Life Insurance with Cardiomyopathy – What You Need to Know

If you’ve been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, you may be wondering if life insurance is still an option. The short answer? Yes — but it depends on your condition’s type, severity, and stability.

This guide will explain how insurance companies evaluate high-risk heart conditions, such as cardiomyopathy, and how to improve your chances of getting covered.

Cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart muscle becomes weaker, thicker, or stiffer. It makes it harder for the heart to pump blood, which can lead to serious health issues and also affect your life insurance options.

Understanding the type you have is step one in figuring out what kind of life insurance you might qualify for:

Also known as dilated congestive cardiomyopathy (DCM).

DCM primarily affects the heart’s left ventricle, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood to the body. Your ejection fraction percentage measures how much blood your left ventricle pumps out.

Underwriters look closely at your ejection fraction and the results of all cardiac testing.

Common causes include:

• Heart Disease – Coronary artery disease
• Viruses – Bacterial, fungal, HIV, Lyme Disease
• Heart Valve Problems – Aortic valve or mitral valve conditions.
• Metabolic – Thyroid diseases or diabetes

Life insurance underwriting will be based on your ejection fraction, underlying conditions, time since diagnosis, and current stability.

HCM is a disease that thickens the heart muscle, making it harder for the heart to pump blood. It may be obstructive where it blocks blood flow, or non-obstructive where it doesn’t.

Underlying causes and complications may include:

• DNA Mutations
• Hypertension
• Heart Valve Conditions
• Atrial Fibrillation

When life insurance is available, most underwriting offers have a table rating, which adds 50 – 150% to a standard rate.

This is a rare form of heart muscle disease, often caused by sarcoidosis or amyloidosis, and is uninsurable except for guaranteed issue life insurance.

Transient cardiomyopathy is a temporary heart muscle condition in which the heart does not pump blood properly. A viral infection commonly causes it, but extreme stress (Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy) may also cause it in some cases.

Once healed, underwriting is based on any underlying heart conditions. Standard – Table 2 ratings are the most likely outcome.

If you’ve been diagnosed with athlete’s heart, it’s typically not an underwriting issue.

This condition applies to elite athletes and is indicated by enlargement of the left ventricle and increased heart muscle thickness.

As long as you’ve been evaluated and there is no underlying heart problem, coverage is not a problem, and the best rate classes are available.

When you apply for coverage, life insurance companies look beyond your diagnosis. Here’s what they focus on:

This measures how well your heart pumps blood. The higher the EF, the better.

Ejection Fraction	Rating Outcome
55% or higher	Standard or Better
50 – 54%	Table 3 – 4
45 – 49%	Table 5 or Greater
40 – 44%	Table 6 – Decline
Below 40%	Decline

Underwriters want to see an echocardiogram that is 12 months or newer.

• Diagnosed less than 12 months ago? Most applications will be postponed.
• Stable for 12 – 36 months or longer? Carriers are more open to offering coverage.

Life insurance companies want to know:

• What medications do you take?
• Do you have a defibrillator or pacemaker?
• Have you had heart surgery?
• Are your symptoms under control?

The following are serious concerns for underwriters:

• History of fainting or syncope
• History of arrhythmias, especially ventricular tachycardia
• Family history of sudden cardiac death.
• Septal wall thickness >25 mm in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy cases
• Obstructed blood flow from the heart.
• Alcohol use in alcoholic cardiomyopathy cases

Do you have any other significant health issues, such as gastrointestinal conditions or a cancer history?

Your Situation	Likely Underwriting Outcome
Stable CM – Ejection Fraction 55% or better	Table 2 – 3
HCM – No Symptoms	Standard – Table 4
Recovered Peripartum CM, normal results	Standard – Table 2
Diagnosis less than 12 months	Postpone likely
Ejection Fraction Less than 45%	Decline likely, Guaranteed Issue available

Even with cardiomyopathy, there are steps you can take to improve your chances of getting approved — and at better rates:

• Have a Recent Echocardiogram – 12 months or less
• Manage Other Conditions – Blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes.
• Stop Smoking – If you continue to smoke, you are uninsurable.
• Follow Physician’s Advice – Complete all testing and follow-up appointments.

Here are some example cases and outcomes.

• Mild Dilated Cardiomyopathy
  • Age: 55
  • Ejection Fraction: 50%
  • Time Since Diagnosis: 18 months
  • Treatment: Monitoring and medications
  • Underwriting Outcome – Table 2 rate

• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
  • Age: 60
  • Ejection Fraction: 55%
  • Symptoms: None
  • Underwriting Outcome: Standard Plus

Cardiomyopathy doesn’t automatically mean “no.” Many people with this diagnosis get approved for life insurance, even at rated pricing.

Here’s how we help – We take the time to understand your heart condition, and we’ll use that information to get the best rates from companies that understand cardiomyopathy.

There’s never any pressure or obligation with our life insurance service.

Request your life insurance quote today.