Life Insurance Approval After Pulmonary Embolism (PE)

Affordable Insurance After a Pulmonary Embolism

Yes, you can still be approved for life insurance at good rates after having a pulmonary embolism or PE.  Your best rating will be preferred, if the occurrence was more than 5 years ago and depending on the risks of recurrence.  A pulmonary embolism is a blood clot in the lung, usually caused by a blood clot coming lose from the leg.  Its most common treatment is the medication Coumadin.  This inhibits vitamin K, decreasing the coagulant ability in the blood, which commonly dissolves the clot, and also reduces the risk of additional clots forming in the legs.

Most blood clot/embolism cases will fall around standard.  Again, the details of each specific case will be important, such as how long ago the clot was found, what treatment was used, risks for recurrence, and provided that the proposed insured has normal pulmonary function, i.e. He or she should be able to exercise without any lung problems.

The severity of the clot will also be a factor.  For example, what amount of the lung was affected?  If it was merely a small sub-segmental PE, it’s possible that no treatment was recommended at all.  As far as mortality goes, there is only a 26% chance of mortality if the PE is left untreated.  Of course, the absence or presence of co-existing medical conditions will also be important for any life insurance underwriter to consider.

Since every case is specific to the person’s unique medical history, your best bet is to apply with the carrier whose price is cheapest and see how the offer comes back.  Once they have an offer, a good independent agent will ask why that offer was made.  For example, if you got standard, I would find out why, because I could take that information and possibly get a better offer from a different carrier.