Impact of Physical Health on Life Insurance
Updated: Sep 20, 2020
Although life insurance is important, many people put it on the back burner, assuming it will be costly or difficult to secure. Certainly, risk factors will always influence the cost. Often, people are worried about how their physical health will affect their premiums. So, does your waistline have an effect on your bottom line? In short, yes. The condition of your physical wellness is the main consideration for insurance companies. In fact, a physical examination may be required. In addition, they might want to know the physical health history of your family. Preexisting conditions and a family history of illness will have an impact. However, this does not mean that you will not find a suitable Life insurance policy plan. This article will help you understand the impact that physical health has on your plan and the factors to consider when looking for the best plan.
Things to Note When Securing Your Life Insurance Plan
Make sure that you tell the truth about your family’s physical health history. Your family’s health history will not make an insurance company deny you health coverage. However, it could limit your ability to secure the highest or best health rating. This means that you might have to pay about twenty percent more for your insurance coverage.
Learn about your family’s health history beforehand. If you want to apply for a fully underwritten life insurance policy, you need to prepare yourself for some of the health history questions they might ask. Take note that these questions mainly refer to your immediate family members. This includes your parents and siblings. For example, they might want to know if any of your family members died from a heart attack or cancer before the age of sixty or sixty-five. Additionally, insurers will want to know the relationship between the disease in your family history and your genetics or lifestyle choices. For instance, if your mother died of lung cancer because she smoked.
Types of Policies
Insurance companies have varying policies regarding physical health. Most of these policies consider diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer. Insurance companies have health ratings that determine the cost of your life insurance policy. This means that you could have relatives who passed away because of the mentioned conditions or diseases and still not pay a higher cost of life insurance rate. The cost of life insurance rate packages include:
Preferred plus
Preferred
Standard plus
Standard
Securing an Affordable Policy
A person who qualifies for the highest package could get a substantive increase in life insurance rates if their family history is flawed with diseases such as cancer or heart attacks. If you want to secure the best life insurance coverage, apply the following measures:
Work and consult with an independent insurance broker. This broker will help you look for the best insurance companies offering the best cost of life insurance.
Plead your case with the insurance company. Just because your family has a history of cancer does not mean you too will get it. Defend yourself during the physical health examination. For example, you could point out that your family has a history of smoking, which led to the development of lung cancer. Then show that you do not indulge in any smoking activities.
The Takeaway
In the end, you also have the option of choosing a life insurance policy that does not require a physical examination or blood work. However, this plan will definitely cost more. This is because the insurance company is taking a greater risk by offering you such a policy without knowing the exact state of your physical health. Overall, physical health will be considered, but conditions that you may have will not prevent you from securing good, affordable life insurance.