Can your family’s health impact your ability to get life insurance?

When you apply for a term life or permanent life insurance policy, your insurer will likely ask about your family medical history to help determine your eligibility and rates. But if your family’s health is less than perfect, don’t worry – it’s your health that matters the most. Here’s what to expect during the application process.

Why life insurance companies want to know your family history

Since your life insurance company is literally insuring your life, your insurer needs an overview of your health and lifestyle to determine how long you’re likely to live. They’ll take things like smoking habits, age, hobbies, and occupation into account, as well as your current health. Your family’s medical background gives them some of the information they need to assess your application and set your policy rates.

Typically, your insurance company will ask about any conditions that impact your immediate family (parents and siblings) on your application, including:

• Cancers
• Diabetes
• Kidney, liver, and heart disease
• Alcoholism and drug dependency
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Epilepsy

If your family members have had any of these conditions, you may need to give additional information about their diagnoses, the condition’s severity, and whether they’re still living.

In general, insurance companies are looking for patterns, not single medical issues, such as severe issues in multiple family members or across several generations. If your parents are still marathoners in their 60s, that’s generally a good sign. But if your grandma, mother, and sister all developed breast cancer, that could be a red flag to your insurer.

Providers also factor in gender when looking at your family’s medical history. If you’re a woman, for example, your father’s prostate cancer probably won’t affect your insurance coverage.

Keep in mind that not all life insurance policies will require in-depth medical questions or history. Some non-medically underwritten products, such as accidental death benefit insurance, don’t include health questions as part of the application process.

What if I don’t know my family medical history?

If you’re adopted or no longer in touch with your family, just answer what you know about your health history. Many insurance companies allow you to answer “I don’t know” to medical questions on the application. If they don’t, be sure to let your agent know about your situation.

When it comes to sharing health information with your insurance provider, honesty is always the way to go. If you purposefully leave out information and your insurer finds out later, they may cancel your coverage. Worse, if you die and they find out you lied, your family could be denied the payout they were counting on to stay afloat financially.

Bottom line: It’s worth asking your family for a medical history if you can, not just to apply for life insurance or to secure the best life insurance rates, but also so you can be proactive about protecting your health. In the end, it’s your health, age, and lifestyle choices that matter most when it comes to life insurance eligibility.

Still have questions?

We’re here to help. Get in touch with us to speak to an agent today.

At Fidelity Life, our goal is to make life insurance simple, affordable, and understandable for everyday families. This content is intended for educational purposes only. Each post is carefully fact-checked, reviewed, and updated regularly to ensure the information is as relevant as possible.