Life insurance medical exams: What to expect

When you're in the market for life insurance and the time comes to make a purchase, you'll sometimes have to undergo a medical exam. This step gives life insurance companies a clear picture of your health and helps determine your rate.

The medical exam process is less stressful when you understand why it's required and what you can expect. Read on for the details on medical exams and life insurance.

What is a life insurance medical exam?

A life insurance medical exam is a simple, noninvasive medical evaluation that life insurance companies may require as part of their underwriting procedures. The exam gives a snapshot of your health and helps providers determine your life insurance rate.

Medical exams for life insurance purposes are not conducted by a doctor. Instead, insurers contract with paramedical companies who send a representative to your home or another location of your preference to conduct your exam. You can let them know where you'd like to meet, as well as what day and time work best for you. The life insurance company usually pays for the evaluation.

Components of a medical exam

A life insurance medical exam typically consists of a few simple tests and questions. The entire exam process is usually done in less than 30 minutes.

Tests sometimes include but are not limited to:

• Measuring height and weight.
• Blood and urine samples.
• Checking pulse and blood pressure.
• Administering an electrocardiogram (EKG).

Life insurance companies also ask questions about your medical history and any health conditions you may have. Sometimes this is done by the examiner, and sometimes it's done in the application process.

These questions and tests are necessary to discover things like:

• Body mass index (BMI) and cholesterol.
• Whether you have HIV or other immune disorders.
• Risk factors, such as elevated glucose or blood sugar levels or heart disease.

Lifestyle questions, such as your occupation, driving record and dangerous hobbies, also help underwriters understand the risks involved in insuring you.

What happens after the medical exam?

Once the medical exam is complete, your application can be fully reviewed. You should expect this step to take some time as the underwriters receive and process the information from the exam.

If the results show any potential health risks, the insurer may charge a higher premium than first quoted. There's even a chance they could deny coverage. Understanding this is an important part of setting proper expectations.

On the other hand, if the results show that you're in better health than anticipated, you may be eligible for a lower premium than first quoted. This can happen when variables like height-to-weight ratio were inaccurate during quoting.

How to prepare for a life insurance exam

To get the best results, it's important to be well-rested and hydrated. Consider these tips:

• Get a good night's sleep before the exam.
• Drink plenty of water leading up to the exam.
• Avoid consuming alcohol or caffeine before the exam.
• Wear loose-fitting clothing to facilitate the blood-drawing process.
• Avoid exercise right before the exam.

Life insurance options that don't require an exam

These days, there are more and more life insurance companies offering policies that don't require a medical exam. While accelerated underwriting has historically been a drawback, due to higher rates and coverage limits, that may no longer be the case.

In fact, many insurers are using advancements in technology and underwriting procedures to provide competitive rates and ample coverage options with instant issue life insurance. This is a form of life insurance where an exam may not be required. 

If you’d like a simplified buying process along with an instant approval decision, a policy with accelerated underwriting may be a valid option. If it doesn’t work out the way you hope, you can always try the medical exam route as a second option. 

When you can skip the exam

In addition to options like instant issue life insurance, there are times you can skip the exam by taking advantage of features on a policy you already own. In the following cases, you can usually obtain, add, or change coverage without an exam:

• Conversions
• Juvenile policies
• Executing life event riders

It's important to note that the life insurance underwriting industry is continuing to evolve with the goal of making it easier to obtain coverage. USAA also typically waives the medical exam requirement to expedite coverage for deploying military members.

Start the life insurance process.

When it comes to buying life insurance, medical exams are sometimes a necessary step in the process. There are even certain instances where the medical exam can save you money.

The key is to not delay. The one thing unavoidable with life insurance underwriting is that you get older by the day. As the years go by, the cost will get higher.