LIFE INSURANCE

PENALIZING PEOPLE WHO ARE RECOVERING FROM ADDICTION

By Mark Elliot

Have you ever answered a questionnaire for a life insurance policy?

Have you ever been less than truthful in answering any of the questions?

Have you ever thought that telling the whole truth might mean you’d be penalized, despite the fact that you no longer engaged in risky behaviors?

If you answered "yes" to the questions above, then chances are that you are a recovering drug addict or alcoholic who has applied for life insurance, only to find that by admitting to your addiction you are ineligible for insurance coverage for five years!

Somewhere in Boston is a huge database put together by the insurance industry listing my name, among thousands of others who have foolishly admitted to being recovering people seeking to buy life insurance. Because of that admission, we’ve been quarantined for five years as "unacceptable risk" cases. Meaning that we are denied life insurance and that when we finally do apply, following the five year quarantine, we will likely pay an extra premium on any policy we purchase.

When I applied for insurance after my first daughter was born in 1979, I had no trouble buying a policy. I would have described myself as a "social drinker" and might have admitted to smoking pot every now and then. But that was no big cause for concern. I bought "whole life" and "term" policies for as much as I needed.

As time wore on and I fell apart in my addiction, those policies went unpaid and lapsed. Coming out of treatment in 1987, I inquired about renewing them. I was turned down cold.

What’s more, the "confidential" information I supplied in honestly answering the questionnaire was now shared amongst all insurance companies, meaning none would sell me a policy!

Five years went by before I was able to try again, and this time I got an early morning phone call from a nurse working for the insurance company. She asked the question I’d been expecting: "Would you be available for a drug and alcohol screening?"

I answered "Yes," thinking I’d have to trek somewhere to a clinic to undergo the testing. "No," she replied, "I’m just outside your front door and I’ll be there in a moment!" (Smile: You’re on Candid Blood and Urine Test!)

The humiliation of recovering people accomplishes nothing. Like many others, I would have agreed to random drug testing.

I’d like to ask someone from the insurance industry to explain to me why the penalty is being paid only by those who readily admit to their problems.

Shouldn't the onus and penalties be reserved for those who are caught lying about drug use and drinking?

Why are recovering people the only ones paying the price for their honesty?