Life Insurance for Sickle Cell Patients: An Easy Guide

The Easiest to get Life Insurance for Sickle Cell Patients

Obtaining life insurance for sickle cell patients can be a tough task.  Many sources have claimed that people suffering from Sickle Cell Disease have a shorter life expectancy.  Therefore, it’s easy to understand why many Life Insurance companies decide to stay away from sickle cell patients.

Thankfully, at Boston Life Group, we pride in getting coverage for clients with the toughest conditions.   We work with dozens of insurance companies out there. While the majority are tough for people with sickle cell disease, we have a handful who will consider coverage.  One of which is lenient even with moderate to severe sickle cell. Read below for more info

Our Most Recommended Product for Sickle Cell Warriors

Let’s get right to the point.  For sickle cell patients seeking life insurance coverage for $50,000 or less, we have a unique product that is very lenient to sickle cell warriors.  Here is what you need to know

  • Can’t have a previous decline for life insurance.
  • No hospitalizations in the past 90 days
  • Up to 50k for ages 18-49
  • 25k for ages 50-60
  • Up to 10k for ages 61-65
  • Overweight or obesity is not an issue.
  • Conditions that will prevent from qualifying: Cancer, Heart attack
  • The Life Insurance policy will expire once you turn 100 years old.

We even recommend this product for people seeking more than $50,000.  As you will find out below, getting life insurance for more than $50,000 is really tough.  You will run the risk of getting a decline. Once you have a decline on your record, you will no longer qualify for this product.

If you get this coverage, and apply for a higher amount later, you can always cancel the lower insurance policy.

This insurance product is what we call a Simplified Issue product.  It’s a quick decision straight-forward application. As long as you meet all the criteria above, you will qualify.  There is no medical exam, and no prescription checks.

BURIAL LIFE INSURANCE FOR SICKLE CELL PATIENTS

As you can tell from the requirements above.  This is a very good product for age 18-49.  However, when you turn 50, the product is not attractive because the death benefit is even lower.

The options are even worse for applicants over the age of 60.

Thankfully, we have Burial Insurance, also known as Final Expense.  Final Expense insurance is geared for life insurance seekers over the age of 50, looking for a lower coverage than traditional term or whole life insurance.  It is also a simplified product with no medical exam.

There are quite a few Final Expense companies who will be lenient toward sickle cell disease.  Many of these companies don’t even ask health questions related to sickle cell.

Keep in mind that complications, and hospitalizations will still disqualify you for first day coverage.  That is true regardless of your medical conditions.  Insurance companies typically require a waiting period after hospitalizations.

but what if you need more than $50,000 coverage

Both our Simplified product, and Burial Insurance are for people seeking coverage for $50,000 or less.

But what if you need more death benefit?

Before we dive deep into high value  term life insurance coverage for sickle cell patients, we need to briefly describe Sickle cell from the standpoint of an insurance company.  .

How Life Insurance Companies view Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle Cell Anemia is an inherited disease of the red blood cells.  Normal red blood cells are usually round and flow easily in the blood stream.  However, the sickle cells take more of a crescent shape and often block blood flow to the organs.

This causes sickle cell patients to have damaged organs and suffer from severe pain, anemia, and infections.

In order for someone to contract SCD, both parents need to be carriers of the sickle cell trait.

It’s important to note that being a sickle cell carrier is not considered serious.  As a matter of fact, it should not affect your insurability with most life insurance companies.

Some could say that a Sickle Cell Carrier (Type SA) is the most mild of the Sickle Cell Anemia.  However carriers are not considered to be suffering from the Sickle Cell Disease.

There are many other types of SCD but the two most common types of the illness are Type SS and type SC.

There are more technical definitions of the types but for the purpose of life insurance: Type SS is the more severe form of the disease., while Type SC is mild to moderate

High Value Term Life Insurance for Sickle Cell Patients

Finding Life Insurance for someone with sickle cell may be complicated on our end, but we’ll try to keep it simple for you.  This is simply a guide to estimate where you will fall if you apply for term life insurance.

Here are the most important factors that affect your eligibility.

  • The type of sickle cell disease
  • History of complications
  • Current and past hemoglobin readings.

The more severe the disease, the harder it is for qualify for life insurance.  As such, if you suffer from Sickle Cell Type SS, it should be expected that qualifying will be more challenging.  However this simple guide will serve as a roadmap on how to qualify for fully underwritten life insurance

  • Type SS for applicants age 15 or under – Decline
  • If you’re over the age of 15 and your sickle cell is considered severe: ( Hemoglobin less than 10)  – Decline
  • For applicants over age 15 with mild to moderate disease (Hemoglobin higher than 10) –  Should be able to qualify for life insurance as long as there are no complications.  The health rating will most likely be substandard.

For Sickle Cell Type SC, obtaining life insurance with sickle cell is mu:ch more attainable

  • Type SC for applicants age 4 or under – Decline
  • If over the age of 4 with severe disease – Decline
  • For applicants age 4 or older with mild to moderate disease – Should be able to qualify as long as there are not complications.  The health rating will also be substandard.
  • If you have type SC with no history of crises or complications, you might be able to qualify for a Standard rating.

How Do I Apply for Life Insurance with Sickle Cell Disease?

As we mentioned previously, even if you’re looking for more coverage, it’s best to get the Simplified product first.  Once approved, we can get started with the high value life insurance policy.

In order to apply for a higher amount, you will need to apply for a “Fully Underwritten Life Insurance policy”.  This means the insurance companies will need a medical exam, your medical records, and a health questionnaire filled out by you.

The health questionnaire might differ slightly from company to company.  However, most if not all will want to know the following

  • Type of sickle cell
  • Age of diagnosis
  • Any history of hospitalization.
  • Current and past Hemoglobin readings
  • Medications taken

Thankfully, we can help with both the Simplified and the higher value type of insurance.  We  ar extremely proud to be one of the few who focus on getting life insurance for sickle cell patients.  It’s not a topic that is easy for life insurance agents to cover.  We work with multiple insurance carriers to get you the best coverage. For example, the guides above would work only for a handful of companies.  Other companies have a more strict guide.

Please fill out the form on this page and one of our dedicated agents will contact you promptly.