which conditions will disqualify you from any other type of health insurance not as many as you might think 
if you ve ever had an elderly parent or grandparent you probably know what a person with one or multiple conditions such as these looks like they have good days and bad days sometimes you think they are on the brink of death but then they suddenly turn around and seem better than ever their physical health mental health and physical abilities can seem really unstable for most insurance companies this level of instability represents too much risk but some specialize in taking it on you might have heard about guaranteed issue life insurance from a 2018 television commercial one from insurer colonial penn has jeopardy host alex trebek advertising the company s guaranteed issue life insurance who doesn t love and trust trebek he was a national treasure like mr rogers or vin scully having him pitch insurance was a great idea all the information in the commercial is accurate though most applicants will probably not be paying the teaser rate of 9 95 a month for their policy still it s true that insurers cannot deny you coverage increase your premiums or reduce your death benefit as long as you pay the premiums these are all standard features of a whole life insurance policy and guaranteed issue is a type of whole life insurance alternatives to guaranteed issuelife insurance premiums always depend on your age height weight health gender in states that allow gender based pricing the death benefit and the policy type insurance companies do not have different underwriting guidelines for different types of insurance says rick sabo a financial planner and insurance fraud expert in gibsonia pa whether you re buying term whole or universal the insurance company will put you in the same risk category however a different insurance company might put you in a different risk category in other words if you have a serious health condition such as diabetes one company might offer you a better policy than another many applicants and applicants with health issues believe they could never qualify for a policy that requires medical underwriting but that often isn t the case it depends on the health condition and the issuer people can get life insurance with underwriting even if they have congestive heart failure have had a heart attack in the last 12 months or have had a stroke in the last 12 months among other health conditions 1for most people it s worth applying for several policies that ask health questions to see if they can get a better rate more coverage and immediate coverage those who only want a small policy should look into guaranteed universal life which can provide coverage to age 100 or even 121 or final expense insurance guaranteed issue policies are useful but only to applicants who don t qualify for policies with medical underwriting 3guaranteed issue what s the catch except for the waiting period guaranteed issue policies might sound too good to be true unhealthy people take out policies pay their premiums and die in a few months or a few years the insurance company has to either return their money or pay a death benefit how can insurers even afford to offer these policies the way life insurance companies make a bulk of their profit is not via the collection of premiums minus death benefits says life insurance broker anthony martin the ceo of choice mutual they make most of their money via investments life insurance premiums are basically like interest free loans to the insurance company says martin the company invests that money in 2021 life insurance companies brought in 159 5 billion in premiums and 200 8 billion in net investment income according to the insurance information institute a nonprofit communications organization supported by the insurance industry 4 insurance companies invest in stocks mortgages real estate derivatives and other assets for guaranteed issue they do lose money on clients who die in the first two years says martin it takes five years for the insurance company to break even on this type of insurance and it s a win win for the insured in most cases the only time the insured would not come out ahead would be if they live long enough where their premiums exceed the policy he continues another reason insurance companies can afford to offer what seems like a no lose proposition for the policyholder is because many people let their policies lapse this means they pay premiums for a few years then stop and lose their coverage if they have any type of whole life insurance they will receive their policy s cash surrender value but that sum will be much less than the premiums they paid in or the death benefit their heirs would have received life insurance companies paid out 362 7 billion on surrendered policies in 2021 4