What do you pay for life insurance with ulcerative colitis?

Well I got my life insurance 2 years before getting diagnosed. I have a 750,000 policy and pay 38 per month. It is through AXA who also handles our 403B's through our employer (the non-profit version of a 401K). It is a 30 year term policy and I was 36 when I got it. My husband has a million dollar policy and he pays 46 a month and has no health issues. We got the policies at the same time and are the same age.

UCinGV said...
I would like to get a survey of people with UC who have, or have recently been offered, life insurance. This way we should have some general idea of what's normal to pay and what's unreasonable.

Please give us some other information as well:
Age:
Term:
Insurance company:
How much insurance:
Monthly price:
Other health issues you have:


For me,

Age: 28 when I got the policy. 31 now
Term: 30 years
Company: Amica
How much : $750,000
Monthly price: $150
Other health issues playing a factor: No health issues, but I used to be a skydiver and have a SCUBA license which they were interested in and may have played a factor.

1800$ per year, I would say that is unreasonable.

I have life insurance through my employer...

I pay $7.60 a month premium (or $91.20 a year) for a Whole Life insurance policy that my parents started in my name when I was still an infant. I am not sure of the policy details but I know it is through Prudential.

garylouisville said...
I was denied while trying to apply for a new policy (see above post). I investigated and the reason they denied me was due to my prescription history. I have two current policies that were in effect before my UC. I guess I'm going to have to pay those higher rates.

I have not pursued it but my GI offered to write me a letter for life Insurance, he said that we take medications that can trigger life insurance rejections or higher rates, he said that we take these medications in lower dosages or for a shorter duration so sometimes we can get exceptions from the automatic rejections or premium increases.

Age: 37 when I opened the policy in the Spring of 2014
Term: 20 years
Company: William Penn
Coverage: $300,000
Monthly Premium: $41.48
Other Health Issues: None

I started the life insurance process in the Spring of 2013 by speaking with a couple of insurers, but I procrastinated and didn't take a policy out. What a mistake, because I was diagnosed with UC in the Fall of 2013, and I'm paying an additional 50% because of the UC. I originally wanted a $500k policy, but I settled for $300k. I have an additional $150k through work.

I know it's not apples to apples, but my wife is the same age and has a $500k policy through the same company, opened at the same time, and her monthly premium is $31.06.

I know this is an older post, but the following maybe helpful when looking for life insurance

Underwriters look at the following information:
1. Date of diagnosis
2. How many flare-ups have you had in the past 6 months, 2 years, and 5 years..it's important to know this as underwriting guidelines vary by company.
3. Have you been hospitalized for ulcerative colitis?
4. Do you take any medications? If yes, what do you take, dosage and frequency.
5. Steroids - When was the last time taken, how long did you take them for, and what was the dosage?
6. Have you had any surgeries related to UC? If yes, what and when?
7. When was your last colonoscopy and what were the results.

There are about 5 companies that specialize in UC underwriting and rates are based on whether UC is mild, moderate or severe.

Mild UC, last flareup greater than 2 years ago, meds sometimes needed during flareups...best case offer would be a preferred rate, but most likely a "standard plus" - "standard rate" If last flareup was within past 2 years, standard rate with an additional expense called a table 2 rating.

Moderate UC - more frequent flareups, use of steroid based medications...rates typically begin in the "standard" range with an additional table rating expense of 50 - 100% added to a standard rate.

Severe UC - underwriting depends on colonoscopy results, frequency of flareups, hospitalizations, and medications.
Standard rates with a table rating expense of 100 - 200% added to standard rates are common.
Indications of dysplasia or sclerosing cholangitis are typically declined but guaranteed issue policies may be available.

Hope this helps.

My condition has been very good the last few years. Last year I tried getting a new policy with a different company and they turned me down. I had been stocking up on meds since my deductible had been met and everything was free at that point. Apparently they have access to your prescription history and that's why they turned me down.

I was turned down when I tried to get additional life insurance during insurance broker. This was about two years after I'd been hospitalized for the first (and only) time for my UC.

I'd already had a policy that was very small so I'm just sticking with that and hoping that once I go back to full-time work I'll find an employer with life insurance.

For anyone in Canada, they will give life insurance to IBDers, "Canada Life" is one that does, I qualified for it while flaring severely (of course cuz up until Humira I was always flaring ha!) this was about 2 years ago, it would have cost me 189.00 a month for 100,000.00 (we pay 179.00 month for hubby's 300,000.00 just to give you a comparison from an IBDer to a non-IBDer but hubby's high triglycerides has an impact on his monthly cost for that amount we pay monthly).

In a way it is hilarious that they will give a rate to a smoker and not to a UC'r. I brought this up with the company that turned me down telling them that surely a smoker has a much better chance of dying early than in IBD'r. I still don't understand how they can give rates to smokers and not to us (assuming we are a non-smoker).

I have it through work - I didn't know who to put it to if I passed. I have no one.

Is that the point? You need to leave something to someone?

I did a will through legalzoom.