How do life insurance underwriters view people with Crohn’s Disease?

Finding life insurance for people who have been afflicted with Crohn’s Disease will be viewed as being more of a risk to insure by an underwriter.

A person who is inflicted with this disease can have their life severely impacted depending on the degree of the affliction, and how well the disease is being managed.

The condition will likely require that a person receive a medical exam if they applying for a standard life insurance policy. The disease can afflict a person in varying ways where the symptoms are considered under control, or the condition is more severe.

The degree of severity and the management will be critical during the underwriting assessment process.

Some of the key criteria used by underwriters when reviewing an application for life insurance for people with Crohn’s Disease may entail the following:
  • The number of years which have passed since the person was first diagnosed
  • Have the trigger mechanisms which cause the onset of the symptoms been identified
  • Has any surgery been performed to remove an obstruction
  • Does the applicant have a special diet with certain nutritional requirements
  • Have tests such as an endoscopic procedure been carried out in the previous 6 months or so
The degree of symptoms and the necessity of surgical procedure may be key in underwriting life insurance for people with Crohn’s Disease.

What is the health risk of Crohn’s Disease?

Crohn’s Disease may also be referred to as IBD which is short for inflammatory bowel disease. This disease can impact any aspect of a person’s entire gastrointestinal tract and may extend into the deep lining located in the digestive tissue.

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The most common area of the gastrointestinal area afflicted with Crohn’s is the ileum which is the third and lowest region of the small intestine. The condition may also sometimes be referred to as ileitis or enteritis.

The disease can occur due to a variety of factors such as genetic inherited, or caused by a variety of agents such as bacterial infection or by a variety of autoimmune conditions.

Symptoms vary in their severity but include diarrhea, varying degrees of pain in the abdomen, blood in the stool, vomiting and can also result in severe weight loss. Surgery may be required in more extreme cases to remove the obstruction.

Finding life Insurance with Crohn’s Disease

Being successful for finding life insurance for people with Crohn’s Disease can be challenging because each insurance company is different in how they rate and assess a person who has been diagnosed with Crohn’s.

Underwriting criteria used by the different companies can be very different so this can affect how a person is rated and the amount of the premium charged. Some insurance companies are much more lenient while other companies are very conservative and punitive in how they rate people with this disease.

Success in finding the best possible policy and the amount of coverage at the most affordable premium should be approached by carefully reviewing the available insurers.


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