Speak with an experienced advisor! Avoid getting denied access to life insurance just because you have sleep apnea.
Shop from numerous A rated life insurers that accept treated sleep apnea at lower health rate classifications.
Save Money!
Avoid the ONE MOST common error that most consumers make.
Sleep Apnea is a significant sleep disorder that effects numerous Americans. There are a number of things that consumers can do to Qualify and Save Money when purchasing term insurance if they are affected by this condition. Most insurers can be accepting of it, as long as it is well treated. Other Insurers take a much harder stance.
Briefly - How to Save Money with Sleep Apnea when you are shopping for Insurance:
Saving money when you are buying life insurance with sleep apnea is different than shopping for it if you are perfectly healthy.
Forget the Generalized Term Quotes that you See. Likely they do not apply to you.
Check with your physician if to see if your condition is considered 'Well Treated.'
Lead with your condition when shopping for Term. Such as, "I have Sleep Apnea and I need Life Insurance, do you have experience helping people like me?"
Speak with a Life Insurance Specialist
This simplistic solution will help some, but not all. Sleep apnea is in reality much more complex than this. The more that you know about your specific condition the better. Consumers that are not in touch regularly with their doctor are at an increased risk of being declined.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep Apnea is a "serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person's breathing is interrupted during sleep", according to WebMD. People that have a more serious version of sleep apnea, may stop breathing dozens or even hundreds of times during a typical evening. This can be very dangerous for a number of reasons, including the potential lack of oxygen that may not be getting to the person's brain.
This lack of oxygen over time can bring with it several potential long term issues including:
Sleep Apnea Life Insurance:
Because sleep apnea if left untreated can cause death and because sleep apnea can increase the risk of numerous other diseases, life insurers are very picky when proposing any life insurance policy to any insured. Therefore clients that have this condition, should consider reading this entire article to learn more about sleep apnea life insurance.
There are generally two different categorizations of Sleep Apnea and it is important to understand the differences.
The Two Type of Sleep Apnea:
Sleep Apnea can loosely be broken down into two distinct types: OSA and CNA.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea:
Obstructive sleep Apnea, also known as OSA, is where the airway is blocked often when the soft piece of tissue in the back of the throat closed during sleep. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is more common.
Central Sleep Apnea:
Central Sleep Apnea, unlike OSA, does not involve blocking of the airways, instead it involves the brain's lack of communication with the muscles telling them to breath. Central Sleep Apnea is far less common. Central Sleep Apnea can be abbreviated CNA.
Increased Death Risk from Sleep Apnea:
According to a University of Wisconsin article, patients with untreated sleep apnea: "died (at) a rate more than three times that of those without apnea." The article cited a study completed by the August Issue of Sleep,that found "that the higher the number of breathing pauses, the greater the risk of death."
In other words the more breathing pauses in a given night the greater the chance of death. "We have been studying the effects of sleep apnea in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort for more than a decade and have reported links between sleep apnea and hypertension, stroke and depression," said Young, a professor in the department of population health sciences at UW-Madison"
Good News with Sleep Apnea
After reading all this sad news about sleep apnea and life insurance rates, you may just throw up your arms, but there is good news.
Sleep apnea can be treated, to a certain extent. If you or your sleep partner believe that you may have this condition -Physicians often suggest a sleep study to confirm the existence of it. A sleep study is much like it sounds like a study of your sleep, while you are sleeping. They will monitor numerous things including: "sleep state, eye movement, muscle activity, heart rate, respiratory effort, airflow, and blood oxygen levels." These tests will not only monitor the existence of the condition but also the potential severity.
Treatments for Sleep Apnea:
Unlike many health issues in America, drugs are not usually prescribed to treat this sleep issue. Depending on the frequency and severity of your diagnosis, your physician may suggest numerous lifestyle changes or the use of a CPAP therapy.
