Stroke Stats

Strokes are quite a prominent health concern, responsible for shorting lives and leaving victims vulnerable to a range of other health complications. As per the CDC over 795000 strokes take place in the US annually. 

Can You Pass The Eligibility Criteria For Final Expenses Insurance After Suffering From A Stroke?

All stroke victims will be able to get burial insurance. however, However, the type of insurance and approval depends on the stroke’s severity and the time elapsed since the last stroke. Underwriters will also consider the stroke type you suffered from while considering your application. Mini-strokes and full-blown strokes are treated differently.

The latter is a serious medical event, capable of dramatically impacting your life insurance premiums. Those who suffered from mini-strokes typically pay smaller premiums compared to those who’ve suffered from CVAs.

Burial insurance choices are largely dependent on when your last stroke episode was. If it was fairly recent or during year, you will face graded or modified plans. That to say higher prices and a waiting period of 2/3 years. In this case you will be better off with a guaranteed issue policy to bridge the time until you are eligible for immediate coverage.

If your stroke is over a year old yo may qualify for "day 1" level coverage with no waiting periods. In any case you will not face a medical exam requirement. 

Underwriting Of Burial Insurance Post-Stroke Episode

Burial insurance underwriting is done from your answers to the application questions and a prescription history check. The questions you can expect to be asked are as follows:

• When did your previous stroke occur?
• What medications are you using at the moment?
• Do you suffer from other health issues?
• Do you suffer from mental or physical impairments due to your stroke?
  • Were you treated or diagnosed for strokes in the last 24 months?
  • Were you treated or diagnosed for strokes in the last 12 months?

A vast majority of burial insurance firms usually go back over 24 months on strokes. Only a few are willing to look back just a single year. 

You can also expect the following questions related to your stroke episode.

• Details of medications you’re currently taking
• The type of stroke you had
• Your age when the stroke occurred
• Details of when the stroke took place

Underwriters at the insurance firm will also question you whether you suffer from any physical impairment as a result of your stroke.

Details of any impairments, which limit the six daily activities of living ( continence, transferring, toileting, dressing, bathing, and eating) will be required. Your need for rehabilitation, home-based healthcare or nursing may also be considered.

Honesty in answering the application questions is important. The  reality is that carriersw have money at risk and will find out if you are lying. Only by being truthful can an agent find the best option available to you.

Details Regarding Your Medications

In addition to analyzing your answers to the application questions, carriers will look at your prescription history. If you are taking stroke specific medications you will be considered to have had a stroke and no amount of arguing will help.  The look back period will generally be 2 years for stroke medications. 

Carriers will ask the dosage of medication you take and  how long you have been taking it. The answers to these questions will be checked against your prescription history. Using a "first fill" analysis, underwriters will assign your stroke date to the date that your stroke medication was first filled.The most commonly used stroke medications are:

• Warfarin
• Ticlid
• Plavix
• Nimotop
• Nimodipine
• Jantoven
• Heparin
• Coumadin
• Clopidogrel
• Aggrenox
• Activase

consideration of Physical Impairments Resulting From Strokes

Strokes can cause muscle weakness in a side of the body, impair your joint movement and cause major physical impairments. Having a stroke can affect coordination, making it difficult for the performance of physical activities like walking. While these problems may be temporary, they can sabotage your chances of securing immediate coverage along with the best rates for a burial insurance plan. 

Do You Require Help In Your Daily Activities?

These activities include toileting, dressing, bathing, and eating. Requiring help with "daily activities of living" is generally a knock-out question for all carriers. If you require help while conducting these activities, guaranteed issue policies are your only choice. 

Nursing Home and Burial Insurance

Much the same as above, if you are confined to a nursing home or rehabilitation center, your burial insurance options will be relegated to a guaranteed issue  policy.

Home-Based Health Care and Burial Insurance

For most carriers home based health care is treated in the same way help with daily activities of living and nursing homes are treated. 

However, because carrier applications are all worded differently, it is possible to not get "dinged" for home based health care.

Probable burial Carrier Response to Stroke Application

Below are the likely best outcomes for burial insurance applicants after a stroke.

If your previous stroke occurred in the past 12 months

You have to undergo a waiting period of 2 years and pay around 15-30% higher premiums. No insurance firms will approve recent stroke survivors for instant death benefits plans.

guaranteed issue coverage is always the best choice in this scenario. Get the coverage you need and reapply in a year for a level policy with no waiting period. 

If your previous stroke occurred more than 12 months ago but less than 24 months ago

A few carriers will treat this as essentially "nothing". If you are lucky enough to live in a state where one of these carriers does business, you win. If not, you will have a graded option.

If Your Previous Stroke Occurred Over 24 Months Ago

Most insurance firms ask only about strokes that have occurred in the past 2 years. Since your last stroke episode was over 2 years ago, you can obtain instant coverage with any company without any waiting periods.

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How To Get Burial Insurance At Affordable Rates After Suffering From A Stroke

The best way to ensure that you receive the most competitive deal available is to use the services of an independent agent. Only an independent agent with experience in the burial insurance market will be able to access multiple carriers and multiple underwriting guidelines. 

Your Next Step

Thank you for choosing NODLB.com to research burial insurance policies after suffering from a stroke. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or send over an email.