Courtesy of ANICO

Perhaps the most troublesome medical impairment we see today in underwriting is Atrial Fibrillation. Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) is a common arrhythmia found in 1% of people over age 60, 5% of people over age 69, and 11% of apparently healthy people over age 75. Prevalence is higher in males than females and in persons with structural heart disease.
Why is A-Fib so concerning for life insurance? The answer is that people with A-Fib have an increased risk of stroke (up to 7 times that of the general population). Stroke risk increases during A-Fib because blood may pool and form clots. Those clots (or embolisms) may then lodge in the left ventricle, or other internal organs of the body, and cause widespread failure.
A-Fib is generally treated with an anti-coagulant, like Coumadin, which can either slow the heart rate or convert the heart to normal sinus rhythm. In some cases electrical cardioversion is used to “shock” the heart back into normal sinus rhythm. While A-Fib is a ratable condition, there are circumstances when a client can possibly be a Standard risk.

What constitutes a favorable (or possibly Standard) risk?

1. Age 60 and up
2. Stable for 5 years
3. Current and appropriate follow-up care
4. A current normal echocardiogram
5. Stable anticoagulation

If your client meets those criteria (and has no other ratable impairments), we could consider on a Standard basis.

If you have a potential client who has Atrial Fibrillation, contact one of American National’s phenomenal underwriters for a tentative rate class. Important information to know is: 1) age the client developed A-Fib, 2) how well the client controls his/her arrhythmia, and 3) are there any complications? 4) how is the arrhythmia controlled? The average experience of an American National underwriter is 21 years. Let us put our experience to work for you. Visit IMG’s Web site at www.img.anicoweb.com for valuable underwriting information.

For fast help with your toughest life cases, contact our underwriting experts at (800) 936 – 0339 option 1