In short
Yes. Anxiety and depression are among the most common diagnoses in life insurance records, and a mild, stable condition treated with one medication or therapy, with no hospitalization, typically qualifies for standard rates or better, sometimes preferred. At 35, that is an estimated $34 to $51 a month for $500,000 of Nectar Term over 20 years. Multiple medications, a recent change in treatment, a hospital stay or a history of self-harm move the rating down or lead to a postponement. Your final price is set during underwriting.
Key takeaways
- Mild, stable anxiety or depression, treated with one medication or therapy and with no hospitalization, typically earns standard or better, and preferred at some insurers.
- Underwriters are reading for stability, not for the diagnosis: when it was made, what the treatment is, how long it has stayed the same, and whether you are working.
- Multiple medications, a change in the last six to twelve months, time away from work or a hospital stay typically cost a class or more. A recent crisis usually means a postponement, not a decline.
- Therapy is read as treatment, not as a mark against you. So is a medication taken steadily for years.
- The prescription record is the main source. What you write on the application is checked against it, so a complete medication list keeps the decision moving.
Anxiety and depression appear in life insurance files more often than almost any other diagnosis, and underwriters price them as what they usually are: common, treatable conditions that most people manage well for decades. The diagnosis itself is not the question. The question is whether the condition is stable, and the records answer it.
This guide covers what underwriters read in a mental health file, what each situation typically earns and costs for a 35-year-old buying $500,000 of Nectar Term over 20 years, how medication and therapy are treated, and what to have ready. It describes how the pricing works, not what your care should be. That belongs to you and your clinician.
Can you get life insurance with anxiety or depression?
Yes, in most cases. A mild or moderate condition that has been diagnosed, treated and stable for a while typically qualifies for standard rates or better, and a clean, stable file can reach the preferred class on our pricing by age table at some insurers.
What underwriters are pricing is not how you feel. It is the likelihood of a severe episode over the term, and they estimate it from the pattern in your records rather than from the diagnosis.
What do life insurance underwriters look at with depression or anxiety?
Five things:
- Date of diagnosis. A condition diagnosed years ago and managed since reads as known and stable. One diagnosed in the last six to twelve months has no track record yet, and some insurers wait for one before setting a class.
- Treatment. Medication, therapy, or both. Therapy counts as treatment in the same way a prescription does, and a file with regular counseling and no medication is often read as mild.
- Stability. The same treatment, at the same dose, for a year or more is the most reassuring pattern in the file. A change in the last six to twelve months, whether a new medication, a higher dose or a switch, typically holds the class down until the new regimen has a history.
- Work and daily function. Full-time work, school or caring for a family, carried on through treatment, is read as evidence the condition is controlled. Time away from work on disability for the condition typically costs a class, and a current disability claim usually means a postponement.
- Hospitalization and self-harm. A psychiatric admission or an episode of self-harm moves a file more than anything else. Recent, it usually means a postponement. Further back, with stability since, it typically means a table rating rather than a decline, and the rating eases as the years pass.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness explains the conditions and treatments in plain language. Underwriters also look at anything that compounds the picture, chiefly alcohol or substance use in the records, which is rated as its own condition.
See what Nectar Term would cost you
Two minutes to a price, with your approval odds up front. No calls unless you ask.
How much does life insurance cost with anxiety or depression?
Start from our rate table. A 35-year-old man in the preferred class pays an estimated $34 a month for $500,000 of Nectar Term over 20 years. Standard runs 40 to 50 percent more, so $48 to $51. Each table step above standard adds roughly 25 percent to that, a typical industry convention: Table 2 is about $75 and Table 4 about $100.
| Your situation | Likely rate class | Estimated Nectar Term price, male, 35, $500,000, 20 years |
|---|---|---|
| Mild and stable: one medication or therapy alone, the same treatment for a year or more, no hospitalization, working | Preferred at some insurers, otherwise standard plus or standard | $34 to $51/mo |
| One medication, diagnosed or changed in the last six to twelve months, no hospitalization | Standard, sometimes Table 1 | $48 to $62/mo |
| Two or more medications, or time away from work for the condition | Standard to Table 2 | $48 to $75/mo |
| Hospital stay or self-harm in the last two years, or a current crisis | Postponed until stable; Table 3 and up when an offer is made | No price until the record shows stability |
Women pay about 18 percent less at every row, and tobacco multiplies any row by roughly 2 to 2.5. All of these are estimates. Your class and price are set during underwriting, and the issuing partner's own table may land above or below these figures.
For most applicants the whole cost of the diagnosis is the first gap: preferred to standard, about $15 a month at 35. For how age and term length move the rest of the price, see our guide to how much term life insurance costs.
Do antidepressants affect life insurance rates?
