impaired risk

A 64 year old female was submitted for life insurance with what the agent felt were “insurable problems.”  She was diagnosed with lupus 20 years ago but the disease had remained inactive, on no specific medications, normal kidney testing, and only with recommendations to stay out of the sun for photosensitivity reasons. 

Liver enzyme testing (LFTs) are part of virtually every blood profile obtained on a potential insured.  They are also one of the leading causes of a completely unexpected rating or decline on a case.  Most clients do not provide a specific history for an elevation, and no broker or agent expects such an outcome with what seemed to be a clean history.  Knowing how to approach this situation can be key to a favorable underwriting outcome.

Is it true, as stories suggest, you can die of a broken heart?  Likewise, can you have suffered a broken heart and get a standard life insurance policy?  The answer to both questions is yes.  The entity is known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or as stress cardiomyopathy, and is very real.  

A tumor with a very serious prognosis, mesotheliomas are primary neoplasms that arise from either the pleura surrounding the lung or the peritoneum.  Most mesotheliomas are diffuse and malignant, while a minority (less than 25 percent) are localized and benign in activity. It’s important to recognize these growths as they have serious and rapid progressions when diagnosed in many cases.

Thyroid testing has become more sophisticated and much easier to interpret as the state of the art has progressed.  Whereas much of the old testing required a reference test in addition in order to correct for different individual body protein status, newer testing is much more sensitive and spot-on as a single reported value.  Each condition has one or two tests that make the best diagnosis as a primary test and tell the best story for diagnosis and treatment.

The world's biggest life and health insurers may be putting more energy into developing new underwriting strategies for older, sicker people than for younger, healthier people.

Liver diseases can range from mild fatty liver disease to complete decompensation and loss of liver function,  Some are acquired by virus, some due to diet and alcohol use, some secondary from other body illnesses, and some are primary arising directly in the liver and bile ducts.  Two such primary diseases of a very serious nature are primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis.

Generally we think of lymphoma as a blood cancer (like Hodgkins and non-Hodgkins disease)—diagnosable diseases from blood testing and lymph node involvement.  Occasionally, the lymphomas may arise from primary skin disease.

From the initial recognition of HIV virus in 1981, HIV infection has turned from an almost universally fatal infection, to one that could be managed with medication to extend life, to a disease which can be controlled with newer and revolutionary medication therapies.  While many companies continue to see the HIV virus as uninsurable, that corner has also been turned, and life insurance in selected cases of treated HIV infection is now possible.  Even though the conditions that must be met are numerous and the criteria stringent, applicants with HIV now have the possibility of acceptable insurance offers.

Once a disastrous disease with markedly shortened life expectancy, hemophilia is now both a treatable as well as insurable disease in most instances.  It is important to realize that hemophilia not only comes in many types, but also in many degrees of severity.