Should You Buy Life Insurance Before You Have Surgery?

Getting any sort of major medical procedure done can be very intimidating, particularly if you need to go under the knife for invasive surgery. If you are getting major surgery, you may wonder about the potential health risks if something goes wrong. While most surgery is incredibly safe, we have all heard horror stories about people experiencing complications with anesthesia or doctors making mistakes. Because of this, you may wonder if you should buy a life insurance plan before major surgery. In this article, we will outline the potential benefits of this, as well as the downsides to think about.

Financial Challenges

From a financial perspective, getting life insurance before a major surgery poses more risks than potential benefits. If you are having major surgery, chances are you are dealing with a chronic illness or serious injury. When life insurance companies determine the value of your premiums, they look at your health in detail. The better health you are in, the less of a risk you are to them, which means your premiums will be low. However, if you are about to get major surgery, and you have a chronic condition or major injury, chances are they will charge you very high premiums if they even offer you coverage at all.

Ultimately, it depends on why you are getting surgery. If you will be healthy after the surgery, but you are worried about complications, then you may want to look into life insurance options. However, in most cases, the financial burden of taking out the policy in the first place will you worse than the potential risks of the surgery. Taking out a policy can also be time consuming and inconvenient. You will have to go through a detailed medical examination, as well as manage a large amount of paperwork for your life insurance company before your application is even approved. Then, on top of the stress of taking out the policy, you will have to deal with the high rates that come with being in less than perfect health.

If you are feeling worried about your health as a result of the surgery, it may help to talk to your surgeon. The more you know about the surgery, the less overwhelming it will feel. You may also want to look up statistics about the safety of your particular procedure. Most surgical procedures performed today are very safe. The only potential exception is if you are part of a medical study, where the procedure has not been tested extensively before. In either scenario, you should talk to your doctor about the specific fears that you have so that they can address them for you. You should also make sure to follow your surgeon’s instructions as closely as possible. This will reduce the likelihood of any physical complications during the surgery.

Policy Options

If you still want to take out life insurance before getting the surgery, you do have a few options, although they will be expensive. The first option is to look for policies that do not require a medical examination. There are a few policies like this on the market, but they can be difficult to find. These policies are usually designed for people who are very old, and they typically only provide enough of a death benefit to cover funeral costs. These are sometimes referred to as burial policies.

Ideally, you should take out a life insurance policy far before you start having medical problems. The healthier you are when you take out your life insurance policy, the lower your premiums will be. As long as you keep that policy active, your rates will remain the same. This means that if you develop health problems later in life, you won’t have to pay expensive premiums. However, many people don’t think to take out life insurance until they are older, thinking that they can’t afford it. However, life insurance policies for young people can be very cheap.

Mistakes To Avoid

There are some major mistakes to avoid while shopping around for a life insurance policy, particularly if you are in a hurry before a major life event, like a surgery. The biggest one is lying about your medical history on your application. Although you may think this won’t have consequences, chances are the insurance company will eventually find out through a medical examination. This is considered insurance fraud, and at worst, could have you in serious legal trouble. In the best-case scenario, you could still be denied insurance coverage for a very long time.

In general, it does not make much sense to take out a life insurance policy right before surgery. If you can take out a policy when you are young, this is the best option. The financial burdens of trying to get a life insurance policy at the last minute are not going to be worth the potential financial payout for your family in the very unlikely event of a medical accident.