Not on their own. One medication, taken steadily, is read as a condition under treatment, and most insurers allow standard or better on a single antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication when the rest of the file is stable. Some allow preferred. What the prescription record adds is the history: when each medication started, whether the dose has changed, and whether anything was added or switched recently. One prescription refilled on schedule for three years reads as stable. Two new prescriptions in the last six months reads as a condition still being brought under control, and typically costs a class until the record settles.
The number of medications matters more than their names. Two or more at once, or an antipsychotic alongside an antidepressant, moves most files to standard or a table rating, because underwriters read it as a condition that has been harder to treat. That is a reading of the record, not a judgment about you or about the care your clinician chose.
The prescription history is pulled on nearly every application, and the medication list you write down is checked against it. A complete list that matches the record keeps a mental health file on the fast path. One that leaves something out is a common reason a file is held for records.
Therapy without medication is the easiest version of this file to rate. Counseling in the records is treatment, not a flag, and a file with regular therapy and no prescription typically qualifies for standard or better.
What situations lead to a postponement or a decline?
Postponements are more common than declines, and they are about timing rather than about you. The situations that typically lead to one:
- A psychiatric hospital stay in the last twelve to twenty-four months. Most insurers want a year or more of stability afterward before they will set a class, and some want longer.
- An episode of self-harm or a suicide attempt in the last one to two years. The same waiting period applies, and afterward the file is usually rated rather than declined.
- A treatment change in the last few months, or a current disability claim. Some insurers wait six to twelve months for the record to show the new regimen is working, or for work to resume.
Declines are rare and tend to involve a combination: repeated hospitalizations, ongoing self-harm risk, or a severe condition alongside active substance use. A postponement is an invitation to apply again on a date, not a closed door. The Nectar Term application shows your estimated approval odds before you submit anything, so a file in a waiting period learns that in two minutes rather than after a month of records review.
Sleep, weight and blood pressure often move with anxiety and depression, and our guides to life insurance with high blood pressure and life insurance with sleep apnea cover how those are rated when they appear in the same records.
What should you have ready before you apply?
Five items cover nearly everything an underwriter asks about anxiety or depression:
- The diagnosis and roughly when it was made.
- Your medication list with doses, how long you have been on each, and any change in the last year.
- Your therapist's or prescriber's name and practice, so records can be requested without a second round of questions.
- Any hospital stay, with the dates, or a note that there has been none.
- Your work status, and the dates of any time away from work for the condition.
With a stable, documented file, many applications stay on the no-exam path. Nectar Term issues up to $2,000,000 without an exam to most healthy applicants under 60, depending on the issuing partner, and the underwriter confirms your answers against your prescription history and a medical information bureau report rather than ordering a lab draw. Our guide to the life insurance medical exam explains what the exam checks if one is ordered.
See what Nectar Term would cost you
Two minutes to a price, with your approval odds up front. No calls unless you ask.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get life insurance if you have depression?
Yes, in most cases. Depression that is treated and stable, with one medication or therapy and no hospitalization, typically qualifies for standard rates or better, and sometimes preferred. More severe or recent histories are rated or postponed, and your class is set during underwriting.
Can you get life insurance with anxiety?
Yes. Anxiety is one of the most common diagnoses underwriters see, and a mild, stable case treated with one medication or therapy typically earns standard or better. Insurers differ on whether it can reach preferred.
Do antidepressants affect life insurance?
Not on their own. One medication taken steadily is read as a condition under treatment, and most insurers allow standard or better. Two or more medications, or a change in the last six to twelve months, typically cost a class until the record settles.
Can you be denied life insurance for mental health?
Declines are rare and usually involve repeated hospitalizations, a recent suicide attempt or a severe condition alongside substance use. A recent hospital stay or crisis more often leads to a postponement, with the file reopened after a year or more of stability.
Do I need a medical exam for life insurance if I have depression or anxiety?
Usually not. Nectar Term issues up to $2 million without an exam for most applicants under 60, and a stable mental health file often stays on that path. These files are more often slowed by a records request than by an exam, which a complete medication list usually prevents.
Nectar Term policies are issued by Nectar's partner insurers, each rated A or better by A.M. Best, and serviced by Nectar. Prices in this article are estimates calibrated to published 2026 averages and are not an offer of coverage. Final rates are set during underwriting.
Keep reading
Health ConditionsLife Insurance for Former Smokers: When Tobacco Rates End
Life insurance for former smokers reaches non-tobacco rates 12 months after the last nicotine use, and preferred after 2 to 3 years. See prices by stage.
Health ConditionsLife Insurance With Sleep Apnea: CPAP, Ratings and Cost
Yes, you can get life insurance with sleep apnea. Treated apnea with documented CPAP use typically earns standard or better. See classes and prices.
Health ConditionsLife Insurance With Prediabetes: Can You Get Preferred?
Life insurance with prediabetes often still gets preferred or standard plus rates when weight and blood pressure are normal. See prices by A1C.