Life Insurance with HCM


Once you've been diagnosed with HCM or test gene-positive, it can be hard, costly, or impossible to find a life insurance company to cover you. 


What are some options for life insurance when you have HCM?


If you have a group life policy through your employer, that may get you coverage. These plans are often term insurance that ends when you leave the job. Sometimes, you can keep your coverage by converting to an individual plan. Lately, many plans have portability options. Contact the insurance provider to ask about your options when you leave a job. 


If you have Term life insurance, see if you can convert it to a permanent policy. Permanent life insurance (often called "Whole Life" or "Universal Life") is a contract to protect you for your entire life. This is opposed to term insurance, which only provides coverage for a certain number of years. Some companies will not renew your term insurance or increase your insurance cost when you're diagnosed with HCM. 


There are life insurance policies called "guaranteed plans" that don't require a medical exam. These plans are often for small amounts (think burial cost insurance) and may be expensive for what you get. Sometimes, if you have a condition like HCM, they may reject or rate you at a more expensive level.


What are the different types of  permanent life insurance?


1 - Whole Life insurance has guaranteed premiums that never change. 


  • Cash value growth is guaranteed. Whole Life policies build tax-deferred cash value at a guaranteed rate over the life of the contract. You know it will be worth at least a certain amount if you want to access the policy's cash. 
  • Cash value may be eligible to receive annual dividends.
  • There's a guaranteed death benefit, although the payout will be reduced if there are outstanding policy loans when the policyholder passes away. 
  • Whole Life policies cost more than Universal Life policies.


2 - Universal Life insurance is more flexible than Whole Life. 


  • Premiums can vary. You can raise or lower your payments within certain limits, making it easier to keep your coverage if your circumstances change. You may eventually have to pay higher premiums to keep your policy in force. 
  • Cash value growth can vary. The cash account growth is also tax-deferred. Despite having a guaranteed interest rate, because of the premium flexibility, the projected future guaranteed cash value may change over the course of coverage.
  • The death benefit can vary. A universal life policy may allow you to change the amount of your death benefit.
  • Universal policies are less expensive than comparable Whole Life policies.

Universal policies are divided into three types:

Standard (Cash value grows at an adjustable market interest rate),

Variable (Cash value growth is based on the performance of subaccount market investments – but you assume the risk for any losses), and

Indexed (Cash value growth is tied to the performance of a broad market index, such as the S&P 500, with minimum and maximum caps to limit your investment risk).


What is the impact of my genetic status?


If you have been diagnosed with HCM and have a negative genetic test (no known gene for HCM was found), the insurance company will either deny coverage or rate you higher because of your diagnosis (not the genetic status), and you will pay more. This is also true if you have been diagnosed with HCM and have a positive genetic test (you have a known gene for HCM).


Suppose you have a family history of HCM with other family members being gene-positive, and you have a genetic test. In that case, a life insurance company can use this information to set your rates (higher if you carry a gene, lower if you do not carry the family gene). That's true even if your genetic test shows you do not have a known gene for HCM. 


If you have a family history of HCM and your family has no known gene for HCM, this information may be used by a life insurance company to set your rates if you disclose the information to them. If they ask you about any family history of heart disease, you will have to decide what to say.


What about life insurance for my children?


If your children have yet to be diagnosed or genetically tested for HCM, and it's important to you that they have life insurance, consider starting a permanent life insurance policy for them before having them genetically tested or screened for HCM.