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rbagley0278
Newcomer

rbagley0278 asked about a year ago in Life Insurance

Qualification Questions

If I have been through a 12 step program or a similar program for drugs should I answer "Yes" to the question "In the past 10 years, have you been advised to have treatment for, or have you been treated for or consulted a physician or other practitioner for any of the following: heart or coronary artery disease or disorder, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, cancer, diabetes, hepatitis C, cirrhosis, pancreas disease or disorder, emphysema or chronic lung or pulmonary disease (COLD or COPD), alcohol or drug use?"

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Michael Kitces
FiLife Contributor
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RBagley0278,
You should probably answer yes to this question - the insurance company would likely view a 12-step kind of program as a form of treatment. But you are entitled to take the space on the application to also explain the details of what you were involved in, the depth of the 'treatment', your outcome, etc. The underwriter for the insurance company can certainly evaluate the details that you provide to decide whether or what impact it should have on your insurance application.

It's better to answer the application as fully and honestly as possible, and try to genuinely convince the insurance company that what you DID disclose shouldn't have a significant impact on your insurance coverage. That's much better than the alternative - the risk that the insurance company determines that you made a material misrepresentation on the insurance policy, that causes them to try to rescind the policy in the future.

But the bottom line is that just because you answer "yes" to a question on the application doesn't mean your application is in trouble. The insurance underwriters can and do consider the additional information provided when evaluating the application; the more information you provide, the more effectively they can consider the details of your particular situation.

I hope that helps a little!

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