Terminally Ill

What Does Terminally Ill Mean?

Terminally ill refers to the condition of a person who is expected to pass away within a few months, or no more than a year, due to a serious disease or illness. Individuals in this condition may find it difficult to purchase insurance for themselves.

Insuranceopedia Explains Terminally Ill

When a hospital or healthcare facility declares someone terminally ill, such as a person with cancer that has spread throughout the body, it signifies that restoring the body to good health is no longer possible. In such cases, the person is typically transferred to a hospice for palliative care.

A terminally ill person may find it difficult to purchase insurance, as insurance companies consider the condition to be financially risky. Because traditional life insurance becomes hard or impossible to qualify for after a serious diagnosis, people facing major health concerns often look at life insurance for chronic illnesses or no medical exam life insurance, which use different underwriting standards. Families anticipating end-of-life costs sometimes purchase final expense life insurance, which is designed to cover funeral and burial expenses with smaller, more accessible policies. However, one can purchase insurance to cover a terminal illness or disease before being diagnosed with it.