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Are you someone who likes to go skydiving semi-frequently? Or on another spectrum, maybe you’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes. Either way, you’ve probably been classified as a “high risk” applicant when applying for life insurance.

Does this mean that you can’t get affordable life insurance coverage? Not necessarily!

Here are the key things you should know when it comes to high risk life insurance.

Quick Article Guide:

1. What is High Risk Life Insurance?
2. What’s Considered “High Risk”?
3. The Different Types of Policies
4. Why You Should Work With an Independent Agent
5. How Do I Apply?

What is High Risk Life Insurance?

So, what does “high risk” life insurance really mean? This type of life insurance coverage is one that’s available to people who are considered a higher risk to insure in comparison to others.

But what does “high risk” mean, exactly?

There are multiple categories of high risk, which include high risk diseases, high risk occupations, high risk hobbies, and high risk lifestyle choices.

What is Considered “High Risk”?

High risk means different things to different life insurance companies, but it is broken down into the four categories we discussed previously.

High Risk Diseases: This is probably what most people think of when they think of high risk. If you’ve been diagnosed with a serious or life-threatening disease, you may be considered high risk.

There are diseases that will mildly affect your rates, such as:

• • Diabetes

• • Elevated Liver Enzymes

• • History of cancer

• • History of Heart Disease

• • Melanoma

• • Mild Stroke or TIA

• Sleep Apnea

And then there are illnesses that will affect your rates a bit more, such as:

• • Doctor recommended Drug or Alcohol Treatment

• • Heart Bypass, Stents, or Angioplasty

• • Hepatitis C with low viral count

• • Invasive Cancers

• • Kidney Disease

• • Opiate Based Pain Medications

• • Uncontrolled Diabetes

• Untreated Sleep Apnea

High Risk Occupations: Unfortunately, some jobs can categorize you into a high risk group if it poses a threat on your health or life. Some of these jobs include:

• • Logging workers

• • Commercial fishermen

• • Aircraft pilots & flight engineers

• • Farmers, ranchers & other agricultural managers

• • Extraction workers

• • Iron and steel workers

• • Roofers

• • Garbage collectors

• • Policemen

• • Firefighters

• • Truck drivers and sales/driver vendors

• • Power line workers and installers

• Taxi drivers

High Risk Hobbies: Maybe you have a pretty safe job, but what you do outside of work is a little more dangerous. We’re not saying you have to become a hermit and limit yourself from all fun activities, but keep in mind that hobbies such as skydiving, bungee jumping, scuba diving, or racing cars, could potentially raise your premiums quite significantly.

High Risk Lifestyles: We all have not-so-great habits. But is that habit enough to put you at a higher risk when it comes to life insurance? Maybe.

If you smoke cigars, e-cigarettes/cigarettes, or use chewing tobacco, have had multiple speeding tickets and or accidents, have had a DUI in the past year or so, or travel to dangerous destinations, your rates could definitely be affected.

Different Types of High Risk Life Insurance Policies

The beauty of the world is that we’re all different, and we all have different needs. So it only makes sense to have multiple types of life insurance policies, doesn’t it?

Typically, all types of life insurance are available to those who are considered “high risk”, it ultimately depends on the company to make sure you’re getting a good deal. Different companies have different niches, or categories, that they’re more lenient with – so making sure you apply with the right one could make a huge difference in how much you’re paying per month.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance is generally the most affordable type of life insurance, because it covers you for a certain amount of time (the term), rather than for the rest of your life (like permanent policies). These policies usually come in a 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30-year term. Because life insurance companies aren’t covering a high risk applicant for life, they tend to be more lenient with approvals.

Whole Life Insurance

Whole life is a type of permanent life insurance, and therefore are more expensive than term policies. They typically provide coverage up until age 90 or later, provides a death benefit and has an investment component.

Do note that these policies only provide up to $50,000 in coverage, so if you need more coverage than that, it’s best to look at another type of policy.

