Claire Smith Last Updated On: August 20, 2024

Home / Blog / Life Insurance / Life Insurance and COVID-19: The Coverage You Need During These Uncertain Times

How To Get Life Insurance Coverage During COVID-19?

FAQs about life insurance coverage during pandemic times

For many, life insurance has never been more top of mind than during COVID-19. It’s not always easy to think about these things, but understanding your coverage and gaining coverage can give you peace of mind and help you feel more secure during these uncertain times.

Keep reading to find out if you can and should get life insurance during COVID-19, and how the virus is affecting existing policies.

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How Is The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Affecting Life Insurance?

Pandemics are scary and confusing for everyone, and navigating life insurance on top of that can raise a lot of questions. COVID-19 is making many realize that life insurance is a smart idea and that it might be time to look into getting a policy–or into how the pandemic affects their current policy.

The good news is that if you already had life insurance before the pandemic, you’re likely covered should you pass away from COVID-19 and your beneficiaries will receive your death benefit. What becomes more tricky is if you’re shopping for life insurance during a pandemic. We’ll dive into that below in more detail. 

Will My Life Insurance Policy Cover COVID-19?

Long story short, yes. Your life insurance policy will cover COVID-19 because most policies cover pandemics. As long as you were truthful during your initial life insurance application and your policy is in good standing, the insurance company should have no reason to not pay out your death benefit to your loved ones. 

There are two exceptions you should be aware of, through which your current life insurance policy may not cover COVID-19: 

  1. Within two years of purchasing a life insurance policy, there is something called a contestability period. This is when insurance providers have the right to investigate claims and potentially deny them based on what they find. If an applicant wasn’t completely truthful on their life insurance application (even if it has nothing to do with their death), an insurance provider can reject the claim and either reduce or not pay out the death benefit at all. While this doesn’t specifically have to do with COVID-19, if you do pass away from the virus and you neglected to include medication or pre-existing condition on your insurance application, your beneficiaries may not receive your life insurance payout. 
  2. If you purchased an accidental death policy rather than life insurance, COVID-19 would likely not be covered as diseases aren’t included in that type of policy.

If you’re unsure in any way, speak to your insurance provider to clarify the details of your coverage, especially surrounding COVID-19. It’s better to know for sure than potentially leave your loved ones financially insecure.

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Should You Get Life Insurance During a Pandemic?

This is an incredibly common question lately and it makes sense; a global pandemic is enough to make anyone think of what might happen should they pass unexpectedly.

If you didn’t have a life insurance policy before COVID-19 and you’re thinking of getting one, it’s definitely a good idea. There’s no reason to wait, but every reason to help protect your loved ones. In fact, many insurance providers are making it even easier to obtain life insurance during the pandemic by waiving in-person medical exams. 

You may have trouble qualifying for life insurance during a pandemic if you have plans to travel or have been traveling regularly during it, although you may just have to go through a waiting period on your return. This is because insurance companies need to manage their risk level, and traveling during a global pandemic makes you more of a risk to providers.

One more thing to note is that some insurance providers are adjusting or limiting their coverage based on age or health, but that still shouldn’t stop you from applying (while being truthful) if you believe that life insurance would benefit your loved ones. Slightly higher premiums or longer applications may be worth it to receive life insurance coverage during and after a pandemic.

Last Thoughts on Life Insurance and COVID-19

There’s nothing wrong with having life insurance top of mind during the pandemic, and there’s definitely nothing wrong with applying for coverage. Insurance providers are providing new policies during the pandemic and comparing quotes is a great way to ensure you’re getting the best deal and coverage possible, pandemic aside.

Claire Smith Claire is a creative entrepreneur with a variety of marketing and content creation skills, including blog and web copy writing, research, and strategy. She has a Masters in Cultural Studies from Queen's University and is known for thinking laterally about marketing, based on her deep knowledge of people and behavior.

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