Life Insurance

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Has anyone here had the experience of being turned down for life insurance due to AS? I just had an underwriter say it's an industry-wide policy to not insure people with AS due to mortality rates -- not FROM the AS but as a result of the thinking.

Do you mean suicide rates ?

I'm going to look into this. This is my field.

Wow.

No, but I'm not formally Dx with AS. I know there is a fairly universal 24 month exclusion for suicides on new policies, but if they see you have a persistent risk, I can understand their not wanting to insure you.

I just checked the underwriting guidelines and it isn't specifically listed as a reason for denial. Did you complete a mental health questionnaire? I just had to fill one out myself to replace life insurance and you have to be very careful....

Basically anything that they consider risky behavior- felonies, DWI, suicidal thinking, etc. will get you denied coverage. (If you fly a private plane, there is a questionnaire for that as well, so it isn't really that they are discriminatory.) Maybe reapply somewhere else and try to answer the questions a little *differently*? I'll keep looking but I haven't been able to find anything specifically listing AS...I would ask the underwriter I work with but I don't want her to get suspicious... Learn something new every day I guess. I'm sorry you were declined.

Insurance is a very tricky area, because there is an enormous amount of public policy constraint on the insurance industry, and that varies widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

In a Canadian context, I would be astonished to see AS, in and of itself, as a basis upon which to deny coverage. There would have to be some demonstration of an actuarial link between the diagnosis and early mortality which could not reasonably be absorbed into the premium structure.

Given that the earliest diagnoses of AS were less than 30 years ago, and given that these were primarily among children, I find it difficult to see how there would be a body of data sufficient to demonstrate an actuarial conclusion regarding mortality risk of AS.

Like zer0netgain mentioned, an insurance company will pay out for a suicide as long as the policy has been in force for 2 years. Now, if you have a suicide attempt on your medical record prior to purchasing the policy then they may deny you, or exclude suicide altogether... So like I said, be careful when filling out those mental health questionnaires, and buy early folks!!

I'm going to ask somebody. I'll try to find out for you.

edit: I just called th 'big company that's been in the news all year' but the underwriters are gone for the day. The guy that I spoke with said that he didn't see it listed in the guidelines one way or another. You should probably ask the insurance rep that you spoke with to give you further details. I can't find anything that pertains to this on google, except as it relates to kids, and that site was from the UK...

I sent an email to another contact last night and this was her response:

"If over 18, educated and integrated into society (i.e., employed or furthering education), they are insurable. Under age 18, usually decline."

I hope that helps.