At Diversified Insurance Brokers, we help people with epilepsy and seizure disorders secure the right life insurance coverage—even when other agencies say “no” or only quote expensive options. Seizure history is one of those underwriting areas where the carrier matters as much as the condition itself. Some companies take a conservative approach, while others are far more reasonable when your seizures are stable and well-managed. Our job is to identify the carriers most likely to approve you at the best possible rate, then guide your application from start to finish with the right underwriting strategy.

If you’re researching broader eligibility concerns, it may help to start with our overview of life insurance for pre-existing conditions, since seizure cases are often evaluated alongside other health factors like blood pressure, medication history, and overall stability. And if you’ve ever been turned down, don’t assume the outcome is permanent—our team frequently helps clients who were previously declined find better results through a more targeted approach (especially when a diagnosis was recent or the first application went to the wrong carrier).

How Epilepsy and Seizure History Affect Life Insurance Underwriting

Underwriters don’t just rate you for having “epilepsy.” They rate the risk implied by your seizure pattern, the underlying cause (when known), and how predictable your condition has been over time. In plain terms, the carriers want to know whether your seizures are controlled, whether they’re becoming less frequent, and whether there’s evidence of complications or unsafe episodes. The more stable and well-documented your management is, the more options typically open up.

Most carriers focus on five big questions: what type of seizures you have, how long you’ve had the diagnosis, how often seizures occur, when the last seizure happened, and how treatment has been working. The distinction between a long-standing, controlled case and a newly diagnosed or active case can be huge. If you have an established track record of stable care, the underwriting conversation becomes much more favorable.

What Carriers Usually Evaluate in Epilepsy Cases

While each company has its own underwriting guide, most will review the same core categories. Seizure type matters because generalized events can imply different risk than focal seizures, and some carriers treat nocturnal seizures differently than daytime episodes. Frequency and severity matter because repeated or unpredictable seizures can raise concerns about long-term health and safety. Your medication history is also important—carriers often view consistent medication compliance and specialist follow-ups as a strong signal of stability.

They also pay attention to what else is going on medically. For example, seizure disorders can sometimes be associated with head injuries, stroke history, brain lesions, alcohol-related events, or other neurological conditions. If your case includes multiple moving parts, that doesn’t automatically end the conversation—it simply changes which carriers should see the application first. This is one reason our process resembles the approach we use on high-risk life insurance cases: careful carrier selection, smart presentation, and avoiding unnecessary declines.

What Improves Your Chances for Better Rates

A seizure-free period is one of the biggest levers in epilepsy underwriting. Many carriers become noticeably more flexible after a consistent window with no events—often somewhere between 6 and 24 months depending on the type of seizures, cause, and overall profile. That doesn’t mean you must wait that long in every situation, but it does mean that timing and documentation can meaningfully influence the offer you receive.

Consistency also matters. Routine neurologist follow-ups, stable medication dosing, and a clear medical record showing a controlled pattern often leads to better outcomes than “spotty” records. If your physician notes show that you’re compliant, stable, and functioning normally, carriers tend to view the case more favorably. When a case is borderline, we may also discuss whether simplified underwriting or traditional underwriting is the better route, similar to the approach used for other conditions where carriers vary widely in flexibility (for example, some sleep-related diagnoses are treated very differently from one insurer to the next—see how approvals vary on our life insurance with sleep apnea page).

Term Life vs. Permanent Life Insurance for Epilepsy

In many epilepsy and seizure cases, term life insurance is the first place we look because it can provide the highest amount of protection for the lowest cost—especially when you’re protecting family income, covering a mortgage, or simply trying to lock in a long-term rate while your medical history remains stable. If your goal is affordability and a specific time horizon, term can be an excellent fit.

That said, permanent life insurance (such as whole life or universal life) can be a strong fit when you want lifetime coverage, predictable premiums, or legacy planning—particularly if you’re concerned that future health changes could make coverage harder to obtain later. Permanent policies can also be useful if you want coverage that doesn’t expire, which matters for individuals who prefer “coverage certainty” rather than having to re-shop policies later in life.

If you already have a term policy and your health has changed since you bought it, you may want to review whether a conversion strategy makes sense before your term ends. Some policies allow you to move from term to permanent without new medical underwriting, which can be valuable for anyone with a condition that might be treated more strictly later. If that’s relevant, see our guide on converting term life to permanent life insurance.

What If You’ve Been Declined Before?

A prior decline is not a final verdict. Often, declines happen because the application went to a carrier that is overly conservative with seizure history, the medical record wasn’t presented clearly, or the timing was wrong (for example, applying too soon after a medication change or too close to a recent event). When a case is properly pre-reviewed and sent to carriers that price epilepsy more fairly, outcomes can change dramatically.

We frequently start with a quiet, practical review of your history to determine where the strongest path is. If your case has more than one risk factor—say, seizures plus another diagnosis or a unique occupation/travel situation—we also make sure the carrier selection reflects the entire picture. For example, some clients have international travel or residency details that can complicate underwriting even if health is stable; if that applies to you, our resource on life insurance and foreign travel/residency can help explain why underwriting isn’t always just about medical history.

Real-World Example: Better Carrier Match, Better Outcome

A 42-year-old applicant with a history of generalized seizures came to us after receiving only heavily rated options elsewhere. The applicant had been seizure-free for 18 months, maintained consistent neurological care, and had stable medication use. Instead of repeating the same “one-carrier” approach that created the initial result, we identified carriers known to be more reasonable with controlled seizure history and submitted the case with a clean underwriting summary. The result was a standard-rate approval on a term policy—saving the client meaningful premium dollars while still providing strong protection.

How Diversified Insurance Brokers Helps with Epilepsy and Seizure Cases

We’re an independent, family-owned agency—licensed nationwide—built around solving cases that require underwriting insight. Instead of sending applications blindly, we focus on putting your case in front of the right carriers first. That typically means fewer headaches, fewer setbacks, and a clearer path to approval. Most importantly, it means you get options rather than a single “take-it-or-leave-it” offer.

If you’re ready to explore your real options, start with the quote request above. We’ll review your situation, match you to epilepsy-friendly carriers, and explain the tradeoffs clearly so you can choose confidently.