CPAP Therapy:
CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. CPAP therapy works by assisting your body to properly get the correct amount of oxygen it needs for a good night of sleep. It works via a mask, hoses, and a CPAP motor. The good news is that once you are successfully on a CPAP program you may likely will be getting a better night sleep.
A Dental Appliance:
Oral or Dental appliance are a major alternative to the CPAP machine. The work by preventing the patients airway from collapsing. This is done holding the tongue in position or adjusting the jaw's position.
Weight Loss:
A correlation exists between being overweight and having Sleep issues such as Sleep Apnea. Weight management may assist in mitigating the issue.
Surgery:
Yes, believe it or not, some get surgery to solve this problem. The various Surgical options are complicated and beyond the scope of this article. But it is a possibility for some.
Sleep Position:
A clinical study showed that "Selected patients with positional OSA can be effectively treated by a positional therapy" and hence be assisted in helping with their sleep apnea. (Remember OSA stands for Obstructive Sleep Apnea.) Positional Therapy, as it is known, may involve the sleeping with certain devices.
How to Get Life Insurance with Sleep Apnea:
As with numerous other health conditions, life insurers are not as concerned that a given client has the condition as much as they are concerned that the client is following the attending physicians protocol. In other words if you are under a doctors care and you are following his or her program, getting term life insurance may not be as difficult as you have imagined. Or perhaps as hard as you have been told by other insurance agents. When applying for life insurance when you have this condition, its important to focus on shopping for a life insurance broker with experience in selling policies with this past case history. Your home auto insurance agent may not be your best bet. Why? Because each insurance company has their own underwriting standards with regards to accepting policies with this condition.
In Depth - How to Save Money with Sleep Apnea Life Insurance Underwriting:
You may have been told by a given insurer that the best life insurance policy health class that you will receive is a Standard Non Smoker class. This underwriting statement may be the case for the given insurer that you are working with - but may not be the case with other life insurers. Only an insurance agent that works with dozens of insurance companies will, however, be able to know this. Underwriting for sleep apnea is complicated. Be prepared with all of your health information when you speak with an agent.
Many insurance agents and agencies only sell one or two insurance carriers. We work with dozens.
Steps for Saving on Life Insurance with Sleep Apnea:
How Much Can I Save with Sleep Apnea Life Insurance?
It of course depends on a given situation and no two situations are exactly the same.
As an example a 38 year old male in California might be able to pay $530 with a A+ rated carrier at the preferred level. This carrier has good underwriting standards for clients that have well treated sleep apnea.
Or this client could pay $610 for the same 20 year term with the same $500,000 death benefit, at the standard level, but with a different A rated carrier.
$610 per year or $530 per year?
which sounds better to you?
The choice is yours. Either attempt to Purchase level term life insurance with a typical insurance agent that knows nothing about sleep apnea and it's underwriting criteria, or potentially shop around for sleep apnea life insurance, that is life insurance for those that have sleep apnea, and potentially get accepted at an improved health class, and hence save some significant money.
What is the Best Life Insurance for Sleep Apnea?
The best life insurance for suffers of the condition of sleep apnea is usually a fully underwritten level term life insurance policy. A policy that is written with an agent that is a life insurance specialist. The best life insurance for sleep apnea sufferers often comes from one of a handful of carriers.
For clients that have sleep apnea that is not well treated, other recommendations may be made.
So What is the One Most Common Mistake?
The one most common mistake that consumers make when purchasing life insurance with sleep apnea is a to fail to lead with that condition during their shopping. It is as if they think that bringing it up at the end might somehow help. (It doesn't.) Or similar to a family that needs a minivan for their auto needs but fail to start off with it during their shopping. Instead focusing on four seater cars or race cars.They worry mostly about buying the lowest priced car, a car that will never suit them.
Many consumers may be able to find low prices for level term life insurance, but those quotes are literally worthless if you have sleep apnea and it you or the medical system knows it. Lying about the condition will not help you either.
Shop first based on your condition to save significant money when you procure term life with sleep apnea.
