Alzheimer's Insurance Questions & Answers

How do life insurance underwriters view individuals who have Alzheimer’s?

Finding life insurance for people with Alzheimer’s can be very challenging. Unfortunately, the majority of life insurance providers will issue an automatic decline for most people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s is largely viewed by the majority of life insurance companies as a non-insurable condition when it comes to applying for a standard life insurance policy.

One of the primary reasons for this approach is that in the majority cases, the onset of Alzheimer’s usually commences in people who are 65 years of age or older. However, the disease has also been known to occur in people who are younger such as in their fifties and in some rarer instances in even younger individuals.

The condition of Alzheimer’s is a chronic condition where symptoms may appear gradually or increase rapidly over time. Even for a younger healthy person, one aspect that is of interest to an underwriter is to know whether or not there is a family history of Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Some other aspects of a life insurance application that underwriters will look at is the person’s current age, when the disease first developed, what if any type of medication the person is taking and whether the individual requires any assistance to perform their daily living activities. This disease makes finding life insurance for people with Alzheimer’s a challenge.

What are the health risks of Alzheimer’s?

Alzheimer’s is a condition and the cause or reason for the disease is not entirely clear. The disease largely doesn’t develop in younger persons and is more prevalent in people who are older than 65 years of age.

How much will YOUR life insurance cost?

There's only one way to find out. Get a free, no-obligation quote now.

It is a chronic condition that results in a gradual deterioration over time and essentially affects the cognitive abilities of the person afflicted. It results in sporadic or chronic memory loss, confusion, depression, agitation. Those individuals who have a more advanced form of the disease may require ongoing care by a health provider or admission to a care facility to help the individual cope with their daily care.

Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia and can be affected by some other forms of diseases such as Maple syrup disease, Neurocanthocytosis, Urea Cycle and several other debilitating diseases.

Although treatment for the disease is available in the form of medication which can aid memory functions or manage depression or agitation, there is currently no cure for the disease which will become progressively worst over time.

Finding life Insurance with Alzheimer’s

Finding life insurance for people with Alzheimer’s is a challenge. Most insurers will not issue a policy to a person who has been diagnosed with the disease and the majority of companies will issue an automatic decline.

However, there are some policies available for individuals who have been diagnosed with this condition through those companies which specialize in high risk health issues.

Depending on the diagnosis and the onset of the disease the policy which most individuals will qualify for would be a Graded Death Benefit life insurance policy which will provide a smaller policy and for which anyone can obtain.

The existence of this disease is a primary reason why individuals should obtain a policy in their younger years such as a Term policy of Permanent policy such as whole life or universal life.