Insurance Library

Life > Asthma Impact

Asthma is on the rise in the United States. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that about 15 million Americans have the condition and almost five thousand died from it in 2000.

If you have asthma, don't give up hope just yet. Many with it can still buy affordable life insurance. The severity of your asthma is going to be the determining factor of how much higher your premiums will be.

Asthma treatments have goals established to judge the effectiveness of a treatment and can reduce your life insurance rates when they are met. The goals include:

• No symptoms or low severity of symptoms.
• Sleeping through the night without symptoms.
• No time off from school or work due to the condition.
• Full participation in physical activities.
• No emergency room visits or hospital stays.
• Few or no side effects from asthma medications.

When applying for insurance, the company will want to know how well you are doing with these goals, as well as results of pulmonary function tests.

If you have a good track record with regards to your asthma, you can be considered to have a near normal life expectancy by insurance companies. If you haven't had an unscheduled doctor's visit in more than two or three years, you should be considered healthy and eligible for standard life insurance premiums.

You should continue going to your doctor at least twice a year to keep your asthma monitored, even if you are healthy.