Trying to find protection with a history of alcohol abuse can be a daunting task. Finding the best life insurance companies for a recovering alcoholic is going to depend on certain factors. At TermLife2Go we can help you cut through the red tape and find coverage despite your past history. We do this by being up to date on the various niches in the world of life insurance. Let us point you towards the most recovering alcoholic friendly life insurance company available. Life insurance and alcoholism are two subjects that do not mesh well together. Have you been told that you don’t qualify for life insurance because you have received treatment for alcohol abuse? Or have you been approved for life insurance but the rate that you received as a recovering alcoholic was just too much for you to handle?
- Have you ever sought treatment for alcoholism?
- Has your doctor ever recommended treatment for alcohol abuse?
- Does your blood work indicate that you may have an issue with alcohol?
If you’ve answered “Yes” to any of these questions, then in the eyes of an insurance industry you’re probably going to be considered someone who has a history of alcohol abuse or what they would consider a “recovering alcoholic” if you are no longer using alcohol.
Nearly 4,000,000 People in the United States Seek Treatment each year!
That’s right! Nearly 4 million people in the United States seek some kind of treatment for a problem related to the use of alcohol and/or drugs, which according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Alcohol, leaves another 20 million people who need treatment but do not seek it out! Many of those people seeking treatment for alcoholism are also looking for life insurance.
With this amount of statistical data out there, the life insurance industry has had plenty of information to review when it comes to approving a life insurance policy for someone with a history of alcohol abuse. And the truth is,they haven’t liked what they’ve found when it comes to those recovering from alcohol.
Although it was once believed that addiction was the result of weaknesses in willpower or morality, it is now widely acknowledged that anyone can become trapped in a cycle of physical and psychological addiction. The medical community now understands that addiction should be treated with the same level of commitment, resources and respect with which they address other types of illness.
It stands to reason that life insurance companies look at risk when figuring what an applicant will pay for a life insurance policy. The more risk surrounding you lifestyle, the more likely it will be that you will have to pay a higher premium. This includes your driving history.
Having a recent DUI in your past means you will be labeled as a high-risk candidate for life insurance, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will not be able to get coverage.
When you apply for life insurance, you should be prepared to answer a variety of questions in a phone call interview that takes roughly 20 minutes. One of those questions is whether or not you have ever been convicted of DUI. First and foremost, be sure to answer honestly. If you don’t fess up to your offense, you are then committing what is known as “false material misrepresentation,” which could open you up to a whole new set of legal problems.
Honesty is always the best policy.
If you answer “yes,” your life insurance agent will simply have to look further into your history as a potentially risky person. Here’s how it could play out:
- If you were convicted of a DUI within the past 1-2 years, it’s likely you will be denied coverage because there hasn’t been enough time since the conviction for the insurance company to confidently assess your behavior. It’s best to check with a licensed True Blue Life Insurance agent to be certain. Just call 1-866-816-2100 and ask how you can get a life insurance policy with a DUI in your past.
- If your DUI was within the 3-5 year range, it’s quite possible you could qualify for a standard life insurance policy. Your ability to get a discounted rate, however, would be determined by other factors—like your health and any other potentially negative marks. Again, it’s best to check with a licensed True Blue agent to understand your options.
Let’s say you are within the 3-5 year range. You might be asked to take a routine medical exam that would include a blood test. When checking your blood, there is a special test for DUI applicants that checks the Gamma Glutamyl Transferase in your blood to see if you are abusing alcohol. Gamma Glutamyl Transferase is an enzyme that, as its name suggests, transfers gamma-glutamyl functional groups. It’s found in many tissues in the human body, most notably the liver, so you can understand its significance in medicine as a diagnostic marker of alcohol abuse.
At any rate, if your levels are elevated, it’s another red flag and you could be asked to take another blood test called a CDT, short for Carbohydrate-Deficient Transferrin. This test detects heavy alcohol use over the past two weeks. Heavy alcohol use is defined as five or more drinks per day during this time frame. If the results come back positive, it’s a sign of liver damage caused by excessive drinking and there is a good chance that your application will be denied.
What if my DUI conviction is less than a year ago?
It is possible to find life insurance with a DUI that occurred less than a year ago, but the options are fewer than waiting until 2+ years when other carriers are willing to consider you. In many cases with other life insurance agents, the declined applications happened largely because the agent submits to the wrong insurance company. At True Blue, we know who is going to be the best option given the current situation and take the time to help ensure you get the coverage you need.
Will my application be denied because of a DUI?
Possibly. One DUI a few years back may not have a drastic impact on your coverage options and premiums; however, more recent DUI/DWI or multiple DUI/DWI shows a sign of risk that underwriting may not be willing to insure. If there is a concern that your DUI/DWI is a signal of a more troubling issue, the results of the medical exam may help underwriting to best understand if there is an underlying health factor.
What if I have multiple DUI’s?
Still a possibility, but if they are recent then your options will become extremely limited. You would need to work with a team of experts who know which companies work the best with your current situation. It will largely depend on the rest of your MVR and the outcome of your physical (if applicable); however, if you are healthy then our True Blue team should be able to find coverage.
Again it will depend on the rest of your DMV records as well as the results from your physical. But if you are healthy, you should still be able to find coverage.
Life Insurance With a DUI
A DUI charge will likely have an affect on your life insurance rates. When you call on True Blue Life Insurance, you can be sure you are getting the proper information from a licensed agent who knows the guidelines and requirements for getting a life insurance policy with a DUI or DWI in your past.
We represent over 30 outstanding insurance companies without bias toward any one company. We shop with you to find the best rates and we never try to push additional products on you. Our experienced, licensed agents sell over 1,000 policies each year and we do it quickly because we have a refined process that works. We are not a call center. Rather, we act on your behalf to provide personal, ongoing customer service you can count on.
