How to get Life Insurance When You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis

Finding a life insurance policy when you have rheumatoid arthritis can be very frustrating. 95% of the underwriting decisions for burial insurance are based on a check of your prescription medical history. Unfortunately, medications used to treat RA are on the knock-out list for most burial insurance companies. The good news is that we have a solution.

Medical Treatment for RA

Medications used to treat and control RA and other inflammatory types of arthritis fall into the following categories: NSAIDS, conventional disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), biologic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, glucocorticoids (also called steroids), and pain relievers.

Glucocorticoids, NSAIDs and pain medications are generally not a problem for underwriting purposes. It is the drugs classified as DMARDs that cause the greatest headache with insurance companies. Not only are these drugs used to treat auto-immune conditions like RA, they are often used to treat potentially terminal conditions like cancer.

DMARDs used to treat RA include the following:

• methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall, Otrexup, Rasuvo)
• sulfasalazine (Azulfidine)
• hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil)
• leflunomide (Arava)
• tofacitinib citrate (Xeljanz)
• cyclosporine (Neoral)
• etanercept (Enbrel)
• infliximab (Remicade, Remsima, Inflectra)
• adalimumab (Humira, Exemptia)
• golimumab (Simponi)
• certolizumab pegol (Cimzia)
• anakinra (Kineret)
• abatacept (Orencia)
• rituximab (Rituxan)
• tocilizumab (Actemra)
• belimumab (Benlysta)
• azathioprine (Imuran, Azasan)

Is it possible to get an insurance plan with first day coverage and a reasonable price?

Yes. My go to company, hands down, for people with rheumatoid arthritis is Royal Neighbors of America. KSKJ Life is also a good choice but they are in a limited number of states.