Don’t let your Crohn’s disease stop you from applying for burial insurance! In the vast majority of cases, you will not see a question asking about gastrointestinal disease in the screening process for final expense.
You can find low-cost burial insurance with Crohn’s disease by working with an independent insurance agent to understand your eligibility and match you with a policy that has a level benefit and no waiting period. If you have other health conditions, our team can find you a guaranteed issue policy.
What is Crohn’s Disease?
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation in the digestive tract. This can lead to symptoms of abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, and malnutrition. You may also see signs of fever, cramping, blood in your stool, mouth sores, reduced appetite, or pain or drainage due to an anal fistula.
Inflammation is seen in the small or large intestine and can be in multiple segments or seen only in the colon. When the disease is active, you may also experience inflammation of the skin, eyes and joints, inflammation of the liver or bile ducts, kidney stones, iron deficiency, or delayed growth or sexual development (in children).
See your doctor if you have signs and symptoms of Crohn’s disease, including abdominal pain, blood in your stool, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea that does not stop with over-the-counter treatments, prolonged fever, or unexplained weight loss.
People are generally diagnosed with Crohn’s disease by their 30s. If you have a parent, sibling, or child with the disease, you are more likely to have the condition.
There is no cure for Crohn’s disease, and the cause is not yet known, but there are treatment options available to soothe the inflammation and bring about remission of the disease’s signs and symptoms.
About Burial Insurance
Burial insurance, which is used synonymously with final expense insurance, is a type of life insurance policy that seniors can purchase to secure a small death benefit. These death benefits are generally in the range of $10,000 to $20,000 but can be as low as $2,000 or up to $50,000, depending on your needs and eligibility.
Burial insurance is intended to help you cover the costs of paying for your funeral, cremation, or burial arrangements. When the policyholder passes away, their final expense insurance company gives the policyholder’s beneficiaries the death benefit in the form of a cash payment.
Final expense insurance policies are specifically made for seniors, and most people who apply for a policy are between the ages of 55 and 85. The relatively small death benefits make these policies affordable to people with fixed incomes.
One of the main advantages of preparing for the financial toll of final arrangements is that funeral homes require advance payments for goods and services you purchase from third-party vendors, such as the casket or printed materials. The time to come up with the money for those items is not during the grieving period. Planning ahead by purchasing low-cost burial insurance can help your family and loved ones focus more on remembering you and less on the logistics of the memorial.
Qualifying for Burial Insurance
Final expense policies are made for seniors. The insurance companies know that, so they make it simple to qualify for a policy. You do not have to have a medical exam, and you need only answer a few health questions. The insurance companies know that seniors, in their advanced age, are likely to have experienced some health conditions. They merely want to ensure that they do not insure someone who is at increased risk of imminent death because that adds more risk for the company.
Health Questions to Expect
Typically, the health questions look like the following:
- Do you have a history of alcohol or drug abuse?
- Are you currently bedridden or hospitalized?
- Do you have heart disease, heart attack, or heart surgery?
- Do you have a history of stroke?
- Do you have congestive heart failure?
- Do you have cancer?
- Do you have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia?
- Have you tested positive for HIV or AIDS?
- Are you taking medication, or have you been treated for any of the conditions above during the last two years?
The good news? Insurance companies are looking for a history of smoking, cancer, stroke, heart attack, and the like. It is unlikely that you will encounter a health question asking about irritable bowel disease. And if you do, we can help you find a policy that pays no mind to your Crohn’s disease diagnosis.
When you do not have to answer “yes” to any of the health questions, you should be easily accepted and approved for a level death benefit. Sometimes final expense insurance companies will add a waiting period of up to two years before people can receive the full benefit if they have to say “yes” to a health condition. During those two years, their beneficiaries would receive a partial benefit or the amount paid in premiums with interest.
Medical Underwriting with Crohn’s Disease
Be sure to respond to these questions honestly because if you were found to have answered them incorrectly, your beneficiaries may be denied the death benefit after your passing.
You do not need to provide any additional medical records beyond answering the health questions, but the final expense insurance company will ask to see a pharmacy report to see which medications you have filled.
They Will Ask About Your Prescription Usage
The burial insurance company will want to know which prescription drugs you are taking to corroborate your story. From the drugs you are taking, they will know which illnesses you are likely being treated for. With Crohn’s disease, there are several medications that you might be taking. Each may represent a different level of interest for the insurance company.
