How are my life insurance premiums affected if I have medical problems?

One of the most important factors in whether or not you can get life insurance, and how much you have to pay for it is your health. Should you have a clean bill of health, you'll find that your life policy will cost a great deal less to protect your family.

What can you do though if you take a medical exam for your life insurance and it shows that you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or any other ailment, such as angina, which makes you regarded as high risk and thus raises your premium payments?

You insurance broker may say to you that all you have to do is get your cholesterol or blood pressure down or treat whatever medical problems have been identified, and your premium payments will shrink. That is not fully correct.

Speak to an insurance company and many will tell you that improving your health will in fact lower your premiums. But it's not just your health at that moment that matters, it's also whether or not you will suffer from health problems down the line. Remember that life insurance as a product is for a long term, up to about 30 years sometimes, and that is the bet your insurance company takes. The company has freedom to change whichever guidelines they want to, so lower premiums cannot be guaranteed to you.

So, some companies may give you specific requirements to enable you to reduce your premium, such as getting your blood pressure down to a certain level. But they will stop short of guaranteeing in your policy that your premium will go down, to help them avoid a lawsuit.

Should you re-qualify for a lower rate on the basis of a further medical examination, your premiums should be lowered, but this will not be contracted. When someone is assessed for premiums, the whole picture is looked at, so you could lower your cholesterol to the level asked for, but if your blood pressure has risen during that time, your premiums may not be reduced.

Providing medical proof from your doctor that you've maintained your improvement in health for a specific period, that might help you, so should you be able to show all blood pressure readings for the last three years, you may warrant a premium reduction.

Should you suffer from cancer or heart disease, or other more serious illnesses, your time period for proving that your health is improving could be longer. You may need to show five to ten years of cancer remission before your insurance bill is reduced. Some diseases, such as heart-wall damage from a heart attack, will not improve, so it's nearly impossible to get a reduction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© AskFinancially.com 2008

Life Insurance

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