Pediatric issues in underwriting.

Mortality risk assessment of juvenile life insurance applicants with impairments can be challenging. Advances in neonatal care means more premature infants will survive into childhood and adulthood with attendant respiratory and neurologic disorders. The degree of neonatal lung disease and length of ventilator support are factors that help to separate out more favorable risks. Autism and other developmental disorders have diverse presentations, but in the absence of other neurologic conditions risks are generally limited to accidents. Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder without accompanying conduct disorder are less likely to have problems with drug abuse. Impaired pediatric lives mortality patterns depend on whether accidental death predominates.