I Googled bipolar life insurance today and was struck by the lack of information on how to get approved for life insurance with bipolar disorder or any of the other mood disorders.
Don’t get me wrong. There was plenty of information about bipolar disorder, information that anyone with bipolar disorder already knows, but other than blog, written by me, there wasn’t anyone else offering the information that people are looking for, how to get approved. So let’s be serious. If someone does a search for bipolar life insurance or bipolar disorder life insurance or depression life insurance, it’s not because they want to find out more about bipolar disorder or depression.
Most of these people have either already been rated or declined for life insurance, or are pretty sure there may be some pitfalls in the underwriting process. They are looking for a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They want approved life insurance, not the kind of mistreatment they’ve already experienced or think they are about to. So with every post about mood disorders I offer the following criteria. People deserve to know up front what it will take to get approved.
1. Someone who has not been hospitalized for bipolar disorder other than for diagnosis?
2. Someone who has not attempted suicide or had bouts with suicidal ideations? (Ideations become less relevant with time)
3. Someone who is compliant with their treatment, both medications and regular followups?
4. Someone who is leading a stable family life or social life?
5. Someone who is exhibiting a stable work life?
6. Someone who is not on disability for bipolar and does not have issues with drinking or drugs? If there’s a problem here, then the answers to 3, 4 and 5 are no.
7. Better approvals come if you are not on anti psychotic drugs.
The reason I’ve taken this approach to presenting information on impairment underwriting is that life just seems more fair when the rules are known ahead of time. I know from reading criteria like the list above that if I’m supplementing my bipolar treatment with alcohol or drugs then I may have a problem getting approved. I should understand that if I am so disabled that I can’t hold a job due to bipolar, that’s not considered well controlled and may lead to a decline or a higher rating.
Someone looking for life insurance will get far more value from this one quick page than from a long rambling article that just never quite tells you what to do or how to get there.
Bottom line. Look for help on helpful websites. Don’t assume that writing long articles makes the article helpful or even informative.
My 20 years of experience give me the knowledge and leverage to find reasonably-priced life insurance for people who have been declined or are paying more than they need to.
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