Sleep Apnea and Term Rates

[zeke67]

How much should an early 40's male who has no other health issues expect to pay above preferred rates if he has sleep apnea treated with a CPAP machine? I recently applied for a 20yr term policy and was offered a rate nearly 3x the preferred rate, is that the norm or should I shop around?

Thanks for any insight.

 

[bluemarlin08]

Best rate I usually get is a std plus, assuming he is in compliance and had follow up doc visits.

 

[dgoldenz]

How much should an early 40's male who has no other health issues expect to pay above preferred rates if he has sleep apnea treated with a CPAP machine? I recently applied for a 20yr term policy and was offered a rate nearly 3x the preferred rate, is that the norm or should I shop around?

Thanks for any insight.

Rather than shopping around on your own, it would be best to find an experienced agent who can shop the case for you based on your medical profile to secure the best risk classification. If you apply with a carrier and they approve the policy with a substandard rating, you would have a mark on your file in the Medical Information Bureau and would have to explain on any future applications why you were issued with that rating. Other factors to consider would be height/weight profile, family medical history (cancer or heart disease before age 60), and any other treatment or medication you may be taking (high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.).

 

[SportsNut]

How much should an early 40's male who has no other health issues expect to pay above preferred rates if he has sleep apnea treated with a CPAP machine? I recently applied for a 20yr term policy and was offered a rate nearly 3x the preferred rate, is that the norm or should I shop around?

Thanks for any insight.

What company quoted you the rate...? That in itself may tell us something of what is behind the rate...

Another factor in your rate will also be height and weight, coupled wiht the apnea... which could explain the rate...

 

[zeke67]

Thanks for the replies.

The quote was from ReliaStar. I made the mistake of neglecting to mention the apnea in a prescreen - wasn't intentionally trying to hide anything - and I brought it up in the interview w/ the nurse who did all the bloodwork & stuff. I figured I'd get a bump - but went from $28/mo for $300k coverage to $77/mo. That seems steep given I have no other health issues.

So now- if I don't take this policy, I'll have to explain the rating they gave me going forward if I try to get a policy with another carrier? I didn't know that - thanks for the info. Sounds like I definitely need an agent at this point if I don't take the policy I've been offered.

Thanks again for your replies - good info here.

 

[dgoldenz]

Thanks for the replies.

The quote was from ReliaStar. I made the mistake of neglecting to mention the apnea in a prescreen - wasn't intentionally trying to hide anything - and I brought it up in the interview w/ the nurse who did all the bloodwork & stuff. I figured I'd get a bump - but went from $28/mo for $300k coverage to $77/mo. That seems steep given I have no other health issues.

So now- if I don't take this policy, I'll have to explain the rating they gave me going forward if I try to get a policy with another carrier? I didn't know that - thanks for the info. Sounds like I definitely need an agent at this point if I don't take the policy I've been offered.

Thanks again for your replies - good info here.

It's good to have an agent anyway. Not only can they shop the case for you, but they can also fight for you if any issues arise. It does not cost you any more to purchase the coverage through an agent than it does to purchase directly from the carrier. However, you should be sure that the agent is independent (not tied to any one carrier) and works with many of the major carriers. Reliastar is a good company with fair underwriting, but some carriers are better than others given certain conditions (such as your sleep apnea). What state are you in?

 

[zeke67]

I am in Vermont.

 

[dgoldenz]

I am in Vermont.

I'd be happy to help if I could - however, we are not licensed in your state. I am sure there is another good agent on the board who could assist you though.

 

[Winter_123]

How much should an early 40's male who has no other health issues expect to pay above preferred rates if he has sleep apnea treated with a CPAP machine? I recently applied for a 20yr term policy and was offered a rate nearly 3x the preferred rate, is that the norm or should I shop around?

Thanks for any insight.

Sleep apnea is not just one condition. That is why you have to have a sleep test. With "central" apnea that means that your brain is not signaling your respiratory system properly and that is usually a decline. The other kind is "obstructive" which means that the contour of your passageways is interfering with things. If that is managed very well with treatment then you are looking at standard give or take a notch. So unless you understand what you have, then you cant know whether you are getting a good offer or not. You have to refer to the results of the sleep test and your docs intepretation.

The other thing, I have found that even if you are doing well, a carrier might postpone you if you have changed your treatment routine in any way in the last six months because they want to see what you look like when you stablize on a program. So, they neither accept nor decline, they just postpone.

 

[Marker77]

ING/Reliastar is a good company but may not be the best one when it comes to Sleep Apnea. One thing you could do is to contact a licensed life agent who represents many companies and give that person the details of your medical history. This will allow the agent to contact several underwriting departments to get a preliminary risk assessment (ball park idea)

One company that we do business with is West Coast Life and they aggressively underwrite Sleep Apnea-(when treatment of CPAP is successful, they usually are pretty lenient even in the most severe cases)

Good Luck!