Day-one level coverage
Standard tiers return 12–24 months after implant at Accendo, Foresters, American Home Life, and Royal Neighbors, with best tiers past two years. Transamerica publishes day-one paths even inside the first year.
Health & coverage · Heart devices
Life insurance with a pacemaker or defibrillator: two devices, two different answers
To a life insurance carrier, a pacemaker and an implanted defibrillator are not the same thing. A pacemaker is treated like any heart procedure — a clock that usually runs out in one to two years. An ICD closes most simplified-issue doors, though a few published exceptions stay open. And with either device, the reason you have it can matter as much as the device itself. Here's the honest map.
The honest landscape
How carriers actually see pacemaker or implanted defibrillator (ICD)
A pacemaker rides the same calendar as other heart procedures. American Home Life’s Patriot Series rates one implanted within 12 months at Modified, 13–24 months at Standard, and 25+ months at Preferred; Royal Neighbors moves from graded to Standard after a year; FMO grids show Foresters reaching Preferred past two years. Transamerica’s FE Express rates a pacemaker Select inside a year and Premier after. The slower ladders are NewBridge (Standard at two years, Preferred past five) and American Amicable’s Senior Choice (return-of-premium plan within two years of insertion).
An implanted defibrillator is the honest hard case. NewBridge, American Home Life, and Transamerica’s FE Express decline it at any duration; Royal Neighbors offers only guaranteed issue; Corebridge’s fully underwritten guide declines a defibrillator implanted after a cardiac arrest. Three published doors remain: American Amicable’s Senior Choice (return-of-premium plan within two years of insertion), Foresters’ PlanRight per FMO grids (Basic, then Standard, then Preferred past two years), and Transamerica’s Immediate Solution chart, which files implants under heart disease as a single condition. They’re exceptions — we verify each before quoting.
Underneath the device is a second question: why you have it. A pacemaker is often the whole story; an ICD usually isn’t — it’s commonly implanted alongside cardiomyopathy or heart failure, which carry their own rules. Heart failure is a knockout at most simplified-issue carriers, and cardiomyopathy routes American Amicable to return of premium, Corebridge’s SimpliNow Legacy to graded, and NewBridge to not eligible. The floor under all of it: guaranteed-issue whole life asks no health questions — Mutual of Omaha’s runs to age 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
Modified, Basic, graded, and return-of-premium plans cover the first one to two years after a pacemaker. American Amicable and (per FMO grids) Foresters extend similar time-based treatment to a defibrillator.
Guaranteed acceptance
No health questions. Mutual of Omaha to 85, Corebridge and Americo to 80. Graded period for natural causes; accidents covered in full from day one.
What moves the needle
Climbing the ladder
Pacemaker: the 12- and 24-month marks
Royal Neighbors moves to Standard after one year; American Home Life and Accendo reach Standard at one year and Preferred at two; Foresters reaches Preferred past two years (FMO grids). NewBridge needs two years for Standard and five for Preferred.
Know why you have the device
Applications ask about cardiomyopathy and heart failure separately from the device. A pacemaker with no underlying heart-muscle disease is a very different application from an ICD implanted alongside it — bring the diagnosis, not just the device.
Two years since insertion at American Amicable
Senior Choice’s pacemaker and defibrillator rows both read “inserted within the past 2 years” — return-of-premium plan inside that window — while its broader heart-surgery question reaches back three years for the Graded plan.
Inside the application
What carriers actually ask
- American Amicable Senior Choice: “Pacemaker — inserted within the past 2 years” and “Defibrillator — inserted within the past 2 years” both route to the Return of Premium plan rather than a decline.
- American Home Life’s disease guide lists defibrillators “inserted within the past 0–12 months” through “37+ months ago” — a decline at every duration — while its pacemaker rows step from Modified to Standard to Preferred.
- NewBridge: “Defibrillator implanted — Ever — Not eligible.” “Pacemaker implant” runs last 12 months not eligible, 1 to less than 2 years Modified, 2 to less than 5 years Standard, more than 5 years Preferred.
