There is a tendency with a lot of people to get a little road weary with a long term treatment plan and take off in our own direction. I am guilty as charged of that and just like I advise my clients, I have a little homework to do before I apply for a life insurance policy that I am anticipating purchasing in the next few months.

In my case I have been on 40mg of Prozac and with everything going along very smoothly I decided to cut it out and see how I do? I didn’t consult my doctor which around my house brings with it the wrath of my wife who is a nurse. “What if he would have said don’t mess with success?” “What if he would have recommended just cutting the dosage in half instead of quitting altogether.” Now I know I have created a minefield of my own making in my medical records because in the words of myself, “I am non compliant with my treatment.” So, thinking I have saved all of this money not going into my doctor to discuss it, I now have to go to my doctor to discuss what I did and explain to him that I am doing great without Prozac….except I really haven’t been so I started taking it again. It is this kind of self management that drives life insurance underwriters up a wall and knocks life insurance applications off the tracks until you cave in and get a fresh evaluation, a new look at your situation.

This has been the scenario with several cases just recently, and I get it. After 10 years of the same old thing you’re really ready for a change or a break through or something, and you don’t feel like you’re going to get that from your current doctor. And I’m not just talking about us crazy mood disorder people here. This could be your blood pressure or cholesterol treatment, maybe your sleep apnea that is going to hurt your chances at life insurance.. The drill goes something like this. You go ahead and make a change in your treatment and don’t consult your doctor and don’t even go back to that same doctor. You apply for life insurance and if you don’t use an agent that asks questions you end up being declined because you aren’t compliant with the treatment program in your medical records. Depending on the savvy of your agent, which is in question if he didn’t know about the non compliance before the application, they may suggest you go back to the doctor and tidy up your relationship or get a second opinion to substantiate your brilliance as a self MD.

Right now I have 5 clients, 6 including me,  who I haven’t shopped yet because they have these gaps in their medical history. Until we have a current evaluation there is no reason to shop.

Bottom line. Do as I say, not as I do. If you are planning on applying for life insurance and have loose ends in your medical records, tidy that up before you start. If you have any questions or have been declined and don’t really understand wh, call or email me directly. My name is Ed Hinerman. Let’s talk.