Life Insurance Health Exam

Learn about Health Exams for Life Insurance

Have You Decided to Purchase Life Insurance to Protect Your Loved Ones?

If so, you may have learned that you are required to take a medical check-up which will help the insurance company decide if you qualify to be insured.

Don’t be bothered about the cost of an examination. The insurer covers the medical exam fee.

 

Why Do You Have to Take a Medical Exam?

The main reason for a medical check is to determine how much premium to charge you for your policy.

And, decide if you are healthy enough for them to insure you for life insurance coverage.

If the insurer decides you are likely to die soon or at an early age, they will want to receive more money for your policy. If they believe you will live longer, they will charge you less premium, because you will be around longer to continue paying your premiums.

However, if you have serious health issues or you have received a terminal diagnosis from a doctor, you may find it difficult to get insured, or you may be uninsurable.

Life insurance companies use two main sources of information to help them accurately judge how long they expect you to live. They use Longevity Charts and your Medical Exam, in addition to your medical history and your family’s medical history. 

Longevity charts are statistics that show the mortality rates, or death rates of a group of people. These rates can be based on age, gender, race, country, occupation, or any number of other factors. These rates help the insurance company decide what risk they are taking by choosing to offer you a life insurance policy. 

For example, if the longevity chart shows that a woman age 25 lives longer on average than a man age 25, the insurer would be taking a higher risk insuring the man. That’s why life insurance for children is so affordable. The risk of a child dying is much lower than for an adult. So the life insurance company doesn’t have to charge as much premium to insure a child for life insurance.

Your medical examination and family’s medical history is another factor in deciding how much risk you are for a life insurance company to insure you.

Most insurance physical exams are completed in your home or office. If the insurer requires additional tests, they may need to be completed at a hospital or clinic.

 

The Following are Questions that are Commonly Asked During a Health Exam for Life Insurance: 

• Your personal medical history
• Your family’s medical history
• How much life insurance you want to purchase
• Name, address and phone number to contact your primary doctor
• Your Lifestyle Habits including exercise, diet, smoking, alcohol use, and recreational drug use
• The list of prescription medication you take
• The list of your doctors and their contact information

  

The Following Procedures are Usually Performed During a Life Insurance Medical Exam:

• Measure your height and weight.
• Test your blood pressure and your pulse.
• Urine tests to check your glucose levels, protein levels, creatine and illegal drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine.
• Take blood to perform blood work tests to check cholesterol levels, glucose, protein, diabetes, HIV and other illnesses.

 

After you have completed your medical exam the insurance company will review the results and decide if you meet their health requirements and what premium to charge you for your life insurance policy.

It may take 2 to 3 months for this information to be received, reviewed and a decision made on your policy for approval and final pricing.

If you fail the health exam and you are declined coverage, or you think an error was made you can and should ask the insurance carrier to send you a copy of the exam results to you and your doctor.

If you failed because of a health-related problem you can ask your doctor about it. Or, if you failed the exam because of a mistake made by the insurance company, you and your doctor can review the error and have it corrected as soon as possible.

You want any errors corrected so they don’t stay on your health record, because you may be declined for life insurance by another company because of the error.

You can review our life insurance medical exam tips to help you get the best results on your medical check-up.

 

Life Insurance Health Exam Tips

 

How to Get the Best Results from Your Health Exam?

Here are some easy Life Insurance Medical Exam Tips you can use to help you save money on your life insurance policy and prepare for your medical exam. 

• Try not to eat for at least 8 hours before the exam (12 hours is even better). Drink lots of water the day before and the day of your medical screening. This will help to ensure the best lab results and the best life insurance rating class.
• Undressing is not required. Wear a short sleeve shirt or one that is easy to roll up. This will make it easier to measure your blood pressure.
• Avoid nasal decongestants and alcoholic beverages for at least 24 hours prior to your screening.
• The best time for your physical is in the morning. If a weekday is not available, schedule the exam for the weekend, but in the morning. You can take your screening in your home or at work, whichever is most convenient for you.
• Avoid coffee, tea or other products that contain caffeine for at least 1 day before your screening. Do not smoke or chew tobacco for at least 24 hours before the screening.
• Get lots of rest the night before your life insurance medical exam, and schedule the screening for the least stressful time of day for you. Also, don’t exercise for at least 24 hours before your screening. This could adversely affect your results.
• The medical screener will ask you questions about your medical history, including medical conditions, surgeries, medications, or other treatments you may have had. You will be asked the names and addresses of physicians and hospitals that have treated you. It would help to gather this information before your screening to save you time.

 

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