When you apply for your life insurance coverage you will be asked for the typical basic personal information such as your name, address and employer. You will also be asked to include the following personal information:
- Your height
- Your weight
- Your date of birth
- Your lifestyle habits (i.e., smoking, drinking, exercise)
- Your basic financial information, including your annual income personal net worth
Although you may be tempted to be untruthful about your weight or other health issues – don’t do it! If the insurance company finds out you were untrue about any health conditions or lifestyle habits at minimum, they can increase your premium payment, cancel your policy and worse deny a payout to your beneficiary claim in the event of your death.
Unless you have applied for a no-medical exam or lab test required insurance policy, almost all companies and policies will require you to submit to an in-person medical exam. Your life insurance agent will organize for a licensed healthcare professional under contract to your insurance company to meet you at your home, office, or at a central location selected by the insurance company such as a public or private clinic.
During the medical exam, the licensed healthcare professional will likely conduct the following procedures:
- Obtain in writing your medical history including medical conditions, surgeries and any prescription medications you are currently taking.
- Enquire about your immediate blood family’s medical history
- Take your blood pressure
- Listen to your heartbeat
- Measure your height and weight
- Take a blood sample at the time of exam
- Obtain a urine sample at the time of exam
- Enquire about your specific lifestyle habits that could affect your health such as, smoking, drinking, recreational drug use, frequent travel, high-risk activities etc.
Sometime additional tests may be requested depending on your age, the type of policy you want, and the amount of coverage you’re applying for or other reasons. These tests can include an EKG, chest X-ray, and or a stress test.
Once completed, the report will be sent to the insurance company Underwriter who will review your application along with all other medical results. The Underwriter may require additional medical records from your physician so as to learn more about any medical conditions you may have reported and any treatment you may have received. This extra information is important and does helps them to determine what level of risk you may be to the insurance company financially and finally how much to charge you for coverage based on his evaluation.
Should it be discovered you have untruthful about a medical condition, the insurance company may not only deny you coverage but may also report you to The Medical Information Bureau, meaning other insurers will know you were denied coverage because you were not completely truthful.
Once your application and medical exam have been reviewed, the company will either approve or deny your request to purchase coverage. That process can take a few days or even a couple of weeks or more, depending on whether you submitted a complete application, how long it takes to receive lab results, if the company requests information from your physician etc.
Ask your professional insurance agent what is the best approach for you, they will help you along the way to ensure you get the best plan possible based on your current and future requirements.