Day-one level coverage
Past two years, NewBridge reaches Preferred, United Home Life Premier, American Amicable its Immediate plan, and Transamerica FE Express its Select class. Royal Neighbors opens Standard at three years.
Health & coverage · Recovery
Life insurance after alcohol or drug treatment: recovery counts
If you’ve been through treatment, you’re insurable — the question is which tier, and the answer runs on a clock. Two years is the line most published guides use. Here’s how each carrier draws it, including what happens if you’re on medication-assisted treatment today.
The honest landscape
How carriers actually see alcohol or drug treatment history
Carriers ask about alcohol and drug treatment as a time window, and the published windows are shorter than most people in recovery expect. NewBridge treats treatment or counseling within 24 months as not eligible — and treatment more than two years ago at its Preferred class. American Amicable’s Senior Choice routes alcohol or drug abuse or treatment within two years to its Return of Premium plan; beyond that, the question no longer applies. Royal Neighbors gives its Standard class once treatment is more than three years behind you with no current use, and a graded plan before that.
Transamerica publishes two ladders. Its FE Express Solution declines treatment within two years, gives its Select class at two to five years, and its top Premier class after five. Its older Immediate Solution guide runs longer — decline inside two years, Graded at two to four, Standard at four to ten, Preferred past ten — and its drug-use row explicitly includes prescription drugs. United Home Life starts earliest: treatment within 12 months still reaches its conditionally guaranteed plan, 12 to 24 months its graded plan, and two years or more its best Premier plan.
Medication-assisted treatment is handled through prescription checks, and carriers split. Transamerica’s FE Express lists naltrexone, Vivitrol, Antabuse, Campral, Suboxone, Sublocade, and other buprenorphine products among the medications that make a current user ineligible. American Amicable’s Senior Choice drug guide instead routes those medications — methadone included — filled within two years to its Return of Premium plan: coverage, not a decline. And guaranteed-issue whole life asks no health questions at all: Mutual of Omaha to age 85, Corebridge and Americo to 80.
Your realistic paths
The three doors, honestly labeled
Graded coverage
United Home Life’s graded plan at 12–24 months, American Amicable’s Return of Premium plan within two years, and Royal Neighbors’ graded plan within three keep permanent coverage available with a limited benefit in the early years.
Guaranteed acceptance
No health questions. Mutual of Omaha to 85, Corebridge and Americo to 80; natural-cause death in the graded period returns premiums plus interest, and accidents pay in full from day one.
What moves the needle
Climbing the ladder
The 24-month mark
NewBridge moves from not eligible to Preferred, American Amicable from Return of Premium to Immediate, United Home Life to Premier, and Transamerica FE Express from decline to Select.
Medication is a carrier-by-carrier question
Transamerica FE Express treats current naltrexone, Vivitrol, or buprenorphine use as ineligible; American Amicable routes the same medications to a Return of Premium plan. Your treatment plan is a decision for you and your doctor, never an insurance one — we shop the carriers that fit where you are.
Time keeps paying
Royal Neighbors reaches Standard after three years with no current use; Transamerica FE Express reaches Premier past five; its Immediate Solution reaches Standard at four years and Preferred past ten.
Inside the application
What carriers actually ask
- NewBridge: “Received, or been advised by a medical professional to seek, medical treatment or counseling for alcohol or substance abuse” — last 24 months not eligible; more than two years, Preferred.
- NewBridge’s separate drug-use question covers heroin, cocaine, barbiturates, narcotics, stimulants, hallucinogens, “or any drugs (excluding marijuana) not prescribed by a medical professional,” or misused prescriptions — within 24 months not eligible; 2–5 years Modified; over 5 years Standard.
- Transamerica’s Immediate Solution chart covers anyone who “used/diagnosed/treated/tested positive/medical advice” for alcohol abuse — and its drug-use row explicitly includes prescription drugs.
- Royal Neighbors’ risk guide asks about alcohol or drug treatment “within last 3 years, no current use” — the words no current use matter as much as the date.
