Life Insurance for Someone with Epilepsy
Epilepsy, seizures and life insurance
Finding the most favorable rating on life insurance for someone with epilepsy may require ‘shopping’ the case to several markets. Life insurers differ in their levels of experience and expertise in certain illnesses and impairments, including epilepsy. Consequently, life insurers can view the same case and yet make quite different offers.
Seizures are sudden changes in behavior due to excessive electrical activity in the brain. And epilepsy is a chronic disorder with recurrent seizures. T
Experts have differentiated seizures by:
- It’s affect on consciousness
- generalized vs. focal: generalized seizures involving all areas of the brain, where as focal seizures involve one area of the brain
- the affects it has on the body such as muscle stiffening or loss of muscle control
Seizures classified
- Simple Partial – focal seizure without a loss of consciousness
- Complex Partial – focal seizure with a loss of consciousness
- Absence (petit mal) – characterized by a short ‘blanking out’ or slight body movements
- Tonic – cause stiffening of muscles
- Atonic – cause loss of muscle control
- Clonic – characterized by repeated jerking of muscles
- Myoclonic – sudden brief jerking of muscles
- Tonic Clonic (grand mal)- characterized by sudden loss of consciousness and the body stiffening and shaking
What are the concerns of life insurers ?
Seizures can cause other health problems such as migraines, strokes, and cardiovascular disorders. So life insurers are concerned about increased mortality risks.
Features associated with a poorer prognosis:
- seizures that are not well controlled with medication
- poor compliance with the treatment plan
- need for hospitalization or surgery
- continued use of alcohol in alcohol-related seizures.
What do life insurers want to know in order to rate a case?
Ultimately, what insurers want to know:
- The seizure type
- the cause of the seizure
- frequency of seizures
- duration from the last seizure
- treatments and medication
What rating will be assigned?
Epilepsy life insuance rate classes
| condition | rate class |
|---|---|
| grand mal & complex partial with good control (less than 1 seizure per year) | standard to table 2 |
| grand mal & complex partial with fair control (1-3 seizures per year) | table 2 to table 6 |
| grand mal & complex partial with poor control (4 or more episodes per year) | table 8 to uninsurable |
| petit mal & simple partial with good control (less than 1 episode per year) | standard to table 2 |
| petit mal & simple partial with fair control (1-3 episodes per year) | table 2 to table 4 |
| petit mal & simple partial with poor control (4 or more episodes per year) | table 6 to uninsurable |
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