What the Insurer is Looking For
By Victoria Trix
In order to make the life insurance business a viable and profitable venture, insurance companies offset the amounts they pay out in claims by collecting monthly premiums from their customers. Of course, the longer their customers live, the more financially beneficial it is to the companies. Therefore, your life insurance company wants to be aware of any existing health conditions which can shorten your life.
The blood and urine samples collected by the paramedical professional who conducts your life insurance exam will be tested for indicators of diseases such as HIV, cancer, cholesterol, triglycerides, liver or kidney disorders, diabetes, hepatitis, and prostate issues.
Drugs, Alcohol and Nicotine
In addition, your blood and urine samples will be screened for controlled substances such as alcohol, tobacco and drug use. Presence of alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs—those not proven as prescribed by a physician—make the life insurance candidate a high risk to the insurance company and can result in denial of the life insurance application.
Be sure to alert the paramedical taking your test samples if you are currently using a nicotine patch to quit smoking, as the results of blood tests will recognize nicotine in your system. If you do not do this, you could be classified as a smoker, resulting in higher life insurance premiums.
The Underwriter's Role
Results of your lab test results are sent directly to the life insurance underwriter for review. An underwriter is the term given to a person or group that determines eligibility of an applicant to receive a product or service. In the case of life insurance, the underwriter will decide if the test results are favorable enough for the insurance company to accept the risk of the particular applicant as a policyholder.
If the results of your exam indicate a serious medical condition, which may be unbeknownst to the applicant, the agent will notify you that your results are being forwarded to your primary care physician for evaluation and follow-up. Depending on the severity of the condition, you may be denied for life insurance coverage, at which time you would have to seek high-risk life insurance alternatives.
Special Considerations
In some cases, the insurance company will offer life insurance policy coverage at a temporary rate to give a transient medical condition the time it needs to rectify itself, such as elevated vital signs due to recent surgery. After a predetermined amount of time, the insurance company will allow you to have certain tests retaken, and improved medical results will be reflected in adjusted policy premiums.
In any case, you are never under any obligation to purchase the life insurance policy you are offered. But regardless of your decision, once you undergo a life insurance exam, your test results will become permanently recorded in the Medical Information Bureau Group’s database for the next seven years. This organization stores medical information for use when you apply for life, health, disability or long term care benefits.
Articles in the Life Insurance Medical Exam series
- About Life Insurance Medical Exams
- The Typical Mobile Medical Exam
- What the Insurer is Looking For
- How Exam Results Impact Policies and Rates
- Preparing for Your Life Insurance Medical Exam
- Life Insurance with No Medical Exam
Back to Life Insurance Exam homepage.