Life Insurance for Clients with Pre-Existing Conditions

As their advisor, you play a key role in turning a daunting experience into a manageable, even empowering one. Your ability to demystify the process, position the client’s situation positively, and help uncover tailored solutions can make the difference between walking away frustrated and walking away protected.

In this article, we’ll explore how you can better support clients with pre-existing conditions, especially when it comes to securing life insurance.

Understand What They’re Up Against

The challenges are real. Clients with chronic health conditions often worry they’ll be judged, denied, or placed in an unaffordable premium tier. Many have already faced frustrating setbacks, such as being declined outright or offered policies with exclusions so significant they feel pointless. Others may have internalized the belief that they’re “uninsurable,” a label that breeds discouragement and delay.

On top of the practical barriers, there’s an emotional toll. The process can feel invasive and disheartening, especially when a client is doing everything they can to manage their health. Your job is to understand and validate these concerns, and offer a path forward that’s rooted in empathy and proactive planning.

Know How Underwriting Really Works

One of the most powerful things you can do is help the client see their application from the underwriter’s point of view. That means taking the time to understand their medical history, including diagnosis timelines, current medications, control of symptoms, and any recent lab work or specialist reports. When you can present a clear, organized picture, you make it easier for underwriters to assess the file fairly.

It also helps to know which insurers take a more progressive or flexible stance on specific conditions. For example, some carriers view well-managed Type 2 diabetes quite favourably, especially when paired with a healthy lifestyle and consistent follow-up care. Others may be more risk-averse or require longer periods of stability.

Beneva, for example, has a strong reputation for case-by-case underwriting that looks at the full picture. Rather than relying on rigid checklists, Beneva’s approach gives clients the benefit of a nuanced review, especially when the client is actively managing their condition. As their advisor, you can bring that human story to the surface.

Set the Stage for Success

Getting the right coverage starts well before an application is submitted. Help your client gather what they’ll need, such as records from their primary care provider, test results, or a letter from a specialist, to support their case. The more complete and current the information, the fewer delays or surprises later on.

Just as importantly, set realistic expectations. Explain that the process may take longer, and that premiums may not match those of their healthiest friends or colleagues. But emphasize what’s possible, not just what’s difficult. If standard coverage isn’t available today, there may still be options, and tomorrow’s outlook could be different.

By walking through scenarios calmly and clearly, you reduce anxiety. You also build trust, especially when you check in regularly, answer their questions, and demonstrate that you’re not just pushing paperwork, but advocating for their peace of mind.

Explore Every Avenue

In some cases, traditional insurance may not be feasible or may only cover part of the client’s needs. That’s when your creativity matters.

Simplified-issue or guaranteed-issue products can provide limited but valuable coverage with fewer medical hurdles. These are often ideal for clients who’ve been declined in the past or who are concerned about privacy. You can also look at combining smaller policies to build up overall protection, or staggering term lengths to match the client’s cash flow and planning horizon.

If the client has access to group benefits through work, a professional association, or a spouse, it’s worth exploring whether they can add optional life or health coverage at favourable rates. Even if group plans don’t offer the flexibility of individual underwriting, they often allow enrollment without medical evidence, which can be a lifeline for those who struggle to qualify elsewhere.

Be The Solution

Clients with chronic conditions don’t just need access, they need an advocate. Someone who understands both the technical side of underwriting and the human side of stress, stigma, and uncertainty. Someone who listens without judgment and can offer possibilities.

When you help them secure life insurance despite a pre-existing condition, you’re doing more than just checking a box. You’re protecting their family, restoring their confidence, a helping to create a future with safety, dignity, and options.

Beneva is here to support you in that mission with expert underwriting teams, responsive support, and a commitment to seeing the whole client, not just their file. Because behind every chronic condition is a real person. And behind every successful application is an advisor who helped make it happen.