Multiple Sclerosis Life Insurance
March 20th, 2010 | Author: weissheiss
With mild and controlled Multiple Sclerosis, your options are as extensive as they are for anyone else. Your life insurance will cost a bit more than someone with absolutely no health problems, but if you get with the right carrier, your price will be far less than for many other health conditions. If you have significant side effects such as impaired memory or are in a wheelchair, your choices are more limited.
Policies that require an exam and medical records will look at whether you have Relapsing Remitting MS or one of the types of Progressive MS. They will review any side effects you may have due to your Multiple Sclerosis, see if you’ve have any recent exacerbations, and check whether you use MS treatment. Sometimes what applicants think might be a negative is actually a plus, such as use of Copaxone or other similar MS treatment is a plus. So share as much detail as you can with an experienced MS life insurance agent and let them guide you to the best policy. If you can qualify for this type of medically underwritten policy, it usually has the lowest price, especially if you are looking for Term coverage and/or a large face amount.
Policies that do not require an exam tend to look more at symptoms: e.g. whether you’ve been hospitalized recently, what you can and can’t do (e.g. walking, bathing without assistance). There is a No Exam policy out there for most people with Multiple Sclerosis, even if wheelchair dependent. Your age and the state you live in help determine what is available to you. The rate may be higher than a medically underwritten policy, but No Exam policies do come in very small face amounts (as opposed to the minimum face amount of $100,000 for most medically underwritten policies). So if you only need a small policy, the No Exam option may end up costing you less than any other choice, in the long run. And if your MS is more advanced, it may be your only choice.
Here are some things you need to pay attention to:
a) Graded period. Some insurance products restrict payment of the death benefit during the first years of the policy. This is called the “graded” period. During the graded period, policies vary widely in HOW MUCH is paid and HOW LONG until 100% of the death benefit is paid. Graded plans can be offered in Term or Whole Life.
Those with MS do not generally need to use graded plans unless very limited in mobility or unable to perform own activities of daily living (ADL’s). If you have a choice between a graded or non-graded policy, it is usually more cost effective, to take the non-graded one, regardless of whether it is Term or Permanent coverage.
b) Length of coverage. Those with Multiple Sclerosis should base your decision about length of coverage on the same criteria as someone without MS. However, due to the progressive nature of MS, your price for new coverage in the future may increase much more than someone without it. So it’s generally better to lock your price in for as long as you can afford to do so.
c) Experienced agent. The DETAILS of your health condition, the EXPERTISE of your agent in getting the correct and necessary facts required by impaired risk carriers, and the NUMBER OF OPTIONS offered by the insurance agency you are using, all make a huge difference. Look for an agency that has specialized in life insurance for those with MS for some time.
Having life insurance to protect your loved ones brings a great sense of peace. Don’t rob yourself and your family of that just because you have MS. If you follow the tips above, you have a very good chance of finding a policy that will work very well for you.
Peggy Mace is a specialist in writing the most difficult life insurance cases due to a health condition or other risk. As COO and Senior Agent for Outlook Life of Fountain Hills, AZ, and director of their Impaired Risk branch in Hastings, NE, she invites you to obtain a Free Quote at http://www.outlooklife.com/multiple_sclerosis_life_insurance.asp
Posted in Life Insurance | 
Tags: Choices, Exacerbations, Insurance, Insurance Cost, Medical Records, People, Relapsing Remitting Ms, Term Coverage