The short answer
- Sustained remission prices well - often standard to a mild rating.
- Ulcerative colitis generally rates slightly better than Crohn's disease.
- Surgery and hospital admissions are what push a rating upward.
- Being on a biologic is not a negative if it is holding you in remission.
Where you stand
Remission is the number they price
Inflammatory bowel disease relapses and remits, so underwriters look for evidence that yours has settled: time since your last flare, no recent admissions, stable weight, and a treatment that is working.
Check my options →What decides your rate
IBD underwriting turns on the course of your disease rather than the diagnosis:
- Time since your last flare or hospital admission
- Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, and how extensive it is
- Surgical history - resections, an ostomy, or repeated operations
- Current treatment, and whether it is holding
- Complications - fistulas, strictures, obstruction or significant weight loss
What each situation typically means
| Your situation | Realistic route |
|---|---|
| Ulcerative colitis, in remission 2+ years | Standard to mild rating |
| Crohn's disease, in remission 2+ years | Mild to moderate table rating |
| Controlled on a biologic, no recent flare | Table rating |
| Steroid-dependent or frequently flaring | Heavier table rating |
| Bowel resection within the last year | Postpone |
| Active flare or recent hospital admission | Postpone |
Remission length is the application
Before you apply, establish the date of your last flare, your last hospital admission and your last surgery, and get a current note from your gastroenterologist confirming remission. Applicants regularly get rated on a five-year-old surgical history simply because nothing in the file said the disease has been quiet since.
Why a biologic is not the problem people assume
Applicants often worry that being on a biologic will sink an application. In practice underwriters read it the way they read any effective treatment: as the reason the disease is under control. Someone in steady remission on a biologic frequently prices better than someone cycling through repeated steroid courses.
What does attract attention is a pattern of frequent treatment changes, because it suggests nothing has held yet. Stability is the signal, whichever drug produces it.
Surgery, and how long its effect lasts
A bowel resection is significant at the time and much less significant later. Most carriers postpone for six to twelve months after surgery, then assess the result: if the operation produced durable remission, it can improve your rating rather than harm it.
An ostomy is not a decline either. It is underwritten on the same logic - what matters is whether the underlying disease is now quiet and your weight and nutrition are stable.
The order to apply
- Establish your last flare and admission dates from records
- Get current confirmation of remission from your gastroenterologist
- Wait out any recent surgery - a postpone becomes an approval with time
- Have an agent pre-screen - IBD guidelines vary widely between carriers
Common questions
Can you get life insurance with Crohn's disease?+
Yes. Crohn's disease in sustained remission is commonly approved, typically at a mild to moderate table rating. Active disease, a recent hospital admission or recent surgery is usually postponed rather than declined.
Does ulcerative colitis rate better than Crohn's?+
Generally yes. Ulcerative colitis is confined to the colon and tends to follow a more predictable course, so it often prices a notch better than Crohn's disease at similar levels of control.
Will being on a biologic increase my premium?+
Not by itself. Underwriters read an effective biologic as the reason the disease is controlled. Frequent changes of treatment attract more scrutiny than any particular drug does.
I had a bowel resection. Am I declinable?+
No. Most carriers postpone for six to twelve months after surgery and then underwrite the outcome. Surgery that produced durable remission can improve your rating rather than harm it.