r/Insurance • u/UberChops • Aug 18 '25
Life Insurance Wife had a heart attack at 35 - Insurance Agent says she is not eligible for Life Insurance. Options?
Title pretty much says it all. My wife (35f) had a heart attack about a year and a half ago. All medical tests resulted in no findings, she was cleared for surgery recently, doctors believe it was due to a lingering infection/virus (can't remember the medical term for it).
Prior to this, I kept putting off getting her a small life insurance policy (just enough to cover her remaining student loans, credit cards, etc). I spoke with my Erie Insurance agent last week, and he said she is pretty much un-insurable for the next 10 years. He did say Gerber might have a policy she might qualify for, one where I start paying now but if something happens in the next 2-3 years the policy is cancelled.
I'm wondering if there are other options out there I can look into? Thanks.
Edit: I'm in Pennsylvania.
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u/AromaticProcess154 Aug 18 '25
If they are federal student loans, there’s no need to cover them as they would be discharged anyway. And the (sure to be very high) insurance premiums may be better spent on paying off the debt.
I hope your wife has many years of good health!
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u/desiredtoyota Aug 18 '25
Yep! I'd be curious to know if any debt was premarital aswell, because he might not be on the hook for any of that.
The only time I've ever seen a spouse responsible for student loans was through a divorce, and the loans were taken out during marriage.
Caselaw said if the loans were used jointly for living expenses, then the portion used for living expenses during marriage get split in half.
But as I understand it, the government would never pursue the widow for the money.
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u/AnimatorDifficult429 Aug 18 '25
Op won’t state how much but says he co-signed on them
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u/UberChops Aug 18 '25
Private student loans, some CC debt, both of which I'm cosigned for. Together totaling less than 50k. Employer life insurance totals around 20k I believe, so I'd honestly be happy with another 50k. She's in good health, overall (doesn't smoke, doesn't drink often). Just planning for worst case scenarios.
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u/Ready_For_A_Change Aug 19 '25
I know it can vary by lender, but I cosigned a private student loan, borrower died, loan was forgiven. Check your paperwork to see if this would be the case in your situation.
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u/redditreader_aitafan Aug 18 '25
Check with the employer, you may be able to add coverage you pay for.
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u/KimberlyRN_1127 Aug 18 '25
Her best bet would have been enrolling thru both employers up to the max amount before Evidence of Insurability limit is met. With any type of cardiovascular history, it will be hard to find higher coverage and/or the premium will be outrageous.
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u/Ok_Elephant2777 Aug 18 '25
There are what are called “guaranteed issue” policies available for just about anyone 80 or younger. They work like this: for the first two years, she would be covered only for an accidental death. After the two year anniversary, the policy would be in full benefit as long as the premiums were paid on time. If death by any non-accidental means were to occur during those first two years, you would receive a full refund of your premiums, usually with some interest as well.
And depending on the severity of her condition and the carrier involved, many companies will consider this sort of risk after five years. There are other factors as well, of course - nicotine use, height and weight, diabetes, hypertension, etc.
All the best to you and your family.
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u/tommyboy23459 Aug 18 '25
There are options but they are going to be limited, the premium will be higher, and the death benefit will probably be less than $100K. Companies like Gerber, Pekin insurance, and even the ones you see on those commercials during daytime TV will offer a quote due to her medical condition. Now some carriers, Erie Insurance included will re-evaluate her after a few years, but they will require more stringent medical information along with the standard blood and urine tests. It will take some time but if you need a policy now then the above carriers will be your best choice. Good luck!
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u/RandomGuy_81 Aug 18 '25
Is she the primary income?
Youre probably better off using the money to pay off the CC rather than buy insurance to pay it off later
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u/TimLikesPi Aug 18 '25
Any policy you get for her is going to be very expensive after it goes through underwriting, if they will write one at all. She is a poor risk because she had a heart attack. You do not have a lot of options. One would be to find policies issued with no underwriting, but they will be low face amounts with very high premiums. These may be similar to the one you mention above, where is she dies in a certain number of years, the policy is cancelled and you only get premium returned. A heart attack is a preexisting condition, like cancer, diabetes, and other medical problems. Insurance companies avoid risks.
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u/Holiday-Meringue-101 Aug 18 '25
See if you can get her a burial policy which is usually under $50k. Having a heart attack or stroke does kick her out of being insurable. I have 20 plus yrs as a license insurance agent.
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u/UrbanPugEsq Aug 19 '25
I’m a widower, and my late wife did not have life insurance. However, I did have a policy through my work that covered accidents. She was often clumsy and had a lot of broken things over the years so I decided to enroll for it. So, when she died due to an accident, the accident policy triggered and I did get a small payout.
So, that doesn’t help you for every potential cause of death, but maybe there is some kind of accident insurance you could get that would help for some.
