The best life insurance for mental health conditions in 2025 includes Protective, Gerber Life, and Guardian Life.
Find out if you're overpaying for life insurance below.
Updated: December 1, 2025
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Protective ranks best for people with mental health conditions, earning an overall MoneyGeek score of 88 out of 100.
Gerber Life is the best company for no-exam life insurance, with an average monthly rate of $42 ($506 per year) for a 20-year term life insurance policy with $500,000 coverage.
Guardian Life offers the best customer experience, ranking first in the category. It has an overall MoneyGeek score of 86.
Mental health history doesn't automatically disqualify you from life insurance. Insurers consider stability, treatment history and condition severity during underwriting.
Well-managed conditions like anxiety or mild depression may have little impact on your eligibility or premium, especially if you disclose your history and follow treatment plans.
Protective, Gerber Life and Guardian Life are the top life insurers for people with mental health conditions. While mental health can affect life insurance eligibility or premiums, well-managed symptoms often have minimal impact.
Compare coverage, underwriting and pricing across top insurers below.
Protective
| Overall | Accelerated underwriting for mild, stable conditions; fair pricing | $35
| $422
|
Gerber Life
| No medical exam | Accelerated underwriting; rapid issue term policies | $42
| $506
|
Guardian Life
| Customer Experience
| Accelerated underwriting for well-managed conditions (including anxiety and depression) | $51
| $612
|
Founded in 1907, Protective Life brings over a century of experience to its life insurance offerings, which include term, whole and universal policies. The company is a strong choice for people with mental health conditions, especially those with mild or well-managed diagnoses like anxiety or depression.
Protective's underwriting process considers mental health history, but applicants with stable conditions and no recent hospitalizations or severe symptoms may still qualify for standard or preferred rates. Most policies require medical underwriting, though some applicants may be eligible for Protective's accelerated process, which can waive the medical exam depending on responses to health questions.
*Rates are based on 20-year-term life insurance policies with $500,000 coverage for a 40-year-old male.
Gerber Life is the best choice for people with mental health conditions seeking life insurance without a medical exam. Its simplified issue term policy provides up to $1 million in coverage without requiring lab work or a physical exam, making it accessible for applicants managing conditions like anxiety or depression. For people with more serious mental health histories or those over age 50, Gerber's guaranteed issue whole life policy offers coverage up to $25,000 with no health questions asked.
Applicants aged 18 to 70 may qualify for term coverage through a streamlined process that includes a health questionnaire but avoids exams. Those aged 50 to 80 (75 in New York) can apply for guaranteed issue whole life coverage regardless of their condition.
Product Offerings
*Rates are based on 20-year-term life insurance policies with $500,000 coverage for a 40-year-old male.
Guardian Life ranks among the top insurers for customer satisfaction, making it a strong option for people with mental health conditions who want both attentive service and long-term reliability. The company's underwriting approach considers each applicant's health history individually, and those with mild or well-managed mental health conditions may still qualify for competitive rates. Guardian's extremely low complaint index and A++ financial strength rating reinforce its reputation for dependable coverage and claims handling.
Guardian offers a unique Charitable Benefit Rider at no added cost. This rider pays an additional 1% of your policy's death benefit (up to $100,000) to a charity of your choice, without reducing the benefit paid to your beneficiaries. Other rider options include waiver of premium and guaranteed renewability, adding flexibility and long-term value to your policy.
Product Offerings
*Rates are based on 20-year-term life insurance policies with $500,000 coverage for a 40-year-old male.
Anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder affect your life insurance eligibility and rates. Many people with these conditions still get affordable coverage. Insurers evaluate several factors when reviewing your application:
You can still qualify for life insurance if you have depression or anxiety. Premiums may be higher when the condition is severe or not well managed. Applicants with unstable symptoms may also be denied coverage.
Insurers classify mental health conditions by severity and stability. These factors determine your premiums and approval odds. Treatment compliance and medical records showing progress help lower your risk rating.
Applying for life insurance with a mental health history takes some preparation to strengthen your approval chances and help you secure a reasonable rate.
