Does an autism diagnosis affect life insurance?

An autism diagnosis can affect life insurance, but that doesn’t mean people with autism can’t qualify for affordable coverage. Providers measure the risk of offering applicants life insurance based on age, lifestyle, gender, and health conditions. They may reject your application or charge expensive premiums if that risk is high.

While autism is a chronic condition, insurers don’t always consider it high-risk. To determine whether specific carriers provide life insurance for people with autism, you could compare life insurance quotes online. This post will discuss how an autism diagnosis might influence your life insurance cost or eligibility.

Life insurance for adults with autism

People with autism have a wide range of experiences, skills, and support needs. Insurers use that broader context to make decisions about providing insurance policies for people with autism. Providers may consider the following factors:

• Activities of Daily Living – Insurers may ask questions about your capacity to complete “activities of daily living” independently. Those activities include getting dressed, using the restroom, bathing, and preparing and eating food. If you regularly need assistance with one or more tasks, it may affect your life insurance eligibility or your premiums.
• Employment – Life insurance providers may also consider your employment status, but it depends on your circumstances. If autism makes it challenging to maintain a full-time job, you may not qualify for life insurance coverage from some providers. However, if you stay home to care for children or other family members, it’s not as likely to affect your life insurance.
• Age, health, and other demographics – Your life insurance eligibility and rates don’t usually hinge on one diagnosis; insurers consider a range of characteristics, including age, lifestyle, and overall health. If you are relatively young with a low-risk lifestyle and don’t have any additional health concerns, you may have a better shot at affordable life insurance coverage.

Life insurance for children with autism

If you want a life insurance policy to cover your children or other minor dependents who have autism, insurers may focus on autism’s potential future impact on their lives.

It’s harder to find a policy for very young children because predicting their potential support needs is difficult. Once they’ve grown older and had time to demonstrate skills or support requirements in school, insurers will likely have an easier time evaluating their insurability.

What if I don’t qualify?

If an autism diagnosis has made qualifying for permanent or term life insurance policies difficult, you still have options. Guaranteed-issue life insurance policies provide permanent coverage without requiring a medical exam.

You are typically eligible for guaranteed-issue coverage if you meet the policy’s age requirements and can pay premiums. However, guaranteed issue policies typically cost more than other types of life insurance for lower coverage amounts, so there’s a tradeoff.

The bottom line

An autism diagnosis could affect life insurance but doesn’t necessarily disqualify you from coverage. Insurance providers typically base their decision on how autism fits into your daily life and overall health.

Your autism diagnosis may not significantly impact your life insurance if it doesn’t present many barriers in your everyday life. However, even if health complications or specific support needs make qualifying for life insurance difficult, a guaranteed-issue policy could still provide you with the coverage you need to protect your loved ones’ finances.