Day-one level coverage
Transamerica rates epilepsy at Preferred on its single-condition chart; United Home Life offers its best Premier tier with no seizure in the past two years.
Health & coverage · Epilepsy
Life insurance with epilepsy or seizures: it’s about control, not the diagnosis
Epilepsy is one of the conditions where shopping matters most. One carrier’s published chart rates seizures at its best tier with no time window; another wants two seizure-free years; a third grades anyone treated in the past three years — prescription fills included. Here’s how the published rules actually line up.
The honest landscape
How carriers actually see epilepsy or seizures
The friendliest published answers are genuinely good. Transamerica’s 2023 chart lists seizures and epilepsy at Preferred — its best tier — as a single condition, with no lookback. United Home Life’s September 2026 guide gives a controlled seizure history with no seizure in the past two years its Premier tier, the best it offers, and makes it eligible for term coverage too.
Other carriers grade on a clock, and some count the prescription. American Amicable’s Senior Choice (ages 50–85) sends seizures diagnosed or treated within the past three years to its Graded plan — 30% of the benefit in year one, 70% in year two, full from year three, with accidents covered in full throughout. Its drug guide lists common anti-seizure medications — Dilantin, Depakote, Tegretol (carbamazepine), Lamictal (lamotrigine), phenobarbital, Mysoline, valproic acid, and others — and a fill within three years points to that same Graded plan. For someone on daily medication, that makes American Amicable a graded carrier; the day-one doors are elsewhere.
Recent seizures narrow things honestly. United Home Life routes a seizure within the past two years to its graded Express Issue plan, with no term option. In the fully underwritten market, Corebridge’s guide automatically declines grand mal seizures within a year of diagnosis, and Mutual of Omaha’s accelerated no-exam program sends epilepsy to traditional underwriting. Beneath everything, guaranteed-issue whole life asks no health questions: Mutual of Omaha’s runs to 85, Corebridge’s and Americo’s to 80 — with a graded period for natural-cause death in the first two years (three at Americo) and full accidental coverage from day one.
Your realistic paths
The three doors, honestly labeled
Graded coverage
United Home Life grades a seizure within two years; American Amicable’s Senior Choice grades seizures treated — or medication filled — within three years.
Guaranteed acceptance
No health questions at all. Mutual of Omaha to 85, Corebridge and Americo to 80. Graded period for natural causes; accidents covered in full from day one. Nobody in the eligible ages is simply uninsurable.
What moves the needle
Climbing the ladder
Two seizure-free years
United Home Life’s line: a controlled history with no seizure in two years reaches Premier — and its term plans. A seizure inside two years means the graded plan.
Three years at American Amicable — fills count
Senior Choice’s window covers diagnosis, treatment, and medication filled within three years, so steady daily medication keeps you in its Graded plan. That’s a reason to choose a different carrier — never a reason to change your medication.
Time since a grand mal diagnosis
For fully underwritten coverage, Corebridge automatically declines grand mal seizures within one year of diagnosis. Past that first year, it’s no longer on the automatic-decline list.
Inside the application
What carriers actually ask
- United Home Life’s guide uses two rows: a controlled seizure history with none within two years (Premier, term available) versus a seizure within two years (graded Express Issue whole life, no term plan).
- American Amicable maps seizures to its Graded-plan question — diagnosed or treated within the past three years — and its drug guide’s “Rx Fill Within” column applies the same three-year window to anti-seizure medications.
- Corebridge’s fully underwritten automatic-decline list includes “grand mal seizures within 1 year of diagnosis.”
- Transamerica’s single-condition chart lists seizures/epilepsy at Preferred with no time window — an outcome that assumes no other conditions are in play.
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.
Transamerica
carrier underwriting guideSeizures and epilepsy rate Preferred — the best tier — on the 2023 single-condition chart, with no lookback. Other conditions and the electronic prescription check can still change the result.
Our full Transamerica reviewUnited Home Life
carrier underwriting guideControlled seizures with none in two years: Premier whole life and Term Premier. A seizure within two years: graded Express Issue whole life only, no term plan.
American Amicable
carrier underwriting guideSenior Choice (50–85): seizures — or a listed anti-seizure medication filled — within three years route to the Graded plan; beyond three years, Immediate. Family Choice (0–49): the same three-year window routes to its return-of-premium plan.
Our full American Amicable reviewAIG (Corebridge)
carrier underwriting guideFully underwritten guide (2025): grand mal seizures within one year of diagnosis are an automatic decline.
Our full AIG (Corebridge) reviewMutual of Omaha
carrier underwriting guideFully underwritten term: epilepsy is on the list that removes a case from the accelerated, no-exam program — it goes through traditional underwriting instead (2021 guide).
Our full Mutual of Omaha reviewStraight answers
Epilepsy or seizures & life insurance — FAQ
Can I get life insurance with epilepsy?
Yes — commonly. Transamerica’s published chart rates seizures and epilepsy at Preferred, its best tier, and United Home Life offers its Premier tier when seizures are controlled with none in the past two years. Carriers like American Amicable grade recent treatment instead. Guaranteed-issue whole life remains open at any level of control.
I take Depakote (or Dilantin, or Lamictal) every day. Does that hurt me?
At some carriers, yes; at others, no. American Amicable’s drug guide counts a fill of listed anti-seizure medications within three years, which keeps daily users in its Graded plan. Transamerica rates the condition itself at Preferred, and United Home Life’s published rows key on seizure-free time. Never change a medication to qualify — change carriers instead.
I had a seizure in the past year — what’s realistic?
A day-one plan is still possible at Transamerica, whose chart has no seizure lookback — though other conditions can change that. United Home Life and American Amicable both offer graded whole life inside their windows (two and three years). And guaranteed-issue whole life asks no health questions at all, with accidents covered in full from day one.
Can I get term life insurance with epilepsy?
Yes, with control. United Home Life’s Term Premier is open to a controlled seizure history with no seizure in two years; inside two years, it offers no term plan. Fully underwritten term looks closer: Corebridge declines grand mal seizures within a year of diagnosis, and Mutual of Omaha sends epilepsy out of its no-exam accelerated program into traditional underwriting.
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 epilepsy or seizures best — that's the whole job
- Day-one coverage first, whenever you qualify
- Your information is never sold