Life insurance for children with cardiovascular disease.

To determine the life insurability of young people with cardiovascular disease, we sent questionnaires to 99 life insurance companies concerning 18 congenital defects, rheumatic heart disease, and four dysrhythmias. We received 50 responses (50%) from companies whose sales make up 41% of the life insurance market. The concensus of insurability for the defects listed was: standard rates--mild pulmonic stenosis, rheumatic fever without carditis, mitral valve prolapse without regugitation, and the following postoperative lesions: patent ductus arteriosus, atrial septal defect, pulmonic stenosis, ventricular septal defect; uninsurable--most unoperated lesions, postoperative lesions with complex dysrrhythmias, severe aortic insufficiency, idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis, Ebstein's anomaly, truncus arteriosus, tricuspid atresia; insurable at increased rates--most other defects, including dextrotransposition of the great vessels, postoperative aortic stenosis, mild aortic insufficiency, postoperative coarctation of aorta, postoperative tetralogy of Fallot, and small ventricular septal defect. We conclude that life insurance is available to many children with cardiovascular disease, including most postoperative patients. Whether the increased rates requested for some defects are prohibitive is a matter to be decided by each family.