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u/themummyy Aug 19 '25
FYI, in the US, federal student loans are forgiven upon death so you do t have to worry about that.
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u/AnimatorDifficult429 Aug 18 '25
Does she work? How much debt does she have? I’m not sure you would be on the hook for it if she passes?
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u/UberChops Aug 18 '25
Yes, enough, and yes I'm co-signed on some stuff.
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u/desiredtoyota Aug 18 '25
Touchy subject. But if I ever found myself in this situation, and I was the unhealthy one, I'd ask my spouse for a divorce on paper, and that it assign the debt to me. That way, the debt would die with me.
I've never asked a lawyer if that would work, but I'll do anything for my family.
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u/RogueViator Aug 18 '25
As I was told by a seasoned insurance professional years ago, there is always a company who will write a policy for whatever risk as long as you are willing to pay their premium. I suggest shopping around with Life Insurance brokers.
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u/austinDEV6573 Aug 18 '25
Definitely options for her. I just wrote a policy in a 29M who had two heart attacks in 2025. Policy approved yesterday. Ironically they are in PA as well. I’m based in NY.
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u/AffectionateTea1614 Aug 19 '25
Did you disclose the heart attacks?
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u/austinDEV6573 Aug 19 '25
Obviously yes. I disclose everything. A 100% commission on the policy is not worth losing my license for something stupid like not disclosing a condition or med.
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u/Awkward-Kiwi452 Aug 18 '25
Your agent has limited knowledge and markets. Go elsewhere. You likely not like the premium but coverage is out there.
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u/polishrocket Aug 19 '25
If she passes and those debts are in her name only you don’t owe the balance. My mom died and she racked up credit debt my step dad didn’t know about and it all got wiped clean
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Aug 18 '25
What you’re looking for is a guaranteed issue policy it will have a waiting period of 2 years and high premiums and coverage probably maxed out around 30k try an agent who sells AIG their GI policy might cover her
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u/Character-Rush-5074 Aug 18 '25
May need something custom written and it will only be year to year thru like Lloyd’s or something
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u/UberChops Aug 18 '25
Gotta say, I've never even heard of Lloyd's. Looks like they're UK based. Being in the US, I wonder if that matters. But I'll look into it, thank you.
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u/RedChaos92 TN Commercial P&C Aug 18 '25
It doesn't matter - Lloyd's of London is what's called an Excess & Surplus Lines insurance carrier, and they're one of the largest players in that field worldwide. E&S carriers write hard to place insurance risks, and you have to go through a broker to access them. E&S carriers are typically more expensive than standard insurance companies. Lloyd's writes a ton of different types of insurance policies. I write property and liability policies in Tennessee with them from time to time.
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u/ihideindarkplaces Aug 18 '25
Lloyd’s will present just about any risk to the syndicate and you will likely find that someone is willing to insure - the premiums maybe fairly high though, decisions are made case by case and could involve exclusions and/or high premiums. I’ve seen members write policies for pretty ridiculous levels of risk so I’m sure someone will be happy to cover (subject to the above caveats). Depending on the level of coverage it may require a detailed personal health review, and your broker effectively prepares a health dossier which is presented to the syndicate who will then offer terms if successful.
Chubb is another option and it is possible they will write the policy, but it will be subject to stringent review and possible rating up in premium or restriction in coverage; may decline especially if risk is deemed unmanageable.
Both Lloyd’s and Chubb (in these high risk/more complex scenarios) will consider on a case by case basis and you will likely rate up in premium because of the heart attack.
You should probably try and find a broker who specializes in more complex cases - and whether it will be worth it is probably subject to how valuable/necessary you consider the policy to be and what you’re willing to pay for it. I’ve seen way riskier policies written than a recent heart attack, but they’re usually for fairly HNW individuals and they didn’t come cheap.
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u/MillieplusSaoirse Aug 27 '25
Just to let you know, I found the costs to get life insurance impossible on our income. It was then suggested to us that we apply for the mortgage in my husbands name only. My name is on the mortgage and its on the deeds. But the mortgage itself was applied for under my husbands name and his income only. Its not ideal but its a small mortgage and if any thing does happen to me I can remember something about my work pension paying out upon my death, so he'd be covered. But as I said, It is small anyhow so he or I would easily manage it on our own. So I'm telling you that in case it happens to be an option for you. This was through the bank itself and it was in 2017.
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u/Prior-Bid-7256 Aug 18 '25
Insurance agent here. For a whole life policy, yes, she will be uninsurable for at least 10 years (with no medical incidents). You can try for a term life policy that doesn’t ask health questions. They will likely have a clause that states the policy will not pay a benefit within the first 2-3 years due to death from certain conditions. If/when you look into that, READ THE FINE PRINT! There will be clauses and exclusions to be aware of so that you don’t get screwed and throw away money
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u/UberChops Aug 18 '25
I'm really only looking at a term life policy, $50-100k (based on premium). I'll keep digging, thank you for the info!
