Key takeaways about life insurance medical exams
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- A medical exam is a standard part of many life insurance applications and can often take place at your home, place of work, or medical facility.
- This exam is free to you and you can keep a copy of your results.
- A life insurance medical exam confirms the details you provided and helps place you in a rate class, which helps determine your product options and premiums.
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What is a life insurance medical exam?
A life insurance medical exam is a health review completed by a medical professional in a doctor’s office or your home. Medical exams for life insurance often take less than an hour and can be arranged to fit your schedule. The health exam will consist of basic questions about your health and lifestyle along with tests which may include blood samples, blood pressure readings, and measurements of your height and weight, among others.
Want more tips on preparing for an upcoming medical exam?
Download our free life insurance medical exam checklist.
When you first apply for a policy, the life insurance agent will ask a few basic questions about your health like:
- Your age, height, and weight
- Your use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol
- Any current or chronic medical issues
- Your family medical history
This initial screening gives the insurance company the information they need to help you decide if a specific policy will be a good fit.
After you complete the application, you’ll be asked to set up an appointment for the exam with a paramed also known as a medical technician at a location convenient to you. The exam is free to you and takes about 30 minutes. You’ll also be allowed to request a copy of the life insurance exam questions and answers from your provider.
A life insurance medical exam is free, and can often be performed at your home or workplace.
What to expect during a life insurance physical exam
The technician will typically do the following:
- Record your height and weight
- Calculate your body mass index (BMI)
- Check your pulse and blood pressure
- Ask a series of health-related questions to confirm information provided on the application
- Take blood and urine samples for testing
- The life insurance medical exam looks for signs like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol levels, and diseases like hepatitis or HIV.
Your medical technician will also screen you for nicotine and recreational drug use, which includes vaping and e-cigarettes. Drug use can be a big red flag for insurance providers, though many are changing their policies on marijuana use for applicants.
In some cases, you may need to take additional tests, like an EKG. This mostly happens if you’re older or applying for a higher coverage amount.
Why do I need a medical exam for life insurance?
A medical exam helps a life insurance carrier determine the risk level of insuring someone. When you purchase a life insurance policy, your premium rate for life insurance coverage is determined in part by that risk level.
For example, if you are in good health, your premiums will be lower, because your risk is lower. If you have health or medical issues that could shorten your lifespan, the insurance company will charge a higher premium to account for your risk being higher.
When you apply for your life insurance policy, you’ll answer some questions about your overall health. A medical exam may also be required to better understand your health situation and rate class. If you are healthy, a medical exam will often help you get more attractive rates and coverage options.
The medical exam, typically referred to as a paramedical exam, is a standard part of both life and disability insurance. It not only confirms the details you provided to the carrier when you first applied, but also may uncover new information that could affect your premium.
What types of life insurance require a health exam?
Not all life insurance policies require a health exam. If you’re generally healthy, though, choosing a life insurance plan that includes an exam can help you get the most affordable rates possible. If you’d prefer to skip the medical exam entirely, consider a no medical exam life insurance policy.
At Fidelity Life, we’ve designed our products to be simple and affordable for everyday families, with options to delay or even skip a life insurance physical exam. With our proprietary process, you can get covered immediately from the convenience of your home without having to wait for medical exam results. It’s part of our commitment to making life insurance easy for you. Here’s what to expect when you apply for different types of life insurance with Fidelity Life.
Term life
Term life insurance plans insure you for a specific period of time. When you apply, you pick the term length that works best for you and choose from different coverage amounts. With Fidelity Life, you can choose from term lengths of 10 to 30 years and coverage amounts ranging from $50,000 to $1 million.
Term life insurance is the most affordable type of life insurance, partly because of the medical exam. Typically, insurance companies will require a medical exam to verify you’re in good health and help you lock in those lower rates. With Fidelity Life, though, we’ve redesigned the approval process so you can get covered without waiting on a medical exam.
When you apply for a RAPIDecision® Life plan, we rely on information from public databases and other sources to approve your application for up to $1 million in coverage. In many cases, you can get covered the same day you apply. You then have up to six months to take an exam, or if you’re healthy, we may be able to waive it completely. Fidelity Life also offers other term life options, including RAPIDecision® Senior Life, with no medical exam requirements.
