process.
If you’re pregnant or planning a family consider buying a life insurance policy. The younger and healthier you are, the better the rate you will get.