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u/toddreality Aug 18 '25
If she changes jobs, or her company changes carriers, she might have the opportunity to enroll in guaranteed issue plans, where they don't look at health issues.
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Aug 18 '25
Were you looking at whole life or term?
You might need to reapply once her health has been stable for longer. Other than that, I would focus on improving the financial picture in general and doing anything within her control to improve her health
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Aug 18 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/saints21 Aug 18 '25
Anything other than a guaranteed issue is going to ask about heart problems. Lying about a known issue would be considered fraud. Don't encourage fraud.
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u/sokali4nia Aug 18 '25
Still have to fill out questionnaire that would ask things about medical history.
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u/maipoxx Aug 18 '25
Insurance is crazy. I could only get 1x my salary because I was diagnosed with Depression less than 5 years ago. And this is through work.
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u/cantstandthemlms Aug 18 '25
Would I be better to use the premium money to pay off the debts quicker? Or set the money aside in a separate account each money so you have it in case something does happen.
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Aug 18 '25
Check around. There are thousands of companies out there. Search for an independent life insurance agent in your area and start there.
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u/Old_Draft_5288 Aug 18 '25
Her employer may offer a low limit policy without health check.
She may be able to exclude coronary issues from the insurance policy.
But overall, your rates will be very high or excluding most things .
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u/neon_nyc Aug 19 '25
Please go to https://www.term4sale.com and give the basic details to get an agent in your area to enquire what your options are.
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u/akstephens89 Aug 19 '25
How many employees does your wife’s company have? If above 15 they can add Cincinnati worksite life insurance on top of their current life plan with no contribution from the employer. If they are smaller they can still do it employer may just have to contribute. Either way she can get a guaranteed issue term or whole life upto $100k that she can take with her even if she leaves. Pretty good rates too.
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u/OwnCricket3827 Aug 19 '25
Hope for the best for you and your wife. That is too young for a heart attack
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u/AffectionateTea1614 Aug 19 '25
Your Erie agent is wrong.
The amount of dumb, uninformed or just outright wrong answers on here are staggering.
Most companies ask about heart attacks in the last 4 years. Some ask up to last 10 years. Some ask “if ever”.
Find a local, independent broker with 5+ years experience and let them help you out.
Also, as she gets older, and the heart attack gets further down the line more, options will open up.
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u/GiggleyDuff Aug 19 '25
If you have credit card debt there isn't room to talk about insurance. I wish you and your family well
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u/Alarmed-Outcome-6251 Aug 19 '25
Have you considered digging in to get rid of the debt? Check out the debt free board.
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Aug 19 '25
You can get insurance just higher premium. My wife was able to get a policy having cancer
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u/VegasBjorne1 Aug 19 '25
Assuming you own a home with a mortgage, but maybe a round about way to get life insurance through a mortgage protection insurance (MPI) plan?
It will be more expensive than a traditional term insurance, and it won’t provide a lump sum to the beneficiary, but it will pay-off the mortgage, thus eliminating payments to be used elsewhere.
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u/mscreations82 Aug 19 '25
I’ve been in your position and it sucks. I had my first heart attack at 30 and struggled to get life insurance. I got coverage through Thrivent for 100k and later got another 100k through them as well. It’s not super cheap but it’s affordable (<$150/month). I also get life insurance through my employer and max out what I can get without requiring a health exam. Prior to being laid off recently I had about $650k total benefit for my wife. Enough for her and my kids to be comfortable for a while.
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u/kidmarginWY Aug 19 '25
Keep in mind that for any policy that your wife is eligible for, the insurance company still has to make a profit. That means that if you are eligible for anything including insurance that doesn't require a medical exam, you will have to answer some medical questions honestly, and it will be very expensive. Unfortunately, the time to buy life insurance is when you are healthy and can qualify for inexpensive rates. After the policy is issued, the insurance company will honor it regardless of changes in health. But at the time of application, you need to have good health to get cheap insurance. This does not apply to group coverage which is underwritten on the basis of group statistics, not individual health.
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u/Shawarma-Queen Aug 19 '25
I ended up going into cardiac arrest one week after I got my policy last year. My agent told me that I’m lucky because I’d otherwise be uninsurable if I had waited, even though I have an implanted defibrillator that more or less guarantees I won’t die.
As far as I know it would be extremely difficult and expensive to get a policy after a cardiac event because we’re now considered high risk
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u/Think_Standard Canadian Damage Insurance | 15 yrs exp Aug 19 '25
She'll be eligible, just not for the stuff that broker was offering.
