Can You Get Life Insurance With Cardiomyopathy?

Though life insurance is something many people find worthy of investing in, there’s no doubt that the rates and policies vary greatly between individuals. Depending on the risk that you carry through your job, age, or other existing conditions, the rates you pay may be higher than others.

One common ailment that individuals around the world suffer from is cardiomyopathy. In fact, about one in every 500 people have this condition to some degree. Due to this fact, cardiomyopathy may or may not affect your ability to get term life insurance.

Learn more about what it is like to get life insurance with cardiomyopathy.

What Is Cardiomyopathy?

Simply put, cardiomyopathy is a heart muscle disease. When affected by this condition, your heart has to work harder to pump blood to the other parts of your body. Serious cardiomyopathy can lead to heart failure, and there are many different types of cardiomyopathy.

Each type of cardiomyopathy has unique symptoms and conditions. Still, this condition generally means the heart is enlarged in a way that causes it to work less effectively than a normal heart.

Depending on the type of cardiomyopathy that is affecting an individual, there are varying types of treatment which can include:

• Medication
• Heart surgery
• Surgically-implanted devices
• Heart transplant

Many risk factors for developing cardiomyopathies include other diseases, family history, high blood pressure, and substance abuse. However, the condition can also develop without any specific predisposition to cardiomyopathy. Individuals of any age, race, or gender can be affected by this condition.

Why Does Cardiomyopathy Affect Life Insurance?

Life insurance is always determined based on your risk factors. The higher your risk, the more it will cost to insure you. As grim as it sounds, health risks that have a high effect on your mortality are often difficult to find affordable coverage for. This is because it is more likely that your policy will be pulled before much money is paid into it.

Cardiomyopathy can be a severe condition that is often fatal, and that is why insurance companies will ask a lot of questions before covering individuals with it. As a pre-existing condition, there are several questions that insurance underwriters will ask before they let you know whether or not you will be able to find coverage at their company.

In particular, cardiomyopathy increases the risk of heart failure, and treatment for advanced stages of this condition may include surgeries with a very low recovery rate. These factors are considered by insurance companies when planning out their policies.

Can You Get Life Insurance With Cardiomyopathy?

Yes. Cardiomyopathy life insurance is available from many different providers. Finding the best rate may take some comparison browsing, but getting good life insurance coverage is possible even if you have this condition.

When setting up life insurance, underwriters acknowledge cardiomyopathy in three specific categories:

• Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
• Restrictive cardiomyopathy

Of these three types, most companies are most restrictive on qualifying individuals that suffer from dilated cardiomyopathy. This is because it is likely to develop into heart failure or another serious condition. Hence, life insurance companies are less likely to want to ensure an individual in this category.

Still, many individuals suffer from this condition. For that reason, insurance companies have found ways to cover these individuals.

Documentation Requirements

As you search for the right life insurance, you will find that many companies want a variety of documentation about your condition, including the following:

• Recent test results (and in particular, your echocardiogram results)
• Ejection fraction results
• Current symptoms, if any
• Family history, if any
• Surgeries or other serious treatments
• Current treatment plan
• Other health issues

The combination of all of these factors will be used to determine your risk to see if you can be insured at a preferred or standard rating. If not, you will need to search for another company.

Suppose you are in excellent health and have low risk in other major categories. In that case, it is still very possible that you will be able to find suitable life insurance coverage while dealing with cardiomyopathy.

Preparing For The Future With Life Insurance

Sometimes, changes happen in the world that we cannot predict. We can, however, make sure that we have life insurance and other protections in place so that our loved ones are supported even if something happens to us. That is why most people get life insurance: to ensure that their families are well-taken care of no matter what.

Beyond getting a good life insurance policy with cardiomyopathy, however, you can also change your life to keep yourself around for as long as possible. Creating a routine to better manage your health, regardless of your insurance policies, is essential to living the best life you can. Work with your doctor to find the best plan for your future.