Sleep Apnea and life insurance

Would sleep apnea affect your life insurance premium? Or would you be able to get a new life insurance at all?

Don't know about life insurance, but I got turned down for short and long term disability because of sleep Apnea and I was on cpap

I recently got turned down for AARP's life insurance for my "stated conditions, including diabetes". Not sure how much weight the sleep apnea carried in their decision.

Most likely it will affect your premiums....in fact...you may be denied from some companies. Take advantage of any policies offered by your employer.

If you are being treated successfully for Sleep Apnea, you don't have Sleep Apnea, you have successfully treated Sleep Apnea. Unless the forms ask about Successfully treated Sleep Apnea, I don't fill it in, because I no longer have Sleep Apnea. If you have had a kidney infection, but were successfully treated for it, i wouldn't put it down as I have it. Jim

It sounds like it could affect yor ratings. More from the Internet:

Whatever the decision, if it is not to your liking, you may appeal a company's decision. Discuss the company's reasoning with the insurance agent, and work with the agent and your doctor in appealing the decision. Because sleep apnea is typically not well understood by the insurance industry (or the medical community outside of the sleep field) and there are not yet sufficient studies to show the benefits of treatment, sometimes you must provide them with information about your specific case.

A strong letter from your doctor on your health post-treatment can be quite powerful. Any evidence on the benefits of sleep apnea treatment (such as a reduction in your blood pressure) should be included in the letter. If you had surgery for your sleep apnea and had a post-surgery sleep study that shows your apnea is no longer clinically significant, you may want to include a copy of that. Likewise, if you use a CPAP machine, it may be helpful to include a copy of your titration study that shows the machine is set at a pressure high enough to reduce the apnea-hypopnea index to a clinically insignificant level. Follow-up progress notes may also be supportive, particularly if your sleep studies are out of date (ask the agent what constitutes "out of date" to the insurance company). If you use a CPAP machine with a time monitor device, your physician can provide the insurance company with an objective measure of your usage of the machine. This information can be important in presenting a strong appeal. You may also want to include in your appeal appropriate articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals that address the benefits of your treatment. (If you have access to the Internet, you can find abstracts or summaries of relevant articles on the PubMed website at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/.)

When I was first diagnosed with OSA about 7 yrs ago I never got on board with the CPAP machine, finally last November I decided to take another shot at the therapy and have been very successful so far. About 2 years ago I attempted to get some additional life insurance thru New York Life as I already have a couple of smaller policies from several years back. When I filled out the questionnaire it specifically asks for past medical issues so I told the truth. Of course NYL denied the policy and my agent said that if I had been using the therapy as prescribed there wouldn't have been a problem getting the policy.

Hmmm. Sounds like it's a serious consideration, as the web article implied. Bummer.

I wonder if the agent was oversimplifying, though. If he's right, you should be able to reapply.

PS You should ugrade to the S9 if you can. I just did and like it a lot.

gpk111 wrote:Hmmm. Sounds like it's a serious consideration, as the web article implied. Bummer.

I wonder if the agent was oversimplifying, though. If he's right, you should be able to reapply.

PS You should ugrade to the S9 if you can. I just did and like it a lot.

I doubt my insurance company will want to spring for a new S9 when I just got the S8 last December, as much as I would like to have one it's not in my budget at the moment. Once I get a bit more time with the therapy I will probably apply again. I am making some lifestyle changes to improve my health...loosing some weight which is already lowering my pressure requirements and I am now seeing some 0.0 for AI's. My blood pressure and cholesterol are both coming down as well.

Terry,
Good for you! I'm trying to get motivated: Sleep hygiene and exercise. Not over the hump yet.

Stalling off life insurance application until then.

Whether it will affect your life insurance is really down to the company. For my private medical insurance here in the UK, because I took it out after I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, they won't cover anything to do with Sleep related medical conditions including anything to do with heart conditions (as I was receiving heart stress / palpitations due to OSA.

In the past, I've had it affect both life and health insurance, with sleep apnea being the prime reason for significantly higher insurance costs. Thankfully, the insurance now comes through my employer so it isn't an issue.

Someone mentioned not marking Sleep Apnea on the form, as they are being successfully treated. Everyone can make their own choice, but I'd see that as a prime reason to later deny payment on a policy, so I would use that approach with care. I'll also note I've seen it on forms as "Have you ever been diagnosed with Sleep Apnea;" in that instance, putting or checking "no" would be an easy denial of payment.

Good luck,

Rick

I actually asked that question when we had our private health care provider come into the company as several of my staff had asked me this question of not telling the the private health care provider, and the private health care provider said that if someone doesn't declare it on the form and it's later found out on your medical record that you had been suffering from X, Y or Z prior to starting the policy then you would not be able to claim so it was best to be up front with them.

In the UK when you claim, you have to go to a doctor first, provide them with the BUPA health care form and they will sign it. If the doctor doesn't tell the truth (which is unlikely) there is a clause that you agree to when signing up which says that you agree to sign over all your health records if required to at any point of a claim.

Either way I think they have you

I'd plead the 5th amendment. I'm sure some federal court would rule in your favor!

The US has a 2 year statute of limitation on life insurance "misunderstandings" like this. Just don't die within 2 years.