Burial Insurance with a Pacemaker: What You Need to Know
Posted in Burial Insurance & Health Conditions last updated on October 26, 2023If you are wondering what your options are for burial insurance with a pacemaker we will tell you. Your options for burial insurance for a pacemaker will be a policy with a waiting period if the pacemaker was implanted within 1 year. If the pacemaker was implanted between 1-2 years you can qualify for a final expense policy with no waiting period.
Keep in mind for burial or final expense insurance you will not be required to take a medical or physical exam. You simply answer health questions on the insurers application and consent to medical & prescription history checks.
According to www.startribune.com
About 1 million people are implanted with a pacemaker a year.
In this article, we will cover all the most important information you need to find the best burial insurance pacemaker coverage to fit you and your unique needs.
Table of contents
Life Insurance With a Pacemaker the Key to No Waiting Periods
If you have a pacemaker and want to qualify for life insurance the key is how long ago it was installed and if there are any complications.
When it comes to final expense life insurance with a pacemaker you will never need to do a medical exam but if you want to avoid a waiting period you will have to answer health questions.
Depending on how you answer the life insurance company’s health questions will determine if you can get whole life insurance with a pacemaker that does not have a waiting period or a life policy that does have a waiting period.
The life insurance company will look at your medical and prescription history and cross refrence it with your answers on their application.
If everything lines you will be approved for life insurance with a pacemaker. Now if everything does not check out you will be denied coverage and would have to get guaranteed life insurance with a pacemaker.
Time frame is what matters when it comes to simplified issue life insurance, the company is looking for an amount of time of good health and no high risk medications.
Burial Insurance Pacemaker No Medical Exam
When it comes to a burial insurance plan there is no medical examination required.
The carriers use an easy underwriting process to qualify you for coverage. They will not send someone to your home to run tests or collect physical samples or provide you with confusing documents that have verbiage like:
“For purpose without prior written authorization.”
or
“Evaluation of application.”
They will look at your Medical Information Bureau Health Report and a prescription check while asking health questions on their application. When looking at health issues like a pacemaker implant the life insurance company will ask if you were diagnosed within the last 12 months or 24 months.
If you have had your pacemaker for longer than 2 years with no complications since you would be considered a low-risk applicant since you have managed your condition so well. This makes you eligible to qualify for top-rated carriers. We are experts in burial insurance pacemaker options.
High-Risk Applicant
A high-risk applicant is a person with considerably bad health conditions. This means the mortality rate for this person is low so a carrier would issue a policy with limited benefits within the time frame of 1 – 2 years.
Low-Risk Applicant
A low-risk applicant would be a person with good to moderate health conditions that are well controlled. This means the mortality rate for this person is very high so a carrier would issue a level day one benefit policy.
This means if you were to pass away within a year of having your coverage the death benefit would be distributed in any manner for any purpose to your beneficiary to pay for the funeral and other end-of-life expenses. So getting burial insurance pacemaker level day one coverage is very possible.
Best Burial Insurance Coverage Option
The best burial insurance with a pacemaker option is dependent on the time frame of when your condition was diagnosed and how well-controlled it is. The more time that has passed with your condition without any incidents or treatments the lower of a risk you are in the eyes of the carrier.
A pacemaker is considered circulatory surgery as well.
Pacemaker Installed Over 2 Years Ago
If your pacemaker was installed over 2 years ago you will qualify for a level death benefit plan. This is day one coverage so if you passed away the day after you make your first monthly premium payment your beneficiary would get the check for the full face amount of the policy.
Pacemaker Installed within 2 Years Ago
If your pacemaker was installed within 2 years you will qualify for a modified death benefit plan. This is would be covered that will pay the premiums paid into it plus 10% to your beneficiary if you pass away in the first year. Year 2 will pay 231% of premiums paid to your beneficiary.
After year 2 the full death benefit is paid.
Sample Application Question
In the past 2 years, has the proposed insured been diagnosed or received treatment from a member of the medical profession, or other practitioner, or been hospitalized for any of the following:
heart attack, angina (chest pain), congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy stroke, transient ischemic attack(TIA, or aneurysm of had heart or circulatory surgery?
Best Burial Insurance Features
A burial policy should be one thing only, A Whole Life Final Expense Policy
The best burial insurance policy with a pacemaker will have the following features:
A Rate Lock – Premium stays the same and NEVER increases.
The Death Benefit never Decreases
Tax-Free Death Benefit to your Beneficiary
A policy without those 3 features is not a policy we recommend.
A Policy without These 3 features Can:
Have premiums that steadily increase until the policy is unaffordable.
Have a decreasing death benefit that will leave your beneficiary without enough money to pay for your funeral expenses.
Deliver a tax bill to your family after the 1st of the year when they are still in the grieving process.
We make sure you are aware of these gimmicks so you can make a properly informed decision.
How Much Insurance Do I need?
Deciding how much coverage you need depends on the type of service you or your family wants to have. You should also factor in other end-of-life expenses such as outstanding debts, car payments, credit card payments, etc.
Burial Service
Costs of burials vary from state to state but average nationally between $8,000 to $12,000. There is also the cost of inflation to plan for, a burial could be upwards of $19,000 or more in the coming years. To know your exact costs you can find a price list at your local funeral home.
Cremation Service
A cremation service is in most cases half the cost of a burial service or lower making it a much more affordable alternative. Nationally cremations can average between about $3,000 to $5,000. With inflation added in that would make the total cost in the range of $9,000 or more. Cremation may be more affordable but still presents a financial burden for your family when your time comes.
The bottom line is to make sure you include all of your end-of-life expenses including inflation to come up with the exact total amount to protect your family.
How to Apply for Insurance
It is very simple to apply for burial insurance.
First, you will fill out the form to the right of this page with some basic information.
At that point, you will see different carriers and pricing on policies. One of our licensed agents will receive your request and give you a phone call. Once you are on the phone with our agent they will confirm the information you filled out on the form.
Once everything is confirmed they will begin to ask you basic health questions and determine your rate class to see what you qualify for. Based on your information and answers to the health questions the agent will know exactly which company to enroll with and begin the enrollment process.
Enrollment can be done in 30 minutes or less with an instant decision right then on the call.
There are 2 different ways to enroll:
Voice Signature – You, the agent, and the insurance carrier will perform a 3-way call to conduct a voice signature process on the necessary forms. This means you do not have to physically sign a piece of paper for the policy you are applying for.
E-mail Signature – The agent will send you an email with a DocuSign link. You open the email and follow the prompts to sign your name on all the necessary areas on the form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes you can get affordable burial insurance with no waiting periods if the pacemaker was installed 1-2 years ago. If the pacemaker was installed within 1 year you will have to get a graded burial insurance policy with a waiting period.
Yes and no, the timeline of when you had it installed is what burial insurance companies look for. The longer you have had it with no complications shows the insurer you are lower risk. So if you had it installed between 1-2 years ago insurers are favorable to this. That means you can get the same low premiums for level coverage. If the pacemaker was implanted within 1 year the insurer see’s this as not enough time to determine if you are lower risk. This means getting a graded policy with higher premiums.