Where the doors are
Panel niches worth knowing
Every carrier draws its lines differently — these documented niches are why we shop your exact situation instead of accepting the first answer. Sources labeled; guidelines change without notice.
NewBridge (Continental General)
carrier underwriting guideTreatment or counseling more than two years ago reaches Preferred — one of the shortest clean paths published. Non-prescribed drug use: 2–5 years Modified, 5+ Standard; marijuana is excluded from the question. Not sold in California, Florida, New York, or South Carolina.
American Amicable
carrier underwriting guideSenior Choice (ages 50–85): alcohol or drug abuse or treatment within 2 years → Return of Premium plan. Naltrexone, Suboxone, Vivitrol, and methadone filled within 2 years → the same Return of Premium plan, not a decline.
Our full American Amicable reviewUnited Home Life
carrier underwriting guideTreatment, or advice to cut back, within 12 months → conditionally guaranteed whole life; 12–24 months → graded plan; 2+ years → Premier. IV drug use is the exception — no plan.
Royal Neighbors of America
carrier underwriting guideTreatment within 3 years with no current use → graded plan; more than 3 years with no current use → Standard day-one coverage.
Our full Royal Neighbors of America reviewTransamerica
carrier underwriting guideFE Express: treatment within 2 years declined, 2–5 years Select, 5+ Premier; current naltrexone, Vivitrol, Antabuse, Campral, or buprenorphine products ineligible. Immediate Solution: Graded at 2–4 years, Standard 4–10, Preferred past 10.
Our full Transamerica reviewAetna (Accendo)
FMO-published guideAlcohol or drug treatment within 2 years routes to the Modified plan — permanent coverage with a two-year return-of-premium period.
Our full Aetna (Accendo) reviewStraight answers
Alcohol or drug treatment history & life insurance — FAQ
Can I get life insurance if I’ve been to rehab?
Yes. Treatment history is time-gated at every carrier that publishes a rule. More than two years out, NewBridge reaches Preferred and American Amicable and United Home Life reach their day-one plans. Inside two years, graded and return-of-premium plans keep permanent coverage available — and United Home Life routes even treatment within the last 12 months to its conditionally guaranteed plan.
I’m on Suboxone, methadone, or Vivitrol — can I get covered?
Yes, though the carrier matters. Transamerica’s FE Express lists naltrexone, Vivitrol, and buprenorphine products, including Suboxone, as medications that make a current user ineligible. American Amicable’s Senior Choice guide instead routes those medications — methadone included — filled within two years to its Return of Premium plan. And guaranteed-issue whole life asks no health questions at all. Never change a treatment plan for an insurance reason; we fit the coverage to you.
When does the clock start?
The guides key on treatment and medical advice, not a sobriety date: NewBridge asks when you received — or were advised to seek — treatment or counseling, and Transamerica’s older guide also counts a diagnosis, a positive test, or medical advice. Royal Neighbors adds “no current use.” New treatment would start a new window, so tell us your most recent dates and we’ll match them to each carrier.
Does marijuana count as drug use?
Usually not on final expense. NewBridge’s drug question excludes marijuana by name, and Transamerica’s decision charts list marijuana use at their best classes. Some carriers treat it like tobacco for pricing — LifeShield counts marijuana in its tobacco definition.
Should I leave treatment off the application?
No — and we’d never help anyone do that. Treatment medications show up in prescription histories, and a misstatement found during the two-year contestability period can void the claim, leaving your family with nothing. The paths above exist so that nobody has to hide recovery to get covered.
One search, every door
See your real options in about 60 seconds
A few basic questions — age, state, and your honest health picture — are exactly what lets us quote you accurately across the whole panel. A decline somewhere else is the start of our search, not the end. No exam to look, no spam, no pressure.
- We know which carriers treat alcohol or drug treatment history best — that's the whole job
- Day-one coverage first, whenever you qualify
- Your information is never sold