Permanent life
As the name suggests, permanent plans insure you for life. When you apply, you can choose the coverage amount that best meets your needs. Permanent plans also offer a cash value component that builds over time. Permanent insurance includes plans like whole life, universal life, and variable life, which all offer different savings or investment options.
While most insurance companies require a medical exam for permanent life insurance, Fidelity Life’s RAPIDecision® Senior Whole Life plans offer up to $150,000 in permanent coverage with no medical exam required. Designed for people between 50 and 85, Senior Whole Life relies on just a few health questions to qualify you for coverage.
Learn more about permanent life.
Final expense
Designed to help people between the ages of 50 and 85 cover end-of-life costs, final expense plans don’t require a medical exam. At Fidelity Life, you can choose from two types of final expense insurance. RAPIDecision® Final Expense includes a health questionnaire as part of the approval process, and RAPIDecision® Guaranteed Issue Life provides guaranteed coverage regardless of your health.
Learn more about final expense.
How can I prepare for my life insurance medical exam?
Life insurance medical exams are designed to be as quick and simple as possible. It can help to prepare ahead of time so you can feel more comfortable going in and get the best test results.
Here are a few tips to make sure you’re ready:
- Get it done bright and early. Because the exam requires you to fast beforehand for six to 12 hours, a morning appointment will make things easier and ensure that you’re alert and well-rested.
- Watch what you consume. Avoid high-cholesterol, fatty, or salty foods; alcohol; caffeine; and cigarettes for at least 24 hours before your exam. This will help you get the best results for blood pressure, cholesterol, and other tests.
- Sleep well, drink well. Make sure you get good sleep the night before and try to up your water intake to flush out toxins and help with the urine and blood tests.
- Don’t overdo the exercise. Long workouts or intense exercise can cause your blood pressure to spike, so plan for a more relaxed routine that week.
- Ladies, check your cycle. If you’re in the middle of a menstruation cycle, schedule your exam for a different day so it doesn’t affect your urine sample.
- Have everything you need handy. Collecting important information beforehand like your photo ID, medical history, medications, and doctor’s contact information will save you time later. Also, consider wearing a loose, comfortable outfit to make it easier to put on the blood pressure cuff.
In general, living a healthy lifestyle isn’t just better for you – it’s better for your insurance rates. Losing a few pounds or lowering your blood pressure a bit can make a real difference in your premiums. That said, don’t put off buying a policy because you want to get healthier first. Age is also a major factor when it comes to insurance rates, and the price you pay will go up every year you get older. It’s better to lock in coverage now, so you have the protection when it matters most.
What happens after I take my medical exam?
The life insurance medical exam is part of the underwriting process. It’s the underwriter’s job to understand how risky you are to insure and use the exam results to gauge your health and overall life expectancy. This determines your eligibility and premium rates.
Here’s what happens after a medical exam:
The medical technician will review your answers to their questions, examine any test results, and send the samples they’ve collected to a lab. If you have a history of health issues, they may request additional records or a statement from your current doctor.
Finally, the insurer may check additional records such as:
- The Medical Information Bureau (MIB)
- Motor vehicle reports
- Public records
- Your credit
- Social media (to determine if you participate in risky behaviors)
Finally, the insurer will check additional records such as the Medical Information Bureau (MIB), motor vehicle reports, and your credit history.
Based on all the information, the insurance company will give you a life insurance premium classification. That classification determines your premium costs.
Insurance classifications are tiered. People in the highest tier, who are considered the healthiest, pay the lowest premiums. People in the lowest tier pay the highest premiums.
The bottom tier has sub-tiers, which means you pay the highest premium plus an additional percentage of that premium for each step down to a lower sub-tier.
