Can Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Affect The Purchase of Life Insurance?

​June is awareness month for PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. According to PTSD's National Center, at least 50% of Americans experienced a traumatic event in their lives. Two of every ten women and one of every ten men will develop PTSD. The following are the types of traumatic events that PTSD may cause:

​1) Physical or sexual assault
2) Combat and military experience
3) Physical and sexual abuse of children
4) Learning about the accidental or violent injury or death of a loved one
5) Disasters that occur naturally like earthquakes, fires, flood, tornadoes and hurricanes.
6) Terrorist attacks
7) Serious accidents like the wrecking of a vehicle

People who go through something like this may develop PTSD.

What are PTSD's symptoms?

PTSD has four types of symptoms, but they may not be the same for everyone.

1) Reliving of the event

Thoughts about the trauma that are not welcome may come up anytime. They can make anyone feel scared as if the event will occur again. They call this a flashback. You might also experience nightmares. A trigger that reminds you of the event can relive the memories of the trauma. If someone sees a news report about a disaster, it may trigger the memories of living through the hurricane. Hearing the backfire of a car can bring back memories of gunfire for combat Veterans.

2) Avoid things that will be a reminder of the event

You can try avoiding certain situations or people that will remind you of the event. Someone who experienced an assault on the bus should avoid public transportation. Combat Veterans may avoid crowded places like malls because being around people makes them feel dangerous. Try staying busy most of the time, so you don't have to think about the event.

3) You have more negative thoughts than before

It is possible to feel more negative than you did before the trauma. You might feel numb or sad and lose things that you enjoyed before like hanging out with friends. You feel that the world is so dangerous that you cannot trust anyone. It will be harder for you to express happiness and other positive emotions. It is possible for you to feel shame or guilt about the traumatic event. You'll wish that you did more to prevent it from happening.

4) Feeling on edge

It may be common to feel jittery and hard to relax. People call this hyperarousal. You feel like you're always looking out for the danger that you can get irritable and angry. You might easily get startled when someone surprises you. It is possible for you to act in unhealthy ways such as driving aggressively, abusing alcohol and drugs and smoking.

How does PTSD affect buying life insurance?

The insurance company will check your family health history, driving record and medical history to know if you are functioning socially in your workplace and home.  

These are the factors that are considered unfavorable:

    Frequent hospitalization, changes in and higher doses of medications, use of mood stabilizer medication such as lithium and use of electroconvulsive therapy (ET)
    Occupational instability
    Alcohol or drug abuse
    Marital or family disharmony
    Family history of mental disorders
    Poor physical health
    Work-related pressures or financial difficulties
    Behavior disturbance including violence
    Short period since being diagnosed
    Other psychiatric or personality disorder diagnosis
    Any history of suicide attempts or gestures
    History of lost work or school time

You will be assigned to a better risk class if you have less "unfavorable" factors. However, if you have a history of adverse factors, you can still purchase life insurance. Life insurance companies want to insure a lot of people which is why they have various levels of risk classes. You might need to pay for higher premiums to offset insurance risks, but term life insurance is still affordable.

At the Roper Insurance Services we take pride in making sure our clients are well protected at prices they can afford. To learn more about how we can help you please contact our agency at 1-877-767-3711 or Click Here to request a free quote.