What do life insurance companies test for?
If you are applying for life insurance, life companies would usually require you to undergo a medical exam, particularly if you're applying for whole life or term insurance.
The medical exam is aimed towards determining your current medical condition at the time you are applying for insurance. This is part of the underwriting process before they issue a life insurance policy to you.
During the basic medical exam, an accredited medical personal will look into your vital statistics (blood pressure, pulse, weight and height) and will also check your medical history, as well as your urine and blood samples. Additional tests may be added depending on your age and if you are applying for a higher amount of insurance.
The medical exam, as well as doctor's reports, will help in the underwriting process and to see what kind of risk you are, life insurance-wise. You see, when a life insurance company issues you a policy, it takes on a risk based on the likelihood of whether they will have to pay on a death claim, either sooner or later. Of course, the insurance company would like it better if it had enough time to recover the initial expenses involved in issuing the policy.
Thus, the insurance company is testing for medical conditions that could cause your death (and subsequently, increase the risk to the company).
Here is a brief rundown of the things they will test for:
- HIV antigens or antibodies
- Kidney or liver disorders (such as hepatitis)
- Various kinds of cancers
- Heart disease (using tests for cholesterol and related lipid levels)
- Diabetes
- Immune disorders
- Prostate specific antigen
- The presence of harmful drugs and medications, such as cocaine and marijuana
- The presence of nicotine (indicating that you are a smoker and subject to higher premiums)
The results of the tests will be the basis for the rating that the life insurance underwriter will give you. If you are relatively healthy, you may be given a standard rating and pay the standard rate. If it is found out that you have a serious illness, you may be accepted (but will be charged a higher premium rate). There are also cases when the insurance company will reject your application.
| Not a bit | Very useful |
- 10-, 20-, or 30-year term life insurance – which is the best level term life insurance plan?
- How much term life insurance should I purchase?
- Compare term vs. whole life insurance – which is better?
- What is the difference between term and whole life insurance?
- Is group term life insurance coverage affordable?
- Can I buy term life insurance with no medical exam?
- What rating is a reliable term life insurance company likely to have?
- Term vs. permanent life insurance – which should I choose if I am looking for long-term life insurance?
- What is term life insurance?
- What are the pros and cons of term life insurance?
- How is the term life insurance cost determined?
- Should I use an agent in order to buy a term life insurance policy?
- What criteria should I meet to qualify for a company’s cheapest term life insurance price?
- Where and how does Savings Bank Life Insurance (SBLI) operate?
- How can I use survivorship life insurance to lower my estate tax?
- How does second-to-die life insurance work?
- How do you compare universal life insurance quotes?
- Shopping for a universal life insurance policy – how do I find the best universal life insurance rates?
- Term vs. universal life insurance – which is the better option?
- What is universal life insurance?