Second to Die/Survivorship Policies

If you’re married and want to insure both you and your spouse, this could be the policy for you. These policies provide coverage for married couples, and don’t pay out the death benefit until both spouses have passed away.

If you’re a high risk applicant, there’s more good news. Survivorship policies consider the health of both parties when they complete the underwriting process, so if your spouse is in better health than you are, you could save quite a bit of money!

Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance

Guaranteed universal life (also known as GUL) policies are somewhat of a hybrid between whole and term life policies. Instead

of being in effect for a number of years like term life, they’re in effect until a certain age – such as 90, 100, 105, 110, or even 121. Since the average American lives to be 79 years old, they’re similar to whole life in the sense that it is permanent coverage.

It’s important to note however, that GUL policies do require you to take a medical exam. So if your health isn’t in good shape, it might be a good idea to check out other policies instead.

No Medical Exam

On the contrary, there are policies that do not require you to take a medical exam. These come in both term and permanent forms, but do not that they are a little more expensive than the traditional life insurance policy.

Also, because they do not require an exam, the underwriter will look through your medical records thoroughly, so they will see if you have had any previously medical issues. They also tend to be less lenient with high risk applicants.

To see the top no exam life insurance companies in 2018, check out this article.

Guaranteed Issue Policies

If all else fails, a guaranteed issue (GI) policy might be your best option. These policies are available to anyone between the ages of 50 and 80 or 85, and are essentially a “no questions asked” type of policy.

The biggest issue with GI policies is that they are limited when it comes to coverage, only insuring up to $25,000, and they need to be in effect for 2 years before your beneficiaries can receive the full death benefit.

Why You Should Work With an Independent Agent

Purchasing life insurance is a big deal, and you definitely want to make sure you’re getting a policy that fits your needs, while it still being (somewhat) affordable.

When you work with an independent agent like the ones here at TLA, they have the ability to shop over 60 top-rated life insurance companies. This means they can compare different policies and prices, finding you a great deal.

If you were to work with an agent that worked with one life insurance company directly, he or she would only be able to show you rates from that specific company. Furthermore, those agents oftentimes work off of commission, so they’ll say what they need to say to get you to buy a policy from them.

How Do I Apply?

Applying is super easy! It takes no time at all, and you can rest easy that our team will work hard to help find you great coverage.

You can either give us a call at (855) 902-6494, or request a free quote online. We’ll take a few minutes to learn about your lifestyle, the specific risks that you’re currently dealing with, and then recommend the best company based off that information.

If you’re happy with everything, you apply for coverage. It only takes a few minutes and can be done without having to give any payment information – which is always nice. Applications can either be taken over the phone or signed electronically.

Once you’ve been approved and we’ve received an offer back from the life insurance company you applied with, you can review the offer and decide if you’re happy with it. We’re here to guide you along with the process, and will tell you if we think that’s the best offer you’ll receive or not. If we feel like you may receive a better offer from a different company, we’ll recommend applying with them instead of accepting the current one.

Finally, once you’ve received an accepted an offer, all that’s left to do is enact the policy! Then you’ll be on your way, covered and with one less thing to stress about.

About Term Life Advice

Term Life Advice is a no-fee brokerage that represents 63 top-rated life insurance companies. By working directly with dozens of companies, we’re able to save our client’s time and money by matching them with the best options available. Give us a call, toll-free, at 855-906-6494, and one of our licensed agents will be able to provide you with your options and accurate rates in just a few minutes.

If you have some health issues, don’t worry! By having access to each company’s guidelines, we know which companies are more lenient with specific health issues than others. By asking you a few questions about your health will make sure you apply with the best company for your unique health profile.

If you decide to apply for coverage, it’s as simple as answering a few questions over the phone and electronically signing your application through email. Depending on your age, health, and the amount of coverage you apply for, you could be approved in as little as 24 hours.

As an independent, non-partial agency, our only goal is to provide you with the lowest rates and the best customer service in the industry. You can also request a free instant quote below to compare rates from dozens of life insurance companies in less than a minute. We helped thousands of clients with their non-medical life insurance needs, and we can help you too!