ALS and Life Insurance

ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is described as a progressive neurodegenerative disorder.

Progressive: It continues to get worse with time.

Neurodegenerative: The prefix neuro has to do with the neurons of the brain. Degenerative has a similar meaning to progressive—it means to decline, deteriorate or get worse with time.

ALS is not the only progressive neurodegenerative disease. What makes ALS distinct is the way it impacts the brain cells along with the spinal cord. Because the brain transmits information to the rest of the body via the spinal cord, any damage to this area can result in major problems. In the case of ALS, it causes muscle atrophy, impaired motor skills, and lack of control over movement.

Sporadic ALS: Most people have sporadic ALS. This means there is no known genetic connection that is causing the disease—it has occurred, as the name implies, sporadically.

Familial ALS: This is far less common (accounting for less than 10% of all ALS cases), but easier to anticipate. When a parent or relative has familial ALS, there is a chance of developing it later.

Most life insurance policies require a medical exam. In this case, they are almost certain to deny a person with ALS because the disease tends to shorten one’s life span. However—there are life insurance policies that do not require medical exams.

Guaranteed Life Insurance policies require no medical exams. These types of life insurance policies are usually the only option for a person with ALS. However, some coverage is better than dying with no life insurance coverage! And the good thing about guaranteed issue life insurance is that when you apply, the company will issue it!

There is not a catch. However, when you purchase a guaranteed life insurance policy, your beneficiaries are normally only able to receive the death benefit if you die 2 or more years after purchasing the policy.

However, consider the average life expectancy of someone that has been diagnosed with ALS.

As mentioned, the primary reason why life insurance policies that require a medical exam will not underwrite a life insurance policy for a person with ALS is due to the shortened life expectancy. On average, people with ALS have a life expectancy of 2-5 years. That means that if you purchase a guaranteed issue policy, you have a really good shot at outliving the graded death benefit period.

If you die any time less than two years from the day of purchasing your guaranteed life insurance policy, then most of the time your beneficiaries will get the amount that you have paid towards the policy. They will also usually get interest of 10% on the premiums paid.

As mentioned, the average life expectancy from the time of diagnosis is 2-5 years. If you have recently been diagnosed with ALS, then a Guaranteed Life Insurance policy absolutely makes sense. The chances are that you are going to outlive the 2 year period which will result in your beneficiaries receiving the full death benefit.

And if you do purchase a guaranteed life insurance policy but die before the initial two years, your beneficiaries will still get more money from the policy than had the same money just been sitting in a savings account.

Any time you decide on one investment opportunity, you are denying another. If you decide to spend money on a guaranteed life insurance policy, but die within 10 months, there may have been better ways for you to invest your money with a higher return.

That being said, do you really want to spend the last months and years of your life making financial investment decisions? By putting money in a guaranteed life insurance policy, you can sit back and not think about it – but still know it’s will probably provide a return to your loved ones superior to money in the bank.

Want to know more about purchasing life insurance with ALS or any other complicated high risk health issues? Give TermLife2Go a call and we will tell you everything you need to know about purchasing life insurance with ALS. 

So, what are you waiting for?  Give us a call today or check our our Final Expense Life Insurance Quotes page and see what we can do for you!