Insurers review your medical background, treatments and medications, so having these details organized ahead of time can make the process smoother.
Pull together documents related to your mental health care such as records from psychiatrists or therapists, notes from any hospital stays or treatment programs, and a full list of medications with dosages and treatment dates.
Create a brief outline of your mental health journey, including how often you attend therapy, major diagnoses, your current condition and positive indicators such as consistent treatment or long periods of stability.
Life insurers often ask about diagnoses like depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, prescribed medications and any therapy or hospitalizations within the past five years. Answer honestly, as insurers confirm information through the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) and health records.
The review process usually takes four to eight weeks. During this time, insurers check your medical and prescription history, request records from your providers and may conduct interviews about your daily health and lifestyle.
You can get life insurance with a mental health condition, especially with well-managed symptoms. Protective offers flexible underwriting and strong rider options. Gerber Life and Guardian Life provide competitive rates for people with mental health histories.
Compare underwriting criteria, coverage limits and support features to find the right policy for your family's financial protection.
Getting life insurance when you have a mental health condition may be difficult, but not impossible. Here are answers to the most common mental health and life insurance questions.
You can still get life insurance if you have mental health problems. The type of condition, the severity, how long ago it was diagnosed, the treatment protocol and other factors will determine what you qualify for and at what cost.
If you're denied life insurance due to mental health, you still have options. Guaranteed acceptance life insurance requires no health questions or medical exam, and everyone is approved as long as they meet age and coverage amount requirements.
Any condition affecting your health and life expectancy may be considered a mental health condition for life insurance purposes. These can include anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.
Insurers must follow state and federal anti-discrimination laws. They can adjust rates based on medical risk but can't deny coverage solely for mental health diagnoses without underwriting evidence. Suspect unfair treatment? File a complaint with your state insurance department.
Yes. Mental health conditions affect both eligibility and pricing. Well-managed conditions may get standard rates, while severe, untreated or recently diagnosed conditions face higher premiums or limited coverage. Insurers evaluate condition type, treatment history and stability when pricing policies.
Finding life insurance when you have a mental health condition feels overwhelming, especially when you're worried about higher premiums or coverage denials. We designed our research to identify which insurers offer the best combination of competitive rates, fair underwriting practices, and comprehensive coverage for people managing mental health conditions.
Mental health applicants face different challenges than healthy applicants. Traditional methodologies focus on healthy profiles, but mental health conditions trigger stricter medical underwriting, potential coverage exclusions and limited product options. We evaluated how insurers performed across different mental health scenarios to identify companies that treat these conditions fairly.
Our weighted scoring prioritizes what matters most with mental health conditions: Affordability (30%) weighs heaviest because cost differences multiply when you already face rate increases. Financial stability (25%) matters because your beneficiaries need confident claim payments. The buying process (20%) counts because streamlined applications reduce stress. Customer satisfaction (15%) matters when handling sensitive health information. Product diversity (10%) helps when standard policies don't fit.
Each company earned up to five points per category. We calculated scores using these weights to create overall MoneyGeek scores out of 100 points.
We gathered cost data through online quotes and validated each company's approach using AM Best financial strength ratings and National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint data. We evaluated application tools, payment flexibility and product variety to ensure comprehensive coverage options.
Sample profile details: Our base quotes used a 40-year-old male, nonsmoker, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 160 pounds with average health ratings. We modified age, gender, health ratings and location to capture how mental health conditions affect pricing across different customer profiles and term lengths.
This approach revealed pricing patterns and showed which insurers consistently offer fair rates for people with mental health conditions.
About Mark Fitzpatrick
Mark Fitzpatrick, a Licensed Property and Casualty Insurance Producer, is MoneyGeek's resident Personal Finance Expert. With over five years of experience analyzing the insurance market, he conducts original research and creates tailored content for all types of buyers. His insights have been featured in publications like CNBC, NBC News and Mashable.
Fitzpatrick holds a master’s degree in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. He's also a five-time Jeopardy champion!
He writes about economics and insurance, breaking down complex topics so people know what they're buying.