Lesser traffic violations like running a red light or exceeding the speed limit, while potentially serious in their own right, aren’t considered as severe. A DUI on your driving record, however, is a serious red flag. Therefore, a DUI affects your life insurance rates. Not only could you have to pay more money for life insurance, you might not be able to get an insurance policy at all.
Addiction is a serious health concern that negatively impacts the lives of those who are dependent on substances. Addiction’s ripple effects also impact friends, family and co-workers.
Unfortunately, many people deny their addiction or put off treatment because they’re worried about what might happen if they go to rehab. But the longer an addiction goes on, the greater the threat to personal health and safety, and the greater the risk of major legal and career consequences.
Uncertainty about insurance coverage and how to pay for rehab is one of the issues that may delay seeking treatment for many individuals. Let’s look at how insurance coverage for addiction treatment works and address common concerns.
When it comes time to helping out an individual who has a history of alcoholism, it’s important to understand that there are going to be 3 times of “alcoholics” when it comes to life insurance.
That if you have a current drinking problem and you want to purchase a life insurance policy, you have 2 options.
- First, you could quit drinking and choose to apply for coverage when eligible (eligibility will usually be possible after 2 years of sobriety).
- Or you could choose to apply for a guaranteed issue life insurance policy that won’t require you to take a medical exam or answer any health related medical questions.
If you choose the latter option, you should know that your options will be limited to about $25,000 dollars in coverage and your life insurance policy will usually contain a 2-3 year waiting period before it will cover you for natural causes of death.
But let’s not get too depressed…
The point of this article isn’t to make someone feel bad, it’s to help folks get a better idea about what they will and won’t be able to qualify for, and how they can improve their chances at being able to qualify for “better” life insurance policy in the future!
“Alcoholic” Applicants who have recently quit drinking.
First of all, “Congratulations!” Quitting is not an easy accomplishment and is something to be proud and happy about. The only problem is… and we’re sure your aware of this is that sobriety isn’t a given, it’s something that you’ll need to continue to work on.
This is why, according to Alcoholism Follow-up, less than 20% of patients who quit drinking remain sober a full year, however those who do remain sober for more than 2 years only have a 40% relapse rate. Additionally, those who remain sober for more than 5 years are much more likely to remain sober, but even they will need to remain vigilant in their recover.
This is why…
You’re going to find that insurance companies are going to require you to have been sober for at least 2 years before they will consider you eligible for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. So unfortunately for these individuals, their options will be limited like those who are currently still using alcohol with one exception, these folks will be well on their way to “recovery” which means that they are also well on their way to being able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy!
Sober for over 2 years!
Congratulations, you for have achieved a significant milestone in your recovery and is finally a milestone that the insurance companies are going to begin to recognize!
Which means that you should now “potentially” be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy! The key now is to be sure we get a complete understanding of your overall health and lifestyle risk factors so that we can:
- Not only take a look at what prices will be like working with the most “alcoholic” friendly life insurance companies.
- But also, get an idea about how other factors on your life insurance application could affect the outcome of your policy.
- Those who are still currently using.
- Those who have been sober for less than 2 years.
- And those that have been sober for over 2 years.
This is why, we’ll want to take a look at each type of “alcoholic” applicant individually and take a look at what “types” of options will be available to each.
Those currently still using alcohol.
Individuals who have a history of alcohol abuse who continue to use alcohol will simply not be eligible for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.
Now you may ask yourself, “How will the insurance companies know if I’ve been diagnosed an “alcoholic”? or “How will the insurance companies know if I still take an occasional drink?”
Which are fair questions, but as we’ve stated before, insurance companies have a variety of methods to determine if you have an alcohol abuse problem, and only of these methods rely on an applicant being truthful.
Additionally…
When you decided to apply for life insurance coverage, it is your responsibility to disclose any information that may be pertinent to the decision-making process. So… if you intentionally withhold information that could possible cause an insurance company to deny your life insurance application, insurance companies can have “probable cause” to deny your life insurance policy in the future.
And the last thing that you want to do is lie on your life insurance application only to later have that lie prevent your family from benefiting from having a policy later down the line!
Drinking in excess and/or smoking tobacco. Both these bad habits negatively impact your health and consequently increase your mortality risk. This is the reason why insurance companies ask about these habits before fixing the premium chargeable for your policy. If you smoke, you would pay much more premium for a life insurance policy than if you were a non-smoker. Also, if you drink too much the insurer will charge more to insure you. My mom died and it was from Alcoholic Liver Disease from drinking. But in her mind, she wasn’t a drinker, didn’t have a problem and she didn’t have any mental health issues. She was so delusional she wrote on the insurance papers she never had an issue with alcohol because in her mind, she didn’t. Even though to us we all knew she did have a problem…but again, when you are an alcoholic like her, you truly do not think you have a problem. In her mind she was answering the questions truthfully. But the insurance company is most likely going to deny it because she lied. How is it fair that someone who truly didn’t think they had a problem gets penalized and now her 4 young children are not going to get any money. Our dad passed away years ago and we are left with no one. And now we don’t even get the insurance money. I don’t know what to do at this point. I’m the executor to my mothers estate and I’m only 23 and still in university. Is there anything we can do to get the insurance money? Before you go too deep make sure the client understands there will be extra costs on his policy for the DUI. It ain’t just car insurance that goes up.
You want to make sure the client has a CLEAR understanding that they will pay more for coverage. Otherwise you might end up with a lot of work only to find the client thinks it’s too much because he saw he could get the same coverage for $10 a month online.
Ask him what he is comfortable paying. If it is a super low number and unrealistic, explain it to him and if that doesn’t work. part ways.
It’s always nice when clients hunt us down, but usually there is bad news which is why they are looking for us in the first place.