Corticosteroids
If you are taking a corticosteroid, this will not be a cause for concern for the burial insurance company. These medications are commonly taken for various conditions, so they do not represent a high risk or any cause for alarm. One side effect the burial insurance company may consider with these drugs is the potential to develop diabetes. This does not usually present a problem for Crohn’s patients or anyone applying for final expense insurance. You will have noticed that the insurance companies do not screen for diabetes. It is only if you develop severe complications from diabetes that you will be looked at more closely.
Imuran & Methotrexate
These drugs prevent transplant rejection and help to treat autoimmune disorders. Insurance companies that determine you may have an autoimmune disorder will still grant you a level death benefit, so this is not a concern.
Mercaptopurine
This is a drug used to treat cancer as well as to treat Crohn’s disease. Final expense insurance companies will see this medication listed and have alarm bells going off in their heads. If you have taken this medication within the last two years, your independent insurance agent will need to get a letter from your doctor explaining that this medication has been used to treat your Crohn’s disease, not cancer. With that concern smoothed over, you will be able to secure a level death benefit.
Cyclosporine
This drug is used to prevent rejection of an organ transplant and is sometimes used to treat Crohn’s disease. Your burial insurance company will assume the worst and plan to decline you coverage, so your independent insurance agent will need to secure a letter from your doctor saying that the drug is being used to treat Crohn’s disease and that you have not had an organ or tissue transplant.
Other medications you may take to treat your Crohn’s disease will not be an issue with the burial insurance company.
The Question About Upcoming Surgery
The final expense insurance company is likely to ask whether you have any surgeries or hospitalizations that you have yet to start or complete or diagnostic tests you have not yet heard the results of. The company wants to know whether you have any upcoming medical risks. Surgeries represent a great deal of risk, and they will want to see that you have no anticipation of needing surgery.
If you need surgery, you will have a higher likelihood of being accepted for a final expense policy if you wait to apply for the coverage until after recovering from the procedure.
Questions About Side Effects And Cancer
Some people with Crohn’s disease experience weight loss. You may be asked if you have experienced weight loss of more than 10 pounds in the last year. Saying yes should not be a deal-breaker but may add a hint of caution for the final expense insurance company.
With Crohn’s disease, you have an elevated chance of getting colon cancer. The final expense insurance company will look for cancer in the answers to your questions. If they see cancer or another serious health concern, they will not likely accept you for a policy with a level death benefit.
Guaranteed Issue Burial Insurance
We do not mean to discourage you. Even if you have cancer, you can still purchase final expense insurance. How, you ask? Through a guaranteed issue final expense policy.
Guaranteed issue burial insurance policies ask you no health questions. The tradeoff is that you will have higher premiums than you would if you were to have been approved for a level benefit policy.
While Crohn’s disease will not prevent you from purchasing a low-cost burial insurance policy, additional health conditions have the potential to. If you have to say “yes” to one of the standard health questions, you will want to consider purchasing a guaranteed issue final expense policy.
Finding Affordable Burial Insurance
How do you find a low-cost burial insurance policy with Crohn’s disease? Simple! Get the help of an independent insurance agent. Independent agents will be able to help you compare the coverage and rates between reputable final expense insurance companies to connect you with the best possible policy for your situation.
Let your independent insurance agent know what health conditions you have before you start to apply for policies. This will help the agent to most accurately assess your likelihood of approval with different levels of coverage under the most trusted providers and get you the best coverage.
Why Get Burial Insurance
Burial insurance is a life insurance solution designed specifically for seniors.
Give your family peace of mind during their time of mourning. The death of a loved one can come as a shock and launch loved ones into grief. Other times the passing is anticipated, and the family is prepared, having said their goodbyes. In any case, the loss of a dear friend or family member necessitates time to remember and hold the departed in their hearts. Removing the additional worry of finances allows them to focus on collective healing.
Funeral services can be expensive. In the U.S., it is good practice to plan for costs to be upward of $9,000 for a funeral and burial. Many of the costs associated with funerals need to be funded at the time of the event, which can lead to sudden financial stress on the part of those left behind.
Plan your memorial just the way you have envisioned it. Final expense insurance companies often have a service that allows you to document your wishes for your final arrangements. They will then hold onto that documentation and pass it along to your beneficiaries along with the death benefit when the time comes. This pre-arranging also gives you agency over something as unknown and unwelcome as death and allows you to take control as much as possible. For many policyholders, this can give them some closure in advance.
Not everyone is able to save and leave an inheritance for their loved ones. People who do not have an existing life insurance policy can easily and at a low cost purchase a final expense insurance policy and secure up to $50,000 to leave to their friends and family. The money can be used however the beneficiaries see fit, so there is no restriction on its use solely for the final arrangements.
Want to learn more about finding low-cost burial insurance? Senior Life Services is here to assist you. Contact us today to learn how you may qualify for life insurance.
