How Will My Health Affect My Life Insurance Policy?

Your health can be an important factor when applying for a term life insurance policy. 

Your health is one of several factors when applying for term life insurance policies, but you probably won’t be disqualified for any pre-existing conditions. The price you pay for your policy is determined by how healthy you are, age, gender, family health history, and the policy. Find out how your health affects the policy you are applying for and if there are any ways to keep the price of your term life insurance policy as low as possible. 

How Your Health Affects Applying for Term Life Insurance

What is Considered Healthy?

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Each company goes through a process called underwriting, and this is where they consider what is healthy while you are applying for term life insurance. Underwriting is the process of calculating the overall risk someone poses to the insurance company having to pay out a claim, which means the healthier, the better. Health factors are among the most critical factors in the underwriting process — the health factors include age, weight, gender, lifestyle, family history, smoker/non-smoker, and lifestyle. Let’s dive deeper to find out what kind of details the insurance industry is looking for when examining your health. 

Age

Typically for every year you age, the premium raises about 8-10%. A benefit of term life insurance over whole life insurance is that the premium stays the same every year. In whole life insurance, it raises every single year. The price grows because every year you get older, it shortens your life expectancy, giving the insurance company more risk. Because of this increase, it is most beneficial to purchase your policy as young as possible. Speaking with an independent agent will help you shop around for different policies to find the most affordable for you. 

Smoker/Non-Smoker

Being a smoker does not mean you are automatically denied life insurance, but it can be a little more complicated. If you use any sort of tobacco product, your rates will be much higher. On average, smokers pay 215% more for their life insurance compared to non-smokers. Depending on how often you use tobacco and what kind of method it is will also be a factor in how high your premium is. Some companies will offer cheaper rates for occasional smokers or ones that do not smoke cigarettes specifically. 

If you are an incredibly healthy person, besides the fact that you use tobacco, you will typically still be penalized. Some company’s define a smoker as someone who uses any type of nicotine products, including cigars, pipes, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, nicotine gum, or the patch. If you purchase your policy as a smoker and quit later on, your company may offer you a discount. To prove that you are or are not a smoker, insurance companies will test your saliva or urine. 

Lifestyle

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If you are a risk-taker or an adrenaline junkie, your lifestyle just might cost you more when you are applying for a term life insurance policy. There may be some activities you feel are routine or safe that the life insurance policy will disagree with and could them high-risk. If your profession is something like a miner, firefighter, underwater welder, that would be considered high-risk. Maybe you have a safe job, but on