Question:
Has anyone been denied life insurance due to pending surgery?

A month ago I applied for life insurance (a measley $25k) and I disclosed the fact that I was going to be having WLS. Today I got a denial letter due to the fact that I was going to have surgery, but that they would re-evaluate things after my surgery. Has this happened to anyone? I need life insurance so does that mean I need to lie on the application? Its possible that if I lie on the application and leave out the fact that I am having WLS, I might be dropped anyway if they find out and my family will not get any benefit. This seems unfair. Any ideas?    — Julie D. (posted on March 12, 2002)

March 12, 2002
My sister was an insurance adjuster, and she said it was fairly standard for people who were going to have surgery to be denied for benefits. Also, you can't usually get life insurance until 3 years post-surgery. This is fairly standard. Is it "fair"? I dunno, but it's pretty standard across the board.
   — Terissa R.

March 12, 2002
I didn't apply for life insurance before surgery, but I do have a comment on life insurance after surgery. I work downtown in a large city and after Sept. 11th decided I had better be safe than sorry. I applied for a 500K policy and was told that because I had surgery within the last year I may not be eligible for the longer term insurance (20 year). I went through two companies just in case and one gave me a crappy rating because of--get this--mitral valve prolapse which is asymptomatic and I have been told over and over by doctors is not a big deal. They ironically had no problem with me having surgery 6 mos before. The other one rated me excellent despite the surgery and I ended up with the 20 year term insurance no problem although it did take forever for them to get around to the approval.
   — ctyst

March 12, 2002
The reason you were turned down isn't because of the surgery but because of being overweight. I've been turned down before. In fact, I spoke with my insurance agent last week and he told me that once I get to my desired weight, then the can insure me.
   — dolphins94

March 12, 2002
I work for an insurance company and yes we do not offer coverage for people who an upcoming surgerys. You should be able to reapply after your surgery. Not sure about the time limit, everyone has there own rules. If you choose not to disclose the fact that you are having surgery and you were to die during your contestable period (usually 2 yrs) the insurance company can investagate and then your beneficiary will not recieve any money. Also, once you apply for insurance and have been denied by one insurance company, they let all the insurance companies know so if you were to try again with a different insurer but did not tell them, they will still know. Just like auto insurance if you wreck your car and your rates go up and try to switch, the other insurer will know about the wreck. Sorry, I couldnt help much, I know it is not fair, I work for an insurer and cant get coverage myself.
   — Debbie W.

March 12, 2002
Hi there, I'm only 20 so it may seem odd that I got life insurance, but I got it because it lowered my overall insurance payments to State Farm (got a multi-line discount for having auto and life insurance with them). I had spoken to my PCP about WLS by the time I applied for life insurance, and when my medical records were released, the isurance company saw "Pre-op for gastic bypass surgery" and denied me. I got aggravated because my retard of a PCP wrote down some cryptic notes but failed to mention that I just consulted her about it, had no surgery date, or any solid plans. I made her write a letter saying that and put it in my file so my records could be re-released to State Farm. Fotunately I got insurance this time... but I got "rated for 'build'", that is, I pay a higher premium because I'm obese. If you don't have a surgery date and don't have firm plans as of yet, I don't think they should deny you because of it. That doesn't seem fair. Maybe you could try another insurance company? Good luck!
   — [Deactivated Member]