ADD Given A Break! Situational Anxiety Too! What About Bipolar?

The truth is that I doubt if anyone makes it through life without situational anxiety or depression and there are days when I would swear the whole world is ADD, so what’s the big deal? For years a lot of the more conservative life insurance companies have with held the best due to these minor league impairments.

And the truth is that the more conservative companies may still bump someone a rate class due to minor emotional issues, but most of the companies who are really staying abreast of their underwriting have conceded that real life happens and when someone seeks treatment for it and gets their ship righted, they shouldn’t be punished.

Just within the last few days I’ve seen approvals for ADD treated with Ritilin, situational anxiety treated with Lexapro and situational depression treated with Wellbutrin, all at best rate classes from Prudential, ING Reliastar, Banner and others.

Before everyone runs to the store to buy some, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. The cases above were truly well controlled. One thing they all had in common was that the issue didn’t affect their lives other than having to take medication and with the depression and anxiety, the issue was resolved and there was no further need for the medication. Situational truly means situational. It the depression or anxiety disorder goes on for a long time, say a few years or more, most insurance companies would call it chronic. Generally the best rate classes fall off the radar with chronic just about anything.

While still insurable, best rate classes are also out of the picture for more chronic and complicated issues such as bipolar disorder. We’ve had great success with bipolar as long as they fit within the following criteria. Safe to say that the same criteria would have to apply to get a good offer on chronic depression.
1. No hospitalization within the last 10 years for bipolar, other than for diagnosis
2. No suicide attempts or ideations
3. Compliant with all medical and psychological treatment
4. Must have a stable family life
5. Must have a stable work life (and no, being laid off in a recession wouldn’t count against you)
6. You can’t be on disability for bipolar
7. You can’t also have collateral issues with alcohol or drug abuse.

Bottom line. If your life hasn’t spun out of control there are generally good rates available for you. Being diagnosed isn’t the issue as much as how you’ve taken control of the situation.