Life Insurance After a Stroke: How to Get Approved and Find the Best Rates

Can you get life insurance after a stroke or mini-stroke? Absolutely! Coverage is possible and we’ll show you exactly how to get the best rates.

This comprehensive guide is designed to help stroke survivors navigate the process of obtaining life insurance, understand what insurers look for, and take actionable steps to improve eligibility.

When blood flow to your brain is disrupted, it’s called ischemia and is known as a Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA), also known as a stroke. Strokes can cause permanent damage, but a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) – often called a mini-stroke is temporary and leaves no lasting effects.

Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke according to the CDC. If you’re among them, you may wonder how it affects your ability to obtain life insurance.

With the right strategy, life insurance is possible after a stroke. Let us show you how.

Yes, you can get life insurance after a stroke or TIA, but your approval and rates depend on several factors, including:

• The type of stroke (TIA, ischemic, or hemorrhagic)
• Your age at the time of the stroke, and current age.
• Your recovery progress and any residual symptoms.

Life insurers evaluate stroke survivors individually and working with companies that specialize in high-risk underwriting is essential.

Life insurance companies will delay coverage after a stroke to assess your recovery. General guidelines include:

• Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) – Coverage is available after 3 – 6 months.
• Ischemic Stroke – Coverage may be postponed for 6 – 12 months.
• Hemorrhagic Stroke – Postponement typically lasts 12 months or longer.

If you apply for coverage too soon, life insurers will decline your application.

Different types of strokes affect underwriting outcomes:

1. Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
   • Easiest to insure: Coverage is often available 3-6 months after a TIA, assuming a full recovery.
   • Rates: Standard rates plus a 50% table rating are common initially. After 12 months, you may qualify for a standard – standard plus rate.
2. Ischemic Stroke
   • Most common type: Caused by clots blocking blood flow to the brain.
   • Rates:
     • Under age 45: Most insurers require 3-5 year postpone period.
     • Ages 45-54: Standard rates plus a 100% table rating are typical.
     • Ages 55+: Standard rates plus a 50-100% table rating.
3. Hemorrhagic Stroke
   • Most challenging to insure: Caused by bleeding in the brain, this type often requires a lengthy postponement period, followed by rates starting at a 100% table rating or higher.
   • Severe stroke: Coverage is limited to guaranteed issue final expense coverage.

No matter the type of stroke you had, we will work hard to find the best coverage for you.

Several factors influence your eligibility and premiums:

1. Age
   • Younger applicants face stricter underwriting
   • Applicants age 55+ receive the most favorable underwriting
2. Stroke Severity and Frequency
   • More severe strokes lead to higher premiums.
   • Multiple strokes may lead to a decline.
3. Underlying Health
   • Conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes complicate underwriting.
   • Positive health changes will improve underwriting.
4. Recovery Period
   • The longer it’s been since the stroke, the more favorable underwriting is.
5. Lifestyle Factors
   • Improving health will help rates.
   • Smoking after a stroke is uninsurable.
   • Former smokers become insurable one year after quitting.

While obtaining coverage after a stroke may be challenging, underwriting tends to improve as more time passes since you’ve had a stroke.

For most people, all types of life insurance will be available, including:

• Term Life Insurance
• Universal Life Insurance
• Whole Life Insurance

Companies limit the availability of life insurance riders such as long-term care, living benefits, waiver of premium, and disability riders.

Severe stroke survivors are limited to smaller guaranteed issue policies.

Follow these steps to improve your chances of life insurance approval:

• Follow your physician’s advice
• Complete all required testing
• Start rehab therapy as needed
• Take your medications
• Improve your health
  • Exercise more
  • Eat healthier
  • Lose weight if needed
  • Quit smoking – this is a must
  • Stop drinking alcohol
• Improve blood pressure and stress management

Any positive steps you take toward improving your health after a stroke will only help you when it’s time to apply for life insurance.

The best life insurance company for you will depend on your circumstances, but here are some general guidelines to help. Companies that do a good job underwriting a stroke history include:

• AIG-Corebridge Financial
• Banner Life
• John Hancock
• Lincoln National
• Nationwide
• Minnesota Life
• Pacific Life
• Protective Life
• Prudential
• SBLI
• Symetra
• United of Omaha

We use a quick quote process to obtain underwriting feedback in 3-5 days. A quick quote is a summary of your health history that we use to shop companies.

Here’s what we need to know to get you the best rates available:

• What was the date of your stroke?
• Were you hospitalized? If yes, for how long?
• What tests were completed?
  • CT Scan
  • MRI
  • Carotid Artery Scan
  • Echocardiogram
• What was the underlying cause of the stroke or TIA?
  • Atherosclerosis
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Atrial Fibrillation
  • Heart Valve Disease
  • Congenital Heart Condition
  • Unknown
• Do you have a history of:
  • Coronary Artery Disease
  • Heart Attack History
  • Carotid Artery Disease
  • Peripheral Artery Disease
• How was the stroke treated?
  • Alteplase IV r-tPA
  • Endovascular Therapy
  • Thrombectomy
• What residual symptoms do you have?
  • Paralysis
  • Speech/language problems
  • Memory loss
  • Vision problems
  • Weakness or fatigue
  • Pin, burning, or tingling sensations
• Do you have any other health issues?
• What medications and dosages do you take?

The reason why we ask these questions is to get an accurate picture of your health history so we can negotiate underwriting offers for you.

Check back as we continue to add FAQs to this section.

Other Health Issues

We need to know about any other health issues you’ve had such as:

• Breast Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Thyroid Cancer

Getting life insurance after a stroke is possible with the right approach. Whether you’ve had a TIA, ischemic stroke, or hemorrhagic stroke, we’ll guide you to the best companies and policies for your needs.

Request your free quote today and take the first step toward securing peace of mind for you and your family!