ITP and Term Life Insurance

I hadn't seen any discussion about the difficulties of getting (or, in my case, renewing) term life insurance for people who had or have ITP.

Just found out my insurance company is holding the last five months of premiums (since my May 2015 latest ITP "episode") until they complete their "underwriting investigation."

Basically they've explained to me that IF they choose to continue to cover me, they will, at that moment, accept the five months premiums; otherwise they will return premiums paid for that period and I will be SOL (out of luck) and become a "former" customer. Thanks a lot!

Is this common?

If I get hit by a bus later today I might not be covered. They won't even promise an answer until six months have transpired since my last hospitalization (May 2015) in about a month.

I'm wondering if there are state insurance regulators who might guide me or others in this area....I just feel after paying so many years without a claim, the fact ITP is NOT likely to kill me (or most people!) should weigh in my favor.

The underwriter asked all kinds of questions, for example "what causes ITP" and "how long will you be hospitalized if you get it again?"

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If I knew those answers I would be in the insurance underwriting profession, at the very least! Or maybe in the physic reading field.......

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Just wondering what kinds of experiences otherwise healthy, middle-aged people with ITP might have in regards to term life insurance? (I'm 56 y.o.)

---Jim

Hi Jim. Yes, many others have run into the same problem. Usually, people with ITP or any other medical disorder have a hard time acquiring life insurance because they are considered a risk. Sometimes they will make you wait until you have been in remission for a certain time period, or they will accept you but charge very high premiums. All you can do is keep appealing and fight it. This is our wonderful system at work. You and I both know that ITP is unlikely to cause death, but they have all the control.

I know this is a different situation, but just wanted you to see how ridiculous insurance companies can be. When my daughter was going to college in 2001, she applied for a private medical insurance plan. She was denied because she had burnt her leg on a curling iron months earlier and it got infected. She went to the ER for treatment and had to put that on the application. It was fully healed, but they denied her and said it was a pre-existing condition because she might have 'future claims' for skin grafts or cosmetic surgery.

It doesn't take much for a person to be denied when it comes to insurance. At least medical insurance can't deny anymore for pre-existing conditions.

Have you checked AARP

I was denied a policy last year due to ITP.

Janet was it AARP who denied you?

No, it was John Hancock - life insurance.

Now that I think about it, I bought my long-term care policy just about 6 months before the ITP diagnosis. Whew... dodged a bullet there, didn't I? Until this discussion, I didn't give that a thought.