While a pre-existing health condition can make it more challenging to find the level of coverage you’re looking for, all five of these companies can assess your risk factors and offer the right amount of affordable coverage.
When analyzing life insurance companies, we assess each insurer’s reputation in the industry, as well as their product lineup, rider selection and underwriting standards. To determine industry reputation, our editorial team researches the company’s financial strength, accreditations and ratings, and reads customer reviews. For the best life insurers for people with pre-existing conditions, we also considered each company’s flexibility, including no-exam, simplified issue, underwriting process and issue age.
What are the best life insurance companies for pre-existing conditions?
These five insurers make life insurance more accessible and affordable for people with pre-existing conditions.
Best overall pick: Ethos
$25,000 – $10,000,000
Coverage range
18 – 75 years
Issue age
10, 15, 20, or 30 years
Term lengths
Ethos is a fintech company that breaks down the barriers many people with pre-existing conditions face when buying coverage. It offers instant term life policies online to those aged 18 to 75, and most policyholders can qualify for up to $1 million in coverage without taking a medical exam.
- Choose a term life policy lasting 10, 15, 20 or 30 years.
- All policies are issued and backed by Assurity, a financially strong and well-known insurer.
- Unlike most fintech companies, Ethos allows you to customize your policy with riders — like a critical illness rider.
| Coverage range |
$25,000 – $10,000,000
|
|---|
| Term lengths |
10, 15, 20, or 30 years
|
|---|
| Issue age |
18 – 75 years
|
|---|
Best for lenient underwriting: Legal & General
$100,000 – $10,000,000
Coverage range
20 – 75 years
Issue age
10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 years
Term lengths
Typically, insurers hike up the rates for people with pre-existing conditions or deny coverage altogether. But Legal & General's underwriting guidelines are more relaxed, which opens up life insurance for high-risk applicants — such as those with health issues working against them. Its rates are competitive, too.
- Sells convertible term life insurance up to age 70, so you can upgrade to a permanent policy if you wish.
- Sells convertible term life insurance up to age 70, so you can upgrade to a permanent policy if you wish.
- Add common riders to your policy, including a disability or child term rider.
| Coverage range |
$100,000 – $10,000,000
|
|---|
| Term lengths |
10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 years
|
|---|
| Issue age |
20 – 75 years
|
|---|
Best for simplified issue policies: Transamerica
$25,000 – $10,000,000
Coverage range
18 – 75 years
Issue age
10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years
Term lengths
If you'd prefer to skip the medical exam, you could be in the market for a simplified or guaranteed issue policy. Among other types of coverage, Transamerica offers an excellent final expense policy. Once your policy is approved, it's issued immediately and the premiums stay the same.
- Speak to an agent about the various payment plans available.
- The insurer also sells term, whole, universal and indexed universal life insurance.
- All term policies are convertible up until the deadline.
- Buy a policy with a face value of $25,000 to $1 million.
| Coverage range |
$25,000 – $10,000,000
|
|---|
| Term lengths |
10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years
|
|---|
| Issue age |
18 – 75 years
|
|---|
Best for guaranteed issue policies: Mutual of Omaha
$2,000 – $500,000+
Coverage range
18 – 68 years
Issue age
10, 15, 20, 30 years
Term lengths
Guaranteed issue policies are usually sold as final expense policies and limited to small amounts, like $50,000. But Mutual of Omaha has a permanent policy option, too. The insurance giant sells guaranteed universal life (GUL) insurance up to age 85, and waives the medical exam for policies worth less than $250,000.
- Offers affordable rates to high-risk applicants, including those with pre-existing conditions.
- Choose from a range of riders, including an accidental death benefit, waiver of premium and disability rider.
- Excellent reputation for customer service. Mutual of Omaha ranked fifth of 23 insurers surveyed in J.D. Power's latest life insurance study.
| Coverage range |
$2,000 – $500,000+
|
|---|
| Term lengths |
10, 15, 20, 30 years
|
|---|
| Issue age |
18 – 68 years
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|---|
What qualifies as a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing health condition is a disease or illness you had before applying for life insurance coverage. When assessing your application, your insurer will look at the severity of your condition and how you’re managing or treating the condition including treatments, medications and surgeries. Some of the most common pre-existing conditions include:
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Diplegia — cerebral palsy
- Encephalitis
- Epilepsy
- HIV accidental infection or occupationally acquired
- Heart attack
- Heart conditions
- Hepatitis
- Hereditary health issues
- High blood pressure
- Huntington’s disease
- Kidney disease
- Loss of hearing
- Major organ transplant
- Mental illness
- Motor neuron disease
- Major organ transplant
- Multiple sclerosis
Financial ratings for the best life insurance companies
An insurer’s financial strength is important because your beneficiaries might not file a claim for years or decades to come. The insurers on our list scored top ratings with the major agencies, which means they have the cash reserves to pay out claims.
In J.D. Power’s latest life insurance study, Mutual of Omaha ranked fifth of 23 insurers surveyed, while Transamerica landed in eighteenth place.
| AM Best | A- | A+ | A | A+ | N/A |
| Moody’s | N/A | N/A | A1 | A1 | N/A |
| Standard & Poor’s | N/A | AA- | AA- | AA- | N/A |
| Fitch | N/A | AA- | A+ | N/A | N/A |
| J.D. Power | N/A | N/A | 2 out of 5 | 4 out of 5 | N/A |
Note: Sproutt doesn’t actually sell life insurance policies, so financial ratings don’t apply. However, the broker works with a range of major carriers, including AIG, Principal and SBLI.
Customer reviews and reputation for the best life insurance companies
To find out how insurers treat their policyholders, we turned to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). All five carriers are highly rated with the BBB for their customer engagement, while most customer reviews are linked to complaints about claims processes.
| Ethos | A+ | None |
| Legal & General | A+ | None |
| Transamerica | A- | 1.5 out of 5 stars |
| Mutual of Omaha | A+ | 1.5 out of 5 stars |
| Sproutt | A- | None |
Bottom line
If you have a pre-existing condition, you might feel like you’re backed into an expensive corner when it comes to life insurance. But that doesn’t have to be the case. With competitive rates and lenient underwriting, the insurers on our list open up coverage to those with health issues against them.
To explore your options further, compare life insurance companies.
Compare other life insurance companies
If you’re worried about high premiums because of a pre-existing condition, look into these instant-approval term life insurance policies.