The tiers have common names used in the industry. From most favorable rating to least favorable, those tiers are:
- Preferred Plus / Preferred Elite, / Super Preferred / Preferred Select
You may qualify for the most desirable insurance tier and receive the lowest premium if your health is excellent, you are young, and you are a non-smoker. - Preferred
You might fall into the second best classification tier, which comes with a favorable premium, if you are in good health, but a little older. - Standard Plus
If your overall health is good, but you have a few health issues or unfavorable lifestyle habits, you might fall into this tier. Many young people with minor health concerns or middle-aged people with exceptionally good health end up here. - Standard
You could be rated Standard if you have an unfavorable BMI, a family history of serious disease, and/or some minor medical issues that could become more severe over time. The majority of policyholders fall into this tier. - Substandard
If you have a current medical problem, a history of severe health issues, or are a smoker, you may be placed in this tier. Substandard includes sub-tiers, category A, B, C, or D. If you are placed here, you’ll be quoted a Standard premium for life insurance, plus a percentage surcharge for each step down the sub-tiers. For example, Substandard A would mean you pay the Standard premium plus 25%. Substandard D would be the Standard premium plus 100%, or a “double premium.”
Learn more about the life insurance underwriting process here.
Alternatives to the life insurance medical exam
If you’re concerned your medical history will keep you from obtaining life insurance or cause the premium to be unaffordable, keep in mind there are products available that require no medical exam.
These policies include:
- Simplified issue. This life insurance policy offers limited coverage quickly. Instead of a medical exam, you’ll be asked to fill out a health questionnaire, which doesn’t factor in underlying medical issues. Simplified issue policies tend to have lower death benefits and higher premiums than regular life insurance plans. Explore simplified issue from Fidelity Life.
- Guaranteed issue. As the name implies, you cannot be turned down for this permanent policy for health reasons. Instead of an exam or health questionnaire, you’ll just be asked a few health-related questions to set your premium rate. Like simplified issue, guaranteed issue also has lower coverage rates and higher premiums than most policies with a medical exam. Explore guaranteed issue from Fidelity Life.
To qualify for a no-exam life insurance policy, you will generally be required to answer a few health questions and may be asked to complete a health questionnaire. The premiums are higher (though possibly lower than a traditional policy you would receive with a Substandard D rating) and death benefits are typically capped at around $25,000.
What happens if I provide incomplete or incorrect health information?
Revealing unfavorable medical information can result in a higher premium, but it is important that you be as accurate as possible. Being upfront and honest about your health can preserve the death benefit your loved ones may count on when you die.
Your policy is a contract between you and your provider. If you die and the insurance company finds out that you didn’t disclose a health condition or weren’t truthful about other questions on the application, the policy may be voided. If that is the case, your beneficiary will not receive the death benefit you planned.
I have a medical condition. Can I qualify for life insurance with a medical exam?
Concerned about qualifying for life insurance because of a chronic illness or history of serious health issues? Don’t worry, you still have options.
Your ability to pass a medical exam will depend on the type of illness you were diagnosed with, how long ago it was, severity, any treatment plan or medications, and other factors. Insurers will also treat certain conditions differently. Heart disease, for example, is considered more high-risk than arthritis.
If you have a history of serious illness, such as a cancer diagnosis or another severe medical condition, you may need to wait a few years to qualify for a life insurance policy with a medical exam. In some cases, no exam life insurance may be a better fit if you don’t want to wait to get covered.
What should I do if I get turned down because of my medical exam?
If you get turned down, you can always wait and try again. Some serious health issues like cancer require you to wait a certain period before taking a medical exam.
With RAPIDecision® Life , you can often qualify right away for a combination of traditional life insurance and accidental death coverage, which offers a payout if you die in an accident. That means you’re covered until you complete a medical exam or other requirements and can feel assured that your family is protected.
Once you pass the exam, the rest of your traditional life insurance coverage kicks in, with a payout for any covered cause of death. If you’re denied coverage, you can still keep your original blend of insurance. That coverage will never be taken away from you, no matter what happens with the exam.
Can my family’s medical history affect my medical exam results?
It depends. If your family has a history of conditions like cancer or diabetes, you may be asked more specific questions or to take additional tests during the exam. A family history of life-threatening conditions can put you at higher risk, affecting your eligibility and rates. But it’s your health that matters most when determining your eligibility and rates. Learn more about how family medical history affects life insurance.