- Royal Neighbors’ grid separates “Pacemaker placed in last year” (graded plan) from “more than 1 year ago” (Standard), and lists “Defibrillator” as guaranteed-issue only.
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 guideFE Express (2026): pacemaker inside 1 year = Select, after 1 year = Premier; a defibrillator (ICD) is a decline at any time. The 2023 Immediate Solution chart files pacemaker and defibrillator implants under heart disease as a single condition — the one published day-one ICD path we found, which we confirm before quoting.
Our full Transamerica reviewAmerican Amicable
carrier underwriting guideSenior Choice: pacemaker or defibrillator inserted within 2 years = Return of Premium plan (premiums back plus 10% interest for natural-cause death in the early years; accidents paid in full). Cardiomyopathy at any time also routes there; heart failure is not eligible.
Our full American Amicable reviewForesters Financial
FMO-published guideFMO grids show PlanRight’s pacemaker/defibrillator row as implanted within 1 year = Basic, within 2 years = Standard, over 2 years = Preferred. The same grids list cardiomyopathy as a decline, so the reason for the device matters.
Our full Foresters Financial reviewRoyal Neighbors of America
carrier underwriting guideEnsured Legacy: pacemaker placed within the last year = graded plan; more than a year ago = Standard day-one coverage (never Preferred). A defibrillator is guaranteed-issue only — ages 50–80, no health questions.
Our full Royal Neighbors of America reviewAmerican Home Life
carrier underwriting guidePatriot Series: pacemaker within 12 months = Modified, 13–24 months = Standard, 25+ months = Preferred. Defibrillators are declined at every duration in the published disease guide.
Mutual of Omaha
FMO-published guideFMO grids treat a pacemaker like heart surgery on Living Promise (not eligible inside a year, Graded inside two) and note that medications and heart conditions can keep it Graded. The carrier’s 2026 guide lists both pacemakers and defibrillators among impairments that may mean an adjusted benefit or a decline.
Our full Mutual of Omaha reviewStraight answers
Pacemaker or implanted defibrillator (ICD) & life insurance — FAQ
Can I get life insurance with a pacemaker?
Yes — commonly with day-one coverage once the implant is a year or two behind you. American Home Life and Accendo reach Standard at one year and Preferred at two, Royal Neighbors reaches Standard after one year, and Transamerica’s published guides keep pacemaker patients on day-one tiers even inside the first year. Inside the first year elsewhere, modified and graded plans keep permanent coverage available.
Why is an implanted defibrillator (ICD) treated so differently?
Carriers don’t publish their reasoning, but an ICD typically signals a history of dangerous heart rhythms — often alongside cardiomyopathy or heart failure. NewBridge, American Home Life, and Transamerica’s FE Express decline it at any time, and Royal Neighbors offers only its guaranteed-issue plan. The published exceptions are American Amicable’s Senior Choice (return-of-premium plan within two years of insertion), Foresters’ PlanRight per FMO grids, and Transamerica’s Immediate Solution chart. Guaranteed-issue whole life remains the dependable floor.
Does the reason I got the device matter?
Often more than the device. Applications ask separately about cardiomyopathy and heart failure: heart failure is a knockout at most simplified-issue carriers, and cardiomyopathy routes American Amicable to its return-of-premium plan, Corebridge’s SimpliNow Legacy to graded, and NewBridge to not eligible. A pacemaker with no underlying heart-muscle disease is usually the easier case.
Is term life insurance possible with a pacemaker or ICD?
Simplified-issue term is mostly closed: Fidelity Life’s InstaBrain term, Foresters’ non-medical term, and American Amicable’s Easy Term all decline pacemakers, and Mutual of Omaha lists a pacemaker as an automatic decline for its Express products. Fully underwritten coverage means individual consideration with medical records, and Royal Neighbors’ Jet products decline defibrillators outright. For most people with a device, permanent final expense coverage is where the real options are.
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 pacemaker or implanted defibrillator (ICD) best — that's the whole job
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