Questions that will be addressed will include:
- Can I qualify for life insurance if I have been diagnosed with Anxiety?
- Why do life insurance companies care if I have been diagnosed with Anxiety?
- What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?
- What โrateโ can I qualify for?
- What can I do to help ensure that I get the โbest life insuranceโ for me?
So, without further ado, letโs dive right in!
Can I qualify for life insurance if I have been diagnosed with Anxiety?
Yes, individuals who have been diagnosed with โanxietyโ can and often will be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.
The problem is that there are 5 different โtypesโ of anxiety that an individual can suffer from including:
- Generalized Anxiety,
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD),
- Panic Disorder,
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),
- And Social Phobia (or Social Anxiety Disorder),
Each of which will generally be treated differently by the life insurance industry.
This is whyโฆ
We here have taken the time to write individual articles on each of these conditions separately and will only focus on โgeneralized anxietyโ here in this article.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Defined:
General anxiety disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder that is typically defined or characterized as a condition which causes its patients to suffer from chronic anxiety, manifested into exaggerated worry even when there is little or nothing to cause it.
Why do life insurance companies care if I have been diagnosed with Anxiety?
Now before we get too far into our discussion about generalized anxiety disorder, we should point out that theyโre a lot of folks out there that may become diagnosed with this โconditionโ you donโt necessarily meet this strict definition.
Which is oneโฆ
Of the major reasons โwhyโ a life insurance company is going to โcareโ if an individual has been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Because ifย you are someone who truly suffers from disorder in a way that your internalized fears prevent you from being able to live a โnormalโ life, it makes complete sense for why the top life insurance companies might โcareโ if youโve been diagnosed this condition.
Converselyโฆ
If you have been diagnosed with โgeneralized anxiety disorderโ but donโt suffer from a condition which is debilitating then there is no reason why a life insurance company would want to use your โmedical diagnosisโ as a reason to discriminate against you when applying.
Thereforeโฆ
In most cases, a life insurance underwriter is going to want to ask you a series of medical questions about your anxiety so that they can get a better idea about how โseriousโ your condition is and whether or not you would be considered an acceptable risk to them should they decide to approve your application.
What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?
Common questions youโll likely be asked about your anxiety disorder may include:
- When were you first diagnosed with anxiety?
- Who diagnosed your anxiety? A general practitioner or a psychiatrist?
- Have you been given a definitive diagnosis?
- What symptoms led to your diagnosis?
- What treatment options have you used?
- Are you currently taking any prescription medications?
- Have any of your medications changed in the past 12 months?
- Have you ever been hospitalized due to your anxiety?
- Have you also been diagnosed with depression?
- In the past 2 years have you been hospitalized for any reason?
- Do you have any history of drug or alcohol abuse?
- Do you have any issues with your driving record? Issues such as multiple moving violations, a DUI or a suspended license?
- Have you ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor?
- Are you currently working now?
- In the past 12 months, have you applied for or received any form of disability benefits?
Now at this pointโฆ
We usually like to remind folks that we here at I&E are not medical professionals, and weโre certainly not doctors.
So, if you feel that you may be suffering from anxiety and have a few questions about your condition, you should know that weโre probably the last group of people youโre going to want to ask.
Simply becauseโฆ
All we are is a bunch of life insurance agents who just happen to be really good at helping folks with a wide variety of different pre-existing medical conditions find and qualify for the coverage that theyโre looking for.
So, if life insurance is what youโre looking for and not medical advice, then all we can say is that youโve definitely come to the right place!
What health rating can I qualify for?
When it comes being diagnosed with anxiety, what youโre going to find is that insurance companies will be willing to pretty much insure an individual at just about every life insurance health rating possible depending on how โsevereโ the believe the condition is.
Which means thatโฆ
If you are only dealing with a โmildโ case of anxiety, there is a pretty good chance that you might be able to qualify for a Preferred rate assuming that you would other wise be eligible.
Conversely, if you suffer from an extremely severe case of anxiety, itsโ quite possible that you wonโt be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy at all!
And the real problem isโฆ
There really isnโt a โtestโ one can perform to try and get a better understanding of how โseriousโ your anxiety might be.
This is why, life insurance companies are going to be forced to look at other โvariablesโ to make this determination and why thereโs always quite a bit of โsubjectivityโ involved when life insurance companies make their decisions about individuals who have been diagnosed with anxiety.
The good news isโฆ
There are a few life insurance companies that do tend to be a bit more โlenientโ when it comes to determining what โrateโ an individual might be able to qualify for which means that youโre just going to want to make sure โthoseโ companies are the first oneโs you look at!
Fortunatelyโฆ
Here at I&E we spend a considerably large amount of our time creating relationships with dozens of different life insurance companies.
Which is great, because when it comes time to helping someone who has been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition like anxiety, we donโt have to rely on just one option.
Instead, we can simultaneously shop dozens of different life insurance companies, thereby increasing your chances at finding the โbestโ life insurance policy that you can qualify for.
Which brings us to the last topic that we wanted to take a moment and discuss which isโฆ
What can I do to help ensure that I get the โbest life insuranceโ for me?
In our experience here at I&E, what we have found that works best for folks who have been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition where the โseverityโ of the condition is often โsubjectiveโ is for the applicant to make sure that they first find a true-life insurance profession who will work as an advocate for you.
Such an agentโฆ
Will not only help guide you through the application process but also be perfectly โfrankโ with you about what options may or may not be possible for you.
From thereโฆ
Youโll also want to make sure that the very same agent you have chosen has access to dozens of different life insurance companies because after all, it really doesnโt matter how โgreatโ of a life insurance agent you might have if they donโt have access to the โbestโ life insurance policy for you!
Lastlyโฆ
Youโll want to make sure that youโre completely honest with your life insurance agent prior to applying for coverage.ย By doing so, you will be helping him or her narrow down what options might be the โbestโ
So, what are you waiting for?ย Give us a call today and see what we can do for you!