Life Insurance for Felons & How to Get Approved in 2025 + YouTube Video
Can you get life insurance with a felony? You sure can. Applying for life insurance for felons is just a little more
involved than most conventional applications. Applicants can get approved if they apply with the correct life insurance carrier.
The life insurance industry knows that people are only human and can all make mistakes, but they still consider convicted felons as high risk applicants.
A conviction on your record is not the end of the world when purchasing life insurance. Unfortunately, the statistics show that people with criminal histories tend to live shorter lives.
Keep reading and I will show you how to apply for life insurance for felons and even skip taking a medical exam.
Table of Contents
Can a Convicted Felon Get Life Insurance?
Life insurance for felons is available, but the process can be more challenging compared to individuals without a criminal record.
Insurance companies consider various risk factors when underwriting policies, and a felony conviction may impact the availability, cost, and type of coverage offered.
Here is what you will need to know before you sit down to apply:
#1. What Specific Felony Were You Convicted Of:
Needless to say, not all felony convictions are the same. If you committed a felony that did not involve any type of violent act, that will be a plus on your application. White collar crimes will be the least of your worries because there were no physical acts such as battery, assault or rape just as an example.
Felony convictions for narcotics sales are considered one of the worst crimes also because drugs are considered the root of all evil in our modern society. Many violent crimes revolve around the use of narcotics.
The type of crime you committed will be the number one determining factor that will decide if you can be approved for a life insurance policy and will be handled on a case by case basis.
#2. When Were You Convicted:
The more time that has passed since your conviction, the better, as long as you have had a clean record since then. Just as an example, if you were arrested and convicted ten to fifteen years ago and have had a clean record ever since, you will stand a much better chance on being approved.
#3. Your Age When Convicted:
Your age when you were convicted will also play a part in your chances of being approved. In most cases, younger people will be more likely to get in trouble with the law than a middle aged or elderly individual that has had time to settle down. That is not always the case, but the statistics show that younger people are more likely to land in prison.
#4. How Many Times Have You Been Convicted of a Felony:
How many times you have been convicted of a crime is very important to the underwriters. If you have just one conviction on your record, that’s one thing, but a long track record of being arrested will just about always will end your chances of being approved for a new policy.
#5. Are You Currently on Parole or Probation:
If you are currently on parole or probation at the time of your application, your application is more likely to be declined. The reason for this is that if you violate your probation or parole, you could immediately be sent back to prison and exposed to all the life threatening dangers.
#6. Your Health & Lifestyle
Your health is always the number one concern. Health conditions that could be considered life threatening, depending on how serious they are, will play an important role in the underwriting process. Your lifestyle could be on the lines of hazardous sports, hobbies or your occupation.
Just keep in mind that all these considerations are underwritten on a case by case basis. We can pre-screen your application before you apply so you will have a very good idea before you move any further.
How to Secure the Lowest Term Life Insurance Rates in 2025 + YouTube Video
Can I Buy Life Insurance With a Firearm-Related Offense?
Using a gun in the commission of a crime will indicate you were contemplating killing someone when you performed your criminal act. This will just about destroy your chances of buying life insurance. Your application will most likely be declined because of a gun-related felony conviction.
Can I Get Approved With a Sex-Crime Conviction?
The answer is definitely going to be a short answer, which is going to be no. Normally you will be declined for any sex-related crimes such as rape or child molestation convictions. These types of crimes are some of the worst ones you could have on your application.
Can Convicts Currently in Prison Obtain Life Insurance Insurance?
Suppose you are a convicted criminal confined to a state or federal prison. Your chances of getting approved for conventional life insurance are slim. The statistics for being murdered in prison are very high.
However, you can apply for a final expense policy, otherwise known as guaranteed issue life insurance. These policies guarantee acceptance, usually with a two-year waiting period for the policy to pay the face amount.
Death benefits are generally up to $25,000, with some companies having a $35,000 maximum. If you die before the two-year elimination period, the policy will only pay out the amount of your premiums. These are Whole Life policies.
Considering the Specifics of a Crime?
Most of all, the life insurance companies will be mainly concerned with what type of crime you committed.
Also, applications with violent crimes against people, such as murder, battery, or rape, will undoubtedly decline.
