Life Insurance Options For Transplant Patients
People who have had a transplant are, for the most part, going to be unable to qualify for traditional life insurance policies. However, there are many policies that can surely be obtained.
Guaranteed acceptance
A guaranteed issue policy requires no health questions or medical exam. Hence the name, your approval is guaranteed. While anyone with any prior health issues of any kind can get these policies, there are three major drawbacks to consider. First, there is always a mandatory two-year waiting period. If you die during the waiting period due to a natural cause of death, the insurer will only refund your premiums. Aside from that, these guaranteed policies are the most expensive, as the insurer takes on a significant amount of risk, knowing absolutely nothing about your health history.
Simplified issue
Simplified policies don’t require a medical exam, but they do require answering health questions. If approved, these plans can have either partial or full coverage during the first two years. Depending on the company and product, the insurer may request medical records from your physicians.
Burial insurance
Burial policies are often referred to as final expense or funeral insurance, and they’re small whole life policies designed primarily to cover funeral costs. However, the final result is a cash payout (like all types of life insurance), which can be used for any purpose. One of the primary benefits of burial insurance plans is that they accept applicants with a wide range of high-risk medical conditions. While not all final expense insurance companies will accept applicants who have had a transplant, some certainly will.
Modified whole life
Modified whole life policies do not require a medical exam and ask either A) limited health questions or B) ask no health questions at all. Ultimately, high-risk applicants can qualify, but keep in mind that there will be a two-year waiting period before you’re fully insured for natural causes of death.
Traditional policies (term & whole)
While it’s unlikely, a transplant patient could potentially qualify for a standard term life or whole life policy. Also, if approved, it would be expensive.
Ultimately, it must be a fully underwritten policy that entails answering health questions, undergoing a medical examination, and obtaining all your medical records.
It will generally need to be at least five years since the transplant, and you must have a documented history of impeccably managing your health since the transplant. Only then might an insurer might make an offer. For example, the following variables will significantly affect your approval odds for a traditional life policy:
- Time since transplant: Five years is a significant milestone for most insurers, but this may vary depending on the organ, insurance company, and product being applied for.
- Medication and lifestyle compliance: No lapses in immunosuppressive drug usage and positive lifestyle factors such as your height & weight, lack of tobacco usage, and consistent follow-up visits to your physicians.
- Organ function: Insurers require positive and stable laboratory results, with no indication of organ deterioration.
- Any rejection history: If there have been any instances of organ rejection, expect a decline.
- Donor type: Whether or not the organ was donated from a living or deceased person has an impact. Insurers favor organs donated from a living person.
You should seek out the advice of an experienced independent insurance agent who can guide you. Don’t bother trying to buy online or without talking with an agent. It would be a waste of your time.
Can A Person With An Organ Transplant Get Final Expense Life Insurance With No Waiting Period?
Yes, a transplant patient can potentially qualify for a final expense life insurance policy with no waiting period. It will generally depend upon the type of transplant, how long it has been since the surgery, and the scope of current and past health issues outside of the transplant condition
For example, if you had a kidney transplant due to chronic kidney disease six years ago and your overall health is stable now, some burial insurance companies will approve you for a no waiting period policy.
However, if you had a heart transplant last year, a two-year waiting period is inevitable until more time has passed.
Good Life Insurance Companies To Consider For Transplant Patients
- $10K Policy Cost$55.00/month*
- New Applicant Ages45-85
- Death Benefit Options$3,000-$25,000
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodYes
- $10K Policy Cost$51.10/month*
- New Applicant Ages18-85
- Death Benefit Options$5,000-$100,000
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodNo
- $10K Policy Cost$40.77/month*
- New Applicant Ages0-85
- Death Benefit Options$1,000-$50,000
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodNo
Frequently Asked Questions
As a baseline, every person can obtain a new guaranteed issue life insurance policy since there is no medical underwriting of any kind. That means, regardless of which type of transplant you had, you can indeed get a new policy. Beyond that, if you’ve had a heart or lung transplant, expect it to be nearly impossible to qualify for any other type of life insurance.
