In the process of getting a life insurance policy, there is no way you won’t come across the medical exam that is associated with it. The medical examination looks into your health history as well as your present medical status.
It is part of the things insurance firms will look into to judge the rate you ought to pay as premium.
People often wonder what the medical exams entail and if you can even fail the medicals. If that happens, the next thing people will want to know is if they can retake the exam.
All about the Medical Exam
Typically, a medical examination is a standard requirement for a life insurance policy. Also, known as paramedical examination, it is carried out to ratify the medical information you supplied to the insurance firm.
Additionally, it could bring new medical data to the surface that have an effect on the premiums you pay.
The insurance firm covers the bill of the test and you get to hold on to the medical results.
Useful Tips on How to Pass the Medical Exam
One thing you should know is that there is no failing or passing the medical examination. The medical results are just to assist the insurance firm to gauge your monthly premium or if at all, you qualify for a policy.
In most cases, the applicant can obtain a certain level of insurance coverage no matter how the results come out to be. Nevertheless, there are tips you can act on to help you get the best chance of cheaper premiums.
No matter what, you have to be open about any medical conditions you may have that can affect the rates you will pay. That is the first tip we will give out. Inevitably, any medical conditions you hide are bound to found out anyway.
The underwriter will make sure of that. To avoid such a situation, and prevent your final rates from been different from the quotes you were given. It is better to let the underwriter know of any medical condition beforehand.
Note you eventually have to pay more than the actual premium you are supposed to pay if you have disclosed your condition.
Furthermore, to get improved insurance classification. You can try out a few things. However, have it mind that the health category you fall into consists of many features.
The following tips can be tried prior to taking the medical exam. However, please note there are guarantees that every tip will influence your exam results.
- Opt for cleansing: It might be time for a body reset if you are planning to take a medical exam. An overhaul of your habits, lifestyle, and diet is just ripe to undertake now. You should abandon your beloved alcohol, sugar, medications like herbal and dietary supplements, tobacco and its product as well as caffeine (in case you cannot do without one, inform the medical examiner).
- Hydration: Consuming lots of water before the test occurs is helpful in dilating your veins for easy access during blood sampling. In addition, water is useful in flushing your system.
- Be informed about your health history: Be conversant with your personal medical history as well as that of your family. Questions will be asked on your recent diagnoses and parents’ medical illnesses. You will be asked to clarify if you have had any surgeries in the past.
- Stop smoking: To quit smoking properly before the exam, it has to be months or even years before you even consider life insurance. Quitting a day or days to the test won’t help as the traces of nicotine stays in the blood for weeks. Additionally, the insurance firm will likely pull up your smoking history over the past 37 months.
- Have your medical contacts accessible: Having the names and contacts of your past health practitioners handy is a lifesaver at times.
- Put on light outfit: You definitely don’t want to put on an outfit that tilts your weight into the overweight side of the scale. Putting on light clothing ensures they get accurate weight figures as much as possible.
- Abstain from a vigorous workout: An extreme exercise session puts you at the risk of elevated blood pressure, which can reflect in your urine sample. This can be avoided by abstaining from a strenuous workout a day or two prior to the medical exam.
- Fasting: For medical exams like cholesterol and blood sugar tests, you will be required to fast to not mess up the test results. Our tip here is to make attempt to get morning appointments to avoiding starving throughout the whole day.
Is It Possible To Retake The Life Insurance Medical Exam?
Of course, it is possible to retake the life insurance medical tests. Notwithstanding, the underwriter will determine if you will be allowed a new medical. He will also determine if the new results will be reviewed for adjusting your monthly premiums.
Mostly, you will have to wait for six months to take a new test. However, the best case is to secure a new policy through another agent and insurance firm.
The rate you will be charged hinge on the status of your health, actuarial tables as well as age. Health status is subject to change as we let go of harmful lifestyles and habits. This may be reason enough to want to take another test to help secure improved premiums.
If approved for another exam, you could see your rates go down if the results are good and the insurance firm agrees.
Why A Medical Exam Is Necessary?
Sometimes your initial findings concerning insurance medical tests could put you off the whole issue of the exam. Sometimes you wonder why all that trouble when I can simply buy a “No Exam” policy?
Notwithstanding, nearly every insurance firm will ask you for a medical assessment. If you are not above 40 years, it’s not wise to skip the exam. This is to help them confirm if the information you submitted is on point or not. This will help them provide you with the exact insurance monthly rates. Good scores from your medical results will certainly help you secure premium and an insurance policy that is favorable.
Apart from your exam result, other things that are considered are your lifestyle, age, and family history. All these will help ascertain the insurance category you belong to.
The worst category will see pay a very high rate because it carries the most risk, while the best category will see you pay very low rates due to low risk.
The Insurance Categories We Have
- Preferred Plus; this category goes by many names such as Preferred Select, Preferred Elite, and Super Preferred. In this category, you get to pay the lowest rates as you are deemed to be in superb health. It is the most affordable and wanted category.
- Preferred; the next on the list after the Preferred Plus. Although it doesn’t come with all the benefits of the above category. However, it is nonetheless cheap compared to those below.
- Standard Plus; this classification indicates that in general, you are in good health. However, there are niggling issues that make unqualified for the higher categories.
- Standard; in the case of standard classification, it could point at issues like the height to weight ratio. It could be that your medical results had some commas. Additionally, your qualification is affected by your family’s medical history.
- Substandard; this classification is different from the rest, in the sense that it makes use of a table rating system based on the latest health conditions in your medical history. You will pay the rates for the standard label together with an extra 25 percent as you go down the table rating. For instance, a substandard rating two or B will see you pay the standard monthly premium plus 50% extra.
Note: We have a complete post that explains all the health classes, don’t forget to read it.
The Usual Conditions the Medical Examination Tests For
A lot concerning your health status is uncovered by the questions you answer. Your physical and health condition tells the insurance firm the level of risk that you pose. The more healthy, the less risk and vice versa. Therefore, for a sickly person, you can expect high premium rates.
Some of the things the medical exam will test for are:
- Nicotine; one of the major factors that influence your insurance rate is tobacco usage or smoking. They are associated with many health issues such as lung cancer. A point of note is that vape is not off the list either as most insurance firms see them as using normal cigarettes.
- HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis; your medical exams will cover these two diseases along with other listed diseases. The risk of these diseases is very high.
- Hypertension; instead of concealing the issue of high blood pressure, it is ideal that you reveal such ahead of the test. The medical test can pick up the presence of beta-blockers that indicate you are on drugs for hypertension.
- Recreational Drugs; the use of recreational drugs is closely monitored by the insurance examiner.
- High Cholesterol and Hyperglycemia; the presence of elevated cholesterol level raises the risk due to associated diseases such as stroke and heart diseases. High glucose concentration or hyperglycemia could point to the applicant being diabetic. All of which will increase the risk as well the premium rates.
Conclusion
As you attempt to get an insurance policy that is favorable, remember that securing good medical results together with other factors are key to a good rating. Living a healthy lifestyle stand you a good chance of getting a good result.
However, if you are not satisfied with your initial test results, you can still retake the medical exam with your insurer’s approval. This will help secure revised and improved ratings if the retake comes out better than the last.
