Medical History and Life Insurance

It doesn’t work that way. The agent must take an application and ask you about your medical history. This means everything you may have encountered medical wise during your lifetime.

Once the application is completed, it is submitted to someone called an underwriter. This person looks at all of the questions and answers and checks the company’s medical policy and renders a decision as to whether or not you will get the policy or if the premium will be rated because of your medical history.

Rating simply means you will pay more for the coverage then if you were issued standard or preferred. Standard is the rate most healthy people fall under while preferred is the rate the healthiest of applicants receive.

The insurance company may even require you to take a physical. They pay for it but they send out a nurse to your home to take height, weight, blood pressure as well as ask you more medical questions.

If your life style is such that you aren’t always in a stressful situation or aren’t a can’t sit still kind of person, you shouldn’t have any problem getting coverage. If you are in any form of dangerous sport or flying, you probably will be turned down for coverage.

The application even asks if you travel to countries that are known for health risks of if you plan to travel to these countries. Insurers also ask if you had a DUI in the last one or two years. If so, they may deny coverage.

Insurance applications have gone from one page to multiple pages. The companies want way more information today than they did even 20 years ago. They want to be sure they rate you accurately.