Essentially, a mental incapacity is the only condition under which a person cannot get life insurance. For any other health or lifestyle situation, a person, at a minimum, could obtain a guaranteed acceptance policy since there are no health questions or medical exams that need to be completed.
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Every company we review has an overall score that illustrates how well it stands out in the market relative to its competitors. These scores are not subjective. Instead, we utilize a defined 5-star scoring system that applies a weighted average of particular factors, all of which are outlined below and on our review methodology page.
We measure the price of a company’s most popular they promote relative to its competitors. The closeness of their cost to other companies determines the final score. Read a full breakdown of the price of coverage factor on our review methodology page.
This factor assesses whether a company offers immediate coverage and, if so, how difficult it is to qualify for it. Read a full breakdown of the no waiting period coverage factor on our review methodology page.
A company’s financial strength is based on its rating with A.M. Best. Read a full breakdown of the financial strength factor on our review methodology page.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint index measures an insurer’s frequency of consumer complaints compared to the rest of the market. The score the insurer receives is based on how it stacks up to the median score of other insurers. Read a full breakdown of the NAIC complaint index factor on our review methodology page.
Why trust Choice Mutual?
When we review products, our findings are unbiased and free of any influence from partnerships or methods of compensation. All findings, good or bad, are solely the derivative of our objective analysis of any given product or company.
As noted on our review methodology page, our researchers evaluate the financial stability of the insurer, policy costs, product limitations, state availability, customer satisfaction, waiting periods (if applicable), and other relevant factors. We aggregate all this cumulative data to develop objective overall scores based on pre-defined weighted factors.
In addition, a qualified expert who is well-qualified to speak on the matter will provide opinion-based feedback about the company or product being reviewed.
For over a decade, Choice Mutual has been an insurance agency specializing in final expense life insurance. Our expertise in this type of insurance is well-documented in numerous authoritative publications, some of which are listed below:
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- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 15 years of experience
- Personal annual production that puts him in the top .001% out of all life insurance agents in the nation.
Anthony Martin is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 15 years of experience and has personally served over 10,000 clients with their life insurance needs. He frequently authors entrepreneurial and life insurance content for Forbes, Inc.com, Newsweek, Kiplinger, and Entreprenuer.com. Anthony has been consulted as an expert life insurance source for dozens of high-profile websites such as Forbes, Bankrate, Reuters, Fox Business, CNBC, Investopedia, Insurance.com, Yahoo Finance, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 19 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 19 years of experience. He has personally helped over 3000 clients with their life insurance needs. Jeff is a best-selling Amazon author and the managing partner of a highly successful insurance brokerage that manages over 2,500 licensed insurance agents across the USA. He has been a featured life insurance source for prestigious websites such as Forbes, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Nerdwallet, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 14 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of five insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 14 years of experience. He has personally helped more than 15,000 clients buy life insurance. David has been featured as an expert source for highly authoritative publications such as A.M. Best and Insurancenewsnet. He also runs one of the largest Youtube channels to help aspiring insurance agents serve their clients better.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 19 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 19 years of experience. He has personally helped over 3000 clients with their life insurance needs. Jeff is a best-selling Amazon author and the managing partner of a highly successful insurance brokerage that manages over 2,500 licensed insurance agents across the USA. He has been a featured life insurance source for prestigious websites such as Forbes, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Nerdwallet, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 14 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of five insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 14 years of experience. He has personally helped more than 15,000 clients buy life insurance. David has been featured as an expert source for highly authoritative publications such as A.M. Best and Insurancenewsnet. He also runs one of the largest Youtube channels to help aspiring insurance agents serve their clients better.
Choice Mutual often cites third-party websites to provide context and verification for specific claims made in our work. We only link to authoritative websites that provide accurate information. You can learn more about our editorial standards, which guide our mission of delivering factual and impartial content.
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mental incapacity. https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/mental%20incapacity