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u/Important_Variety137 Aug 20 '25
I write life Insurnace in PA, in this situation I would not assume she is ineligible. I would tell any of my clients that we should submit the application with first month payment to give your wife coverage while she goes through health underwriting. We then see how it issues if at all and if it doesn’t get issued my clients get a full refund. At my company a heart attack doesn’t not make you ineligible unless you had a heart transplant of a pacemaker put in.
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u/Ltrizzy Aug 20 '25
Try a broker like select quote, they may be able to find you a company or policy that would work.
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u/Budget_Putt8393 Aug 21 '25
Heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest?
My wife had the latter (and survived), and I now know they are very different things. 1
While I do know someone who had an unexplained heart attack 30 years ago and is still in near perfect shape (almost no damage) he still considered "high risk" and has to have regular evaluations.
Generally though, the high risk flag stays. And it does affect insurability.
Sometimes you can buy life insurance with an exclusion for that one thing.
1 Edit: I don't actually know how SCA affects insurability, we had her policy before the event.
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u/SpecialistBet4656 Aug 23 '25
You should not be responsible for her student loans. Any of her creditors would have to recover from her estate. If you hold your assets jointly, they pass to the survivor and there’s no estate for creditors to recover against.
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u/curiousengineer601 Aug 24 '25
Does it matter for student loans? I thought federal student loans die with the borrower?
There are a bunch of conditions that make the loan forgiven at death, this might not be an issue at all
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u/MohammadAbir Aug 25 '25
I get where you’re coming from. I dragged my feet on life insurance too, mostly because every agent I talked to made it sound like a long, drawn out process. I’m the one bringing in most of the income for my family, and the idea of leaving them with the house payment and bills kept me up at night.
I ended up going through Ethos. Everything was online, I just answered a few health questions, and I had coverage the same day. It wasn’t nearly as expensive as I expected either. I don’t know if it’ll work for your wife’s situation, but it might be worth checking since it doesn’t take long to see if you qualify.
Having that policy in place gave me a lot of peace of mind.
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u/HealthLifeGuy Aug 26 '25
Yes there are options I ran quotes as an example.
Work with an independent broker who has experience with higher-risk cases.
Female, age 37, nonsmoker, heart attack - 1.5 years ago
Whole Life (no medical exam, immediate - no waiting period) $100,000 - $175 - 193/month $50,000 - $93 - 100/month $30,000 - $63/month
Term life options will be limited.
I see 1 carrier that will consider.
Prices would come in at 175% to 300% of standard pricing.
Female, age 37, nonsmoker, heart attack - 1.5 years ago
Term Life (possible medical exam, immediate - no waiting period)
$500,000 - $145 - 246/month
Hope this helps.
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u/No_Glove2128 Aug 18 '25
Really was just trying to be helpful. I do get a kick out of his commercials. But yeah we are not affiliated at all. 🤪😝. And he is expensive. But does provide coverage for people like myself. That are in-insurable
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u/lost_in_life_34 Aug 18 '25
not sure, but i think if she gets herself back into good health naturally with no drugs and has good bloodwork without drugs she might be eligible for a policy
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u/adjusterjackc Aug 18 '25
Property/Casualty agents have limited access to life insurance companies. And their primary work is P/C so there is often little knowledge about life insurance so they are reluctant to make the effort that side tracks them from their daily work.
There are hundreds of life insurance companies.
Run a search for companies that insure high risks. The policy is likely to be rated (surcharged) but it's out there.
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u/gnawtyone Aug 18 '25
P and c agent primarily here and I have access to dozens of life insurance companies. Js
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u/AlaskanDruid Aug 18 '25
Yep. Despite the myths that companies cannot deny you for a pre-existing condition. They do. Ran across this with State Farm.
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u/mamabearette Aug 18 '25
I wasn’t even aware of a myth that a company can’t deny you. This feels like the most basic life insurance story there is. You buy the life insurance when you’re young and haven’t had any health events yet, because unfortunately, stuff like this does happen, and makes you almost impossible to insure later.
I bought term insurance when each of my children were born, and then years later, I was interested in buying more limits and didn’t qualify because I’d had a breast cancer scare. Even though the results were favorable and my biopsy was clear, the fact that I’ve had a biopsy made me ineligible for additional insurance
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u/AlaskanDruid Aug 18 '25
I think that changed when that public health insurance came out.. one of the caveats was that existing insurances cannot deny existing conditions or something. Also the other thing was that there couldn't be a lifetime cap. But that turned out to be a myth due to the exceptions. It was all weird.
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u/coworker Aug 18 '25
ACA deals with medical insurance, not life insurance. You must have done absolutely zero research into this "myth"
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u/ihaveabigjohnson69 Aug 18 '25
so you think a 85 year old with cancer can buy life insurance ? do you understand business?
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u/seasonsbloom Aug 18 '25
Can you get life insurance for her with your job? Through her job? Have you tried other agents?