Options For Life Insurance With Gout
By Jim Tobin, CFP®
Underwriting Takeaways
Bequest Mutual Difficulty Rating
Expert Review Of Life Insurance With Gout
Reviewed by
Jim Tobin, CFP®
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If you are searching for information about how having gout will affect your life insurance application you have come to the right place.
Anybody who suffers from gout know all about the inconveniences and outright misery that can be caused by gout, but you nay not know how to get a good approval for life insurance with gout. If that's the case, keep reading.
Can I Be Approved For Life Insurance With Gout?
Yes, you absolutely can get approved with gout. However, the health rating and the corresponding rates charged by life insurance carriers, will depend on the severity of your gout and your overall health.
There’s no reason why you can’t get life insurance with a gout condition. However, your insurance rating and premium quotes issued by the carriers to you will be influenced significantly by your overall state of health and severity of your condition.
People with conditions like gout will be asked by insurance carriers for a comprehensive health history since they’ll want to be aware of the risks that they’re going to have to insure. Insurance carriers have similar procedures in place for conditions like hyperthyroidism and high blood pressure as well. Lifestyle choices like scuba diving or marijuana usage will also attract the same procedures.
While gout will not prevent you from getting access to life insurance deals, your application will be put under greater scrutiny. Gout patients have a greater mortality risk, which places them at a disadvantage compared to those with a healthy medical history.
What information will life insurance underwriting want to know?
Apart from requiring you to complete a standard medical examination, insurance underwriters will also ask you about your symptoms, prescribed treatments, the medication used, and follow-up reports. Additionally, you will also have to submit information regarding your hospitalizations and instances of missed work that occurred due to your condition.
Apart from this issue, underwriters will also evaluate your medical history for other related conditions like kidney disease, Heart disease, metabolic syndrome, Diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Will I Need To Take An Exam For Life Insurance With Gout?
Insurance carriers tend to reserve their ‘No Exam’ terms only for healthy applicants. But if you’re an applicant with gout, you may be asked to undergo a medical examination to be eligible for the best insurance rates. But if your condition is relatively mild, you might qualify for competitive premiums without a medical examination.
In case you’re unwilling to undergo the exam, many other insurance carriers will underwrite a policy without any exam.
How Much Will My Life Insurance Cost And How Exactly Is The Rate Affected By My Gout?
Your life insurance premiums will be based on what underwriting category you fall into as per your carrier’s underwriting standards. A moderate or severe gout condition may hurt your chances.
Applicants with a history of heavy prescription medication usage or interrupted employment might be assigned a sub-standard rating. It all comes down to how severe your medical condition is.
Possible Underwriting Results
Mid Case – People with a mild condition that requires the occasional usage of NSAID medication who have good compliance reports and whose condition was diagnosed less than three years ago or applicants who require heavy-duty medication may be issued mid substandard rates. Calculate your premiums by simply multiplying standard premium rate with 1.5 or 2 (Tables 2/B and 4/D respectively).
Severe Case – It’s rare for gout patients to be rejected solely for that condition alone. But if your condition has escalated severely and you suffer from factors like obesity and smoking, you might only qualify for a severe substandard insurance rate. Calculate your premiums for substandard classes by multiplying standard premium rate with 2.5 or 3 (Tables 6/F and 8/H respectively). Though this may seem expensive, it really is a good option given the circumstances.
Decline – Patients with extremely severe cases may be rejected entirely. You may have to settle for policies with lower face values in such cases. Also known as simplified issue or guaranteed issue policies, you can contact us to learn more about them.
How Accurate Are The Life Insurance Quotes From This Site?
Our sites quote tool generates accurate premium quotes, provided the data entered is accurate enough. Most people fail to get their rate class right, either by underestimating or overestimating their condition, thus causing the tool to generate inaccurate quotes. The terms of the policies also vary widely between carriers, so you may be classified under different categories by different companies even if you have the same condition.
People who aren’t sure about what to do can enter a range to find out a reasonable estimation of what you can expect. You can also enter your information on our customized premium quote form if you’d like us to reach out to you.
How Can I Improve My Underwriting Score And Lower My Gout Life Insurance Rates?
We recommend using the services of an insurance agent to raise your overall insurance rating. Independent agents have access to multiple companies and their policies, thus allowing them to bag you the best deals. We also suggest documenting your compliance with medication intake and doctor’s advice.
It is ideal if you start changing your physical activity and diet for the better, which will show up accordingly in your tests. By modifying dietary choices appropriately, you’ll be able to prevent and manage future gout attacks properly.
What Is The Best Life Insurance Company For Gout?
Every insurance carrier has established risk appetites for certain conditions, which can be better understood by looking at their underwriting and pricing standards.
AIG, Banner, and Prudential offer the best underwriting terms for applicants suffering from gout.
However, people may not be the best judge at determining which company offers the best deal for their condition. An independent agent can be of invaluable use in cases like these – go through our case study for more information.
What is the life insurance process for Applicants with Gout?
Like all other procedures, the life insurance application process for gout involves 8 steps, which includes picking the policy terms, an insurance carrier, completing a medical exam, and finally signing your documents. Check out this page for more information regarding the process.
Case Study: Life Insurance with gout
Please see the case study below . it will show why it is in your interest to have as many options as possible available when shopping for life insurance with Gout.
Gender: Male Age: 45
$500000 20 Year Term
Tobacco: No
Controlled gout Diagnosed Age 39
Uses 2 RX No Other Health Concerns
This looks like a best case scenario that could be either standard or table 2/B or 4/D depending on the insurers appetite for a gout risk. Let's take a look at the rates.
- Standard
- Table 4/D
Life Insurance Company | Monthly Payment |
---|---|
$ 126.00 | |
$ 142.88 | |
$ 147.17 | |
$ 144.48 | |
$ 171.22 |
As can be seen in the given case study, Prudential, while being the second most expensive option here in the standard table, is likely to be your best bet since other carriers have more stringent rules for issuing standard rates to gout applicants whereas Prudential is relatively easy going about it.
It isn’t as simple as finding the cheapest option. You also need to know whether you would qualify for it or not. An independent insurance agent here could help you save over 22%, which is the price difference between Banner @ Table 2 and Prudential @ Standard. Over the policy’s term period, that adds up to a sizeable $3400, which is no ordinary sum.
Next Step
Now that you know the information you will need to receive the most accurate quote possible, it's time to gather the information and speak to an independent agent (raising my hand).
Simply give us a call or shoot an email over and we can get you started.
Fast Facts About Gout
Although now comfortably middle class, Gout has historically been referred to as the "disease of Kings". This saying has it's roots in the wealthy being able to afford rich foods including meat products.
Gout is classified as a complex form of inflammatory arthritis and chronic cases are referred to rheumatologists.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates there are more than eight million people suffering from gout in the united states. Three quarters (75%) of all gout patients are men.
The most common place for gout to affect is the big toe.
There have been some pretty famous people who have suffered from gout. The list of sufferers includes: Founding father, Ben Franklin, composer Ludwig Van Beethoven , and more recently photographer Ansel Adams, Vice President Dick Cheney and, actor Jared Leto.