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The rate you’re offered for life insurance, in part, reflects how healthy you are. That’s where the medical exam comes in. It gives your insurer a complete picture of your health and helps them set your premium — which is the amount of money you pay each month or year for coverage. But if you’d rather not take a physical, you have options.
If you need to undergo a medical exam, your insurer will send a technician to your home or office. You can’t have your own doctor perform the exam, but you can schedule the visit at a time that’s convenient for you.
The whole thing typically takes around 30 minutes, and consists of two parts: A survey of your personal and family medical history, and a physical exam.
The technician begins by asking about your personal medical history, as well as that of your parents and siblings. Generally, insurers don’t factor in family members aged over 60 or 70.
Expect to hear questions like:
Afterwards, the technician will conduct a physical exam. This may involve:
You then need to authorize the technician to pass on your medical records to your insurer.
If you request to receive the results, your insurer will send a copy to your primary care doctor — usually within a couple of business days.
Depending on the system your doctor uses, you can then call or access the online portal to view your results.
If you’ve taken a medical exam within the past two years, your insurer may be able to use those results to determine your rates.
This situation may arise if you applied for coverage with a life insurance company, but ultimately decided to go with a different insurer.
The medical exam — or paramedical exam — is part of the application process for traditionally underwritten life insurance policies. The results help your insurer assess your risk level and are a significant factor in determining how much you’ll pay for coverage.
But if you need coverage quickly or you’re uncomfortable with the idea of taking a physical, you can opt for a no-exam policy. However, you can expect to pay a higher premium.
Once your insurer has the information they need about your health and lifestyle, it assigns you to a rating class. Think of it as a risk category — the higher the classification, the less risky you are in the eyes of the insurer.
If you land in a higher rating class, you’ll score a cheaper premium. But if you end up in one of the lower rating classes, you’ll be charged more for coverage to compensate for that risk.
The names of rating classes vary among insurers. But generally, these are the classifications from best to worst:
There’s no such thing as “failing” the medical exam. But if your results are poor, your insurer may raise your rates or put you in a lower rating class.
If you have a serious health condition or don’t meet your insurer’s strict set of requirements, you may be denied coverage. In that case, you can look into no-exam policies that are issued without a medical exam.
Yes — but you’ll need to wait until you’ve had your policy for at least one year. If your health has improved significantly, or you believe your first medical exam didn’t yield the most accurate results, you can request to take another exam.
Knowing that you may have another opportunity to take the exam might help to relieve any anxiety around it.
Set yourself up for better results and make the medical exam go smoother by doing the following:
Most blood tests will show if you’ve smoked within the last three weeks, depending on the test. It takes at least three days for nicotine to leave your blood, but insurance providers test for another compound — cotinine — that’s formed after nicotine enters your body. Cotinine can stay in your body for up to three weeks or longer.
Different tests are used to determine whether you have nicotine or cotinine in your system. Some are more sensitive than others, measuring the concentration of compounds in your system to determine whether you’re a smoker or simply live with one.
Tell the technician at the beginning of the medical exam. Remember, these technicians are medical professionals, so they’ll be used to hearing these kinds of concerns.
They may note your fear of needles in your file, and your insurer may take this into consideration if your anxiety caused a spike in blood pressure.
A life insurance application is a legal document, and you have a duty to disclose any information that could help your insurer calculate your risk level.
Your insurer will cross-check the results of your medical exam with sources like the Medical Information Bureau and prescription drug databases. If they find out you lied or omitted information, you might be charged a higher premium — or denied coverage.
And if you die during the first two years of taking out a policy — aka the contestability period — your insurer has the right to investigate your claim. If they discover you lied in your application, your beneficiaries might not receive the full death benefit. So, withholding information not only puts your life insurance coverage at risk — but might also affect your loved ones when you die.
If you need under $100,000 in coverage and want to skip the medical exam for whatever reason, these are your options:
Life insurance is a game of risk, and the medical exam gives your insurer an idea of how healthy you are. It then uses this information to determine your rating class and premium.
While the medical exam is a simple physical, some people may find it invasive. If you’d prefer not to take one, compare life insurance companies that offer no-exam policies.
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