Life insurance companies that insure felons put a lot of weight on the nature of the crimes. Crimes such as drug sales convictions go far enough in your past, but could be approved as long as you have been clean of corruption for 3-5 years.
Repeat offenders would not meet the guidelines and could be denied coverage, as many Americans with college diplomas have felony convictions.
Factors Considered by Life Insurance Companies?
The following categories are all prevalent among law-breaking offenders and the usual associations that they keep:
1. High-risk lifestyles
2. Poor overall health due to incarceration
3. Heavy tobacco use
4. Excessive alcohol use
5. Narcotics use and addiction
6. Serious Diseases contracted in jails
7. Greater chance of accidental death
8. Death from the commission of a crime
9. Filing for one or more bankruptcies
Life insurance companies consider felons to be low-risk, and the statistics support this belief. However, purchasing life insurance for felons with a serious offense with bodily injury is more complicated.
Nearly 44% of criminals, having served their time and been released from prison, are rearrested within a year, causing insurers to question the likelihood of their future criminal activities.
Will a Felony Affect My Rates?
Usually, unless your criminal charges are mild, your rates will be affected in one way, shape, or form. This is because anytime a risk exposure increases for a life insurance company, they have to charge for that additional risk based on their statistical reports.
Life insurance companies’ rates are built on the statistics that they pay statisticians every year. This is the only way to be fair to the consumers and their ability to pay death claims as requested yearly.
How Health Conditions Affect Premiums
Health conditions are your primary concern when it comes to your application for life insurance for felons and criminal charges. Your history of any brushes with the law will be secondary in this case.
Depending on the health condition you may have: The health classification you are assigned will be adjusted accordingly to the added risk your health condition imposes.
Suppose your health condition is not in any way life-threatening. In that case, it probably won’t make any difference to your premium if you apply for life insurance as a convicted felon or have any severe medical conditions.
Again, this is because the life insurance company will be more concerned with your health than your criminal record. We run a quick medical pre-screen on our applicants in order to determine what carriers to use and to be able to give you an accurate premium to expect.
Pre-screening is nothing more than simply asking a few questions to eliminate any surprises later during the course of the application process.
Applying for Coverage Without Taking a Medical Exam
Another option is to apply for life insurance as a convicted felon and skip the medical exam. These plan designs are referred to as No-Medical-Exam Life Insurance, also known as Non-Med Life Insurance.
The best part about not having to undergo a medical exam for life insurance is that no medical records are typically requested. There are also no para-med exam visits with the typical blood test either.
Non-Med policies have very short turnaround times, and some companies can approve you within 24-48 hours. They are asked far fewer questions than their full underwriting counterparts.
Valuable Tips Before You Apply
Connect With an Independent Agent:
Independent agents who specialize in high-risk life insurance cases can be much more productive than captive agents who only work for one company. The fact is, independent agents, otherwise known as brokers such as ourselves, do not work for insurance companies.
We are contracted with over 40 life insurance carriers and we can shop the market so you get the best chance of being approved with the lowest rates.
Never Conceal Any Information:
Make sure to fully disclose your criminal history with your agent so he may help you to the best of his ability. Concealing information, otherwise known as an omission, can lead to a death claim being denied or the possible cancelation of your policy.
Positive Signs of Rehabilitation:
Try to provide as much positive information as possible, such as your current proof of employment, any type of required or volunteer work you do and the completion of rehabilitation programs you have chosen. If you show a stable and clean lifestyle you will be on the road to a new change of life with your new policy in hand.
Complete Our Questionnaire to Receive an Accurate Rate Quote
If you are looking for a precise quote based on your specific criminal history, click on this link to download our Criminal History Questionnaire. You can either phone it in, email it or fax it back to us and we will be able to
provide you with an accurate projection of what your rates will be.
Make sure to let us know if you have any health conditions as they may also affect your premiums.
Our Contact Us page contains our email address and fax number. Don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions. We are available seven days a week!
Our Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this blog post provides a lot of insight into buying life insurance for felons. The easiest thing to do is give us a
call seven days a week and we will answer all your questions.
Applying for life insurance with a criminal offense is not complicated. The first step is to apply and let the application process begin. Thank you for visiting our website and taking the time to read this article.
All the best,
Jack Venturi
For any questions you might have, you may call us at 815-390- 7545 and we will provide a quick answer.
