AARP Answers: Your Insurance Coverage and the Coronavirus

eternalcreative/Getty Images Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Will my life insurance policy cover COVID-19?

Yes. As long you have an active life insurance policy in good standing, your beneficiary or beneficiaries will get a death benefit should you die of coronavirus-related complications.

In addition, your insurer cannot change your premiums or your health classification because you have or had COVID-19 or are at higher risk of exposure due to your job or recent travel to a

virus hot spot.

Claims on social media that life insurance companies will not pay off on a policy if the customer received a COVID-19 vaccine are "entirely false," according to the American Council of Life

Insurers.

"Life insurers do not consider whether or not a policyholder has received a COVID vaccine when deciding whether to pay a claim," the trade group said in a statement on its website. "Nothing

has changed in the claims-paying process as a result of COVID-19 vaccinations." 

Yes. Insurers continue to offer new whole life and term life policies. “We have seen an increase in life insurance applications, perhaps as a result of the pandemic,” says Gina

Morss-Fischer, a public affairs specialist at State Farm.

However, getting covered could take longer, particularly if you are in a high-risk group, have recently traveled to a hot zone or had COVID-19 yourself.

“It has become relatively common for survivors of COVID-19 to have their life insurance application be postponed for 30 days and provide medical records or other valid evidence that they are

fully recovered,” says Eloise Spinello, a life insurance expert with online insurance marketplace Policygenius.

Nationwide, for example, will consider a policy for someone who tested positive for COVID-19, but did not need hospitalization, once they’ve been symptom-free for 30 days. If the applicant

was hospitalized, the waiting period is six months, a company spokesperson says.