life insurance if I may be terminally ill?
here’s my dilemma - I found out last week that I have a couple of nodules in my left lung. It’s too early to determine if there’s any serious illness (cancer) to be concerned with. I have about $500,000.00 in life insurance, I want to get a new policy or maybe a couple of policies - and up the amount to about $5,000,000.00 I am wondering if there will be issues with eligibility - if the insurance company will give my survivors any grief if they discover that these nodules were found and not disclosed to the insurance company. Is this legal?
Even if it’s not legal - how can I get a huge insurance policy for my family that won’t cost a huge amount? I can get a 10-year term policy for $5 million for about $1,600.00 annually.
Does anyone have any advice for me? I want to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Kelly
October 11th, 2008 at 6:34 PM
Micheal
You may not be able to get any additional insurance now. Insurance company’s have ways of finding out from computer systems linked throught doctors’s offices /insurance company’s of your recent medical history. Since the test have already indicated somethin may be wrong, they are going to say it is a preexisting condition and coverage can be denied if a preexisting condition is determined.
October 13th, 2008 at 4:59 AM
Jeremy
The insurance company might accept you now as a policyholder but should an investigation turn up that you knew about this condition beforehand, your policy could be rendered null and void. This action would be considered “fraud”. When you fill out an application, they ask about your condition and when you sign on the line, you are warned about giving false statements. Some have very strong words of caution.
Whatever you do, make sure you read the fine print. Some won’t pay if you become ill or die within a certain time frame, sometimes within the first 2 years of the policy. The most your family will get is the paid premiums.
October 13th, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Herman
You need to sit down a have a serious conversation with an agent.
If something happens to you, they are going to go through your medical records BEFORE they cut your family the check. And if you fail to disclose this information, your family’s claim will be denied.
If you want cheap, get a term life policy. But you still have to be honest when applying, because they will deny the claim if you don’t disclose your medical history in full detail.
Its called insurance fraud.
October 15th, 2008 at 1:16 PM
Juan
For a policy of that size, the insurance company will probably ask for medical records, and do a physical exam. Not likely that you will get more coverage. $500,000 is more than most Americans have for their family. Depending on your age and if you have kids that still need raised or college, $500K would probably be enough for your family to live comfortably. If you do find a company that will issue the policy, if you pass away in the first 2 years the Insurance company will automatically contest it, and check your medical records. Once they find that this was a possibility and that is why you purchased the policy, they could and probably will rescind the policy.
Good luck to you. I hope the nodules turn out to be nothing life threatening.
October 16th, 2008 at 7:12 AM
Beth
Odds are you won’t get any additional coverage. If you’re terminally ill, then forget it. No one will take you, especially when you’re asking for 5 million.
If you did not disclose your condition on the application then when a claim is filed, the insurance will deny it based in misrepresentation. You can’t hide your condition anyway. The medical community is required by law to report all medical information to the Medical Information Bureau (MIB). All insurance companies subscribe to them and they will pull a bureau on you and find out all of your medical history. They have the right to do so because you signed an authorization to them when you signed the application.
October 18th, 2008 at 11:09 PM
Harvey
As a former life insurance underwriter, I can tell you that, in order to obtain $5 million of life insurance, you’ll have to go through a multitute of tests — blood profile, urinalysis, independent physician exam, etc. The company will also require medical records from all of your physicians. There will be no way you can conceal this health condition from an insurer. Trust me. Once an insurer finds out about these nodules, it will decline your application. If the nodules turn out to be benign, you can reapply and provide a copy of the biopsy report. Be prepared for further investigation, though, especially for this amount of money.
Unless your existing policy has an option to increase the face amount without evidence of insurability, your options are limited. There are policies that ask very few health questions, but typically these policies are not issued for large dollar amounts — and certainly not for $5 million.
Your best option at this time is to consider investing the money you already have.
One comment — answerer “Donna R” seems well-intentioned, but she is incorrect. Insurers do not have computers that can access your medical records. In order for any such transaction, you must sign a release form (pursuant to federal HIPAA law and any applicable state laws); the records are then copied by the physician(s) and sent to the insurer. Donna may be thinking of the Medical Information Bureau system, but it works much differently than she described.
I hope this helps.
October 21st, 2008 at 2:18 PM
Daniel
To be honest i really dont think an insurance company will touch you now and if you dont tell them chances are when they are processing your application they will write to you Dr and it will be disclosed then also if your poily is accepted and then once you die it will deffinatly come to light that when you took out the new policy you were aware you had something wrong with you your policy will just be voided. I really wouldnt reconmend trying it you’ll just end up worst off.
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:27 PM
Victor
Well, the problem is, if you fail to disclose the current issue, it voids the policy, and you can damn well bet that the insurance company will find out, even if it’s after death.
You CAN buy insurance if you have a terminal illness - but you might end up paying face value + 5%.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:42 AM
Tony
The earlier posters are right about being honest about your condition. A policy with that high a death benefit would certainly occasion greater scrutiny than a policy with a lower face value. You probably know what you should do – shop around. Talk with as many insurance agents as you can and be upfront about your condition. I really don’t know if it’s advisable to wait until a formal diagnosis or if securing protection right away will enhance the prospect of getting a more affordable plan.
But hopefully this will all be unnecessary, of course. There are many different noncancerous causes of multiple pulmonary nodules, including cysts, abnormal lung blood flow, or a fungal infection. I applaud your wanting to prepare your loved ones in the event of a serious illness, but I hope you’re positive about your outcome.
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Take care,