Medical Exam for Life Insurance

Once you have decided to purchase your life insurance, the insurance company may require you take a medical exam.

Whether or not you are required to take a physical may depend on the insurance company guidelines, the amount of life insurance you are requesting, your age and health.

The results of a physical exam will be reviewed by the insurance company to decide if they will approve you for life insurance. In addition, results may affect your life insurance premium.

Do I pay for the medical exam?

The medical exam performed on behalf of the insurance company is paid for by the life insurer.

Why do Insurance Companies make you take a medical exam for life insurance?

The main reason is to determine how much premium to charge you for your policy. And, to decide if you are healthy enough for them to insure your life.

If the insurer decides you are likely to die at an early age, they will want to receive more premiums for your policy.

If the life insurer believes you will live longer, they will charge you less premium, because you will be around longer to continue paying for your life insurance.

Life insurance companies use two sources of information to help them accurately judge how long they expect you to live. They use the Medical Exam and your Longevity Charts, 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 life insurance coverage.

Your medical exam and medical history of you and your family (parents) is another factor in deciding how much of a risk you are for a life insurance company to insure you.

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

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

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

What happens after you take the medical exam?

After you have taken your medical exam the life 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 2-3 months for this information to be received, reviewed and a decision made on your life insurance policy.

If you failed the medical exam and are declined coverage, or you think an error was made you can and should ask the insurance company to send you a copy of the medical exam results to you and/or 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 by the insurance company, you and your doctor and review the error and have it corrected as soon as possible.

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

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Resources: Medical Exam for Life Insurance

• Life Insurance Medical Exam Tips - To help you get the best results on your life insurance medical exam.
  
  
• Life Insurance Medical Exam - Information about life insurance medical exams.