Getting affordable life insurance with ulcerative colitis doesn’t have to be complicated! In fact, we make it easy by matching you with the best life insurance companies based on your inflammatory bowel disease history.
Ulcerative Colitis Overview
It’s all about the severity of your ulcerative colitis (UC), the treatment you receive and the time since your last flare-up when it comes to ulcerative colitis life insurance.
We take the time to understand your UC history. We then shop the life insurers that specialize in ulcerative colitis and provide you with underwriting feedback.
Even if you’ve previously been rated or declined for life insurance, don’t get discouraged!
Most times, our clients learn that their previous negative experience was due to working with the wrong life insurance company.
With our life insurance underwriting process, we get you to the right insurer the first time!
Ulcerative Colitis Severity and How it Affects Your Life Insurance
Ulcerative colitis is classified as mild, moderate or severe. The extent of your inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a primary underwriting factor that life insurers consider.
The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) has an activity index to determine the IBD severity and is also a good guide for how insurers may classify your UC.
The underwriting concern for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease is the increased risk of developing colon cancer.
Can I get life insurance if I have ulcerative colitis?
Yes, you can get life insurance if you have ulcerative colitis.
The fact is that most people with inflammatory bowel diseases such as UC are able to get life insurance if you follow our advice in this article.
The following paragraphs show you how underwriters view UC, how flare-ups impact underwriting and what to expect in terms of life insurance pricing.
Mild Ulcerative Colitis Life Insurance
- Adult-onset for most cases.
- Mild inflammation limited to the left side of the colon.
- Infrequent flare-ups.
- Intermittent rectal bleeding, intermittent diarrhea, and abdominal cramps.
- Medications limited to sulfasalazine, Mesalamine, Asacol, Rowasa enemas, cortenemas, and over the counter drugs like Imodium.
- Medical marijuana use.
- Limited use of oral steroids during flare-ups.
- No Anemia.
- No skin, arthritis or eye problems.
- Good medical records and consistent follow-up with a
physician .
Proctitis and proctosigmoiditis will follow the same life insurance underwriting as mild UC.
Moderate Ulcerative Colitis Life Insurance
Moderate ulcerative colitis follows the same symptoms as mild ulcerative colitis symptoms, but may also include the following:
- Mostly adult-onset.
- Left-sided or pancolitis (entire colon).
- More frequent flare-ups with a
shorter duration between flare-ups. - More severe symptoms of bleeding and diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
- Medications may include Entyvio or injections with medications such as Humira.
- More frequent use of oral steroids such as prednisone.
- May have had hospitalizations.
- Anemia
- Good medical records and follow-ups with physicians.
Severe Ulcerative Colitis Life Insurance
Severe ulcerative colitis medical histories include the following:
- Childhood-onset is common
- Frequent episodes
- Fever
- Heavy bleeding
- Hospitalization & surgical treatment.
- Continued symptoms after surgery.
- Unfavorable colonoscopy results indicating dysplasia.
- Weight loss greater than 10% of normal body weight.
- Continuous use of steroid-based medications.
- Severe inflammation of the colon.
- Significant Anemia
Other factors that may affect underwriting include liver function test results if significantly elevated.
Ulcerative colitis life expectancy may be shortened by indications of fulminant ulcerative colitis, sclerosing cholangitis or pericholangitis. All of these indicators are a decline for life insurance unless you are looking at guaranteed issue life insurance.
Which life insurers are best for ulcerative colitis?
Life insurance companies that specialize in ulcerative colitis life insurance underwriting vary depending on your exact medical history.
Because of this, once you submit your quote request, we review your information and shop out to insurance companies using a quick quote process.
The quick quote allows us to get underwriting feedback in 3-4 days from all companies before you apply.
With that being said, some of the best companies for ulcerative colitis have been:
Including the above, we shop to 15+ companies for every ulcerative colitis case to ensure that we get you the best underwriting offer every time.
For many people, the best life insurance for ulcerative colitis will depend on your individual medical history and your reason for buying life insurance.
We recommend term life insurance for many cases, although there may be times that a no-lapse guaranteed universal life insurance policy will be best.
The reason why is due to underwriting programs that offer underwriting credits to give you a better rate. We’ll show you all the life insurance options available.
Just Diagnosed? Most companies will postpone life insurance for 3-6 months after diagnosis until they see some follow-up physician visits and indications of treatment starting to work.
How Does Ulcerative Colitis Life Insurance Underwriting Work?
Underwriters need to know the following in order to underwrite your life insurance application:
- How old were you when diagnosed with ulcerative colitis?
- How many flare-ups of ulcerative colitis have you had in the past 6 months, 12 months, 24 months and past 5 years?
- Have you been hospitalized for ulcerative colitis?
- Do you take any medications for ulcerative colitis?
- If yes, what do you take and what dosage?
- If you took steroids for a flare, please indicate the date you last took steroids, the dosage, and date you finished taking steroids?
- Have you had surgery or has surgery been recommended?
- Have you had any significant weight loss?
- When was your last colonoscopy performed and what were the results?
- If you’re part of a clinical trial, underwriting will look for any history of side effects, including impact if any on your immune response or blood tests.
We’ll also gather your family history information, and work with you to determine how much life insurance to buy.
Life insurance underwriting will require a paramedical exam and a review of your medical records before making an underwriting decision.
Ulcerative Colitis Medical Information
Your medical records need to be up to date and in compliance with your doctor’s orders.
Underwriters want to know:
- Do you take your medications as prescribed?
- Are current colonoscopies available in your medical records?
- Are you overdue for any testing, colonoscopies, treatments, etc?
Mistakes that are made by clients include waiting until your ulcerative colitis is in remission before buying life insurance or skipping a colonoscopy due to concerns that it may trigger a flare-up.
Life insurance companies tend to postpone offering coverage until the tests have been completed.
Since you need life insurance anyway, the best approach is to let us get you the best life insurance rates available today.
We can always replace your life insurance policy next year if a better rate becomes available.
Denied Life Insurance Due to Ulcerative Colitis?
If you were denied life insurance due to ulcerative colitis, let us know what life insurer declined you. The most likely reason for the decline is usually due to applying with the wrong insurance company that does not understand UC.
We’ll use the quick quote process previously mentioned to get you the best offer possible.
Once we have the underwriting feedback (typically 3 days or less), we’ll let you know what each life insurer has indicated, and show you the best life insurance companies to meet your needs.
Ulcerative Colitis Life Insurance Conclusion
There’s no pressure with our service. We spend the time with you in order to get all the medical details needed to negotiate the best life insurance rates for you.
Please take a few minutes to request your quote today.
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