Arthritis is painful, but in the vast majority of cases, it isn’t life threatening. If you have arthritis, the opportunities to get affordable burial insurance are the same for you as they are for the general population. Even if your condition is severe, you’ll still have options.
What Determines Burial Insurance Rates?
Burial insurance doesn’t require a medical exam, but burial insurance policies often require individuals to answer a health questionnaire. The health questionnaire is a way for insurers to decide on how much of an insurability risk the applicant is, and answers to certain questions may determine whether the person is able to qualify for the policy. The medical questions that insurers pay the most attention to are those that indicate severe conditions that have a significant negative impact on life expectancy.
Younger individuals who have mild or no health issues will get the lowest rates, because they will likely be able to pay premiums longer than other individuals. They have the lowest insurability risk, which is why they will be able to get burial policies with immediate coverage at low rates.
Older individuals in poor health will face higher rates and a two-year waiting period before their policies become active. Individuals in severe cases may not be approved for a policy that requires answering health questions, and are better suited for guaranteed issue policies that are assigned without any questions asked.
How Will Arthritis Affect My Rates?
In the case of arthritis, you more than likely won’t encounter any questions about it on your burial insurance exam. Arthritis may impact quality of life to some degree, but it’s not something that shortens your lifespan (exception being rare, severe cases). If you have no other health problems, you’ll be able to qualify for burial insurance without a waiting period and lower premiums.
What If My Arthritis Is Severe?
The only way arthritis can be detrimental to your ability to get immediate burial insurance coverage is if it’s severe enough to affect your ability to perform the six activities of daily living (ADL). These include:
- Eating
- Bathing
- Toileting
- Dressing
- Transferring
- Continence
The most severe cases of arthritis would interfere with your ability to perform the ADL, because it would hinder your mobility, your ability to breathe properly, and cause damage to your heart. If you aren’t able to perform the ADL, you will have higher rates and you may only qualify for coverage with a two-year waiting period, in which your beneficiaries will not receive the full death benefit if you pass away during those two years.
It should be noted that mobility hindrance alone will not lead to difficulty in finding immediate coverage. If you’re in a wheelchair, but are still able to perform the ADL, insurers will not use that against you when assigning coverage.
Find Your Policy Today
At Senior Life Services, you will be able to get great coverage no matter what your personal circumstances are. We will work with you to ensure that you get the policy you need at the price you deserve. If you’re looking to get burial insurance, call us today at (800) 548-3249.
