If you suffer from Polycythemia and need to get a life insurance policy, this article will cover your what your options are. The disease causes an increase in the proportion of blood volume due to an increase in red blood cells, or by a decrease in the volume of plasma.
It’s possible to have Polycythemia vera - a rare disease, also known as Primary Polycythemia. Red blood cells increase slowly over a period of time and you may never feel any symptoms or know you have it. Usually this is discovered in a blood test.
Common treatments that can stabilize the condition are simply having blood taken out - called a phlebotomy - to reduce your overall blood count, medication, or even taking low dosage of aspirin.
When you apply for life insurance, the company is going to ask you dozens and dozens of questions about your health. They will also require that you take a medical exam. They are going to see all of your health complications, and all of them are going to impact how much you pay for your life insurance. That doesn’t mean that you have to pay for an expensive policy.
Life insurance is one of the most things that you’ll ever buy for your loved ones. It’s one of the only ways that you can provide for your family, even if something tragic were to happen to you.
If your condition is well controlled with one of the treatment options mentioned above then you should be able to get approved for coverage for a regular term life policy. In this case you will likely end up paying a higher rate because of the condition, but your policy will be the same policy anyone else would get.
How is your rate determined? If the condition is well controlled you will likely get what is called a ‘substandard table rating’. What does this mean? It means that you won’t get Preferred or Standard rates, but rather you will pay a higher rate called a table rating. Table ratings are ratings between 1-8 (also called A-H) that are reserved for higher risk life insurance cases. The higher the number, or letter, the higher the price for a policy. With a stable, well controlled Polycythmia, you can expect a table 2-6 rating depending on your medical history as well as other health factors. Let’s take an example of a 45 year old male applying for $250,000 20 year term life insurance at a Table 4 rating. This will give you an idea of pricing. In this case the rate would be $93 per month - still an affordable option.
What is the Polycythmia is not well controlled? In these cases you may not be able to get approved for a regular life insurance policy. However you can still get coverage. A graded benefit policy will be the way to go in this case. With a graded death benefit life insurance policy, there is an initial period of 2 or 3 years before the death benefit is in full effect. Graded benefit policies are more expensive than a regular policy and should only be considered as an option if you can’t get approved for a regular life insurance policy.
Another option for coverage is to buy a guaranteed acceptance policy. As you can imagine from the name, nobody is turned down for these plans, regardless of health or any conditions. It might sound like the perfect plan, but there are a couple of pros and cons that you should weigh before you buy one of them.
The obvious advantage is that there is zero chance of being declined for coverage. All that you have to do is give them your age, gender, and how much insurance that you want. After that, you start paying premiums and you have life insurance. It’s as easy as that.
Another benefit is how quickly you can be approved compared to a traditional policy. If you apply for a normal plan that has a medical exam, you could end up waiting almost two months before you get life insurance. With a guaranteed acceptance, you have protection in less than an hour. If you want the quickest option on the market, this is the best choice that also does not require a medical exam.
On the other hand, there are several key pitfalls. The most notable one is that you’re going to be restricted on the amount of life insurance that you can buy. Most companies will only allow you to purchase around $25,000 worth of coverage through a guaranteed acceptance policy. For most families, that isn’t nearly enough. Having too little coverage is one of the worst mistakes that you can make for your family.
Another problem with these plans is that they are more expensive. You’ll pay more for every coverage dollar compared to what you pay for a traditional plan. The less information that the company receives about you, the more that they will charge you for insurance.
If you have any questions about getting affordable life insurance or you need help comparing your options, please contact one of our agents today. We would love to answer those questions and connect you with the best possible plan to meet your needs.
We are a group of independent insurance brokers, which means that we don’t work with one single company. Instead, we represent dozens of highly rated companies across the nation and we can bring all of the lowest insurance rates directly to you.
You can’t predict the future. Don’t wait another day to get the insurance protection that you and your family deserves. Use our contact page or fill out the quote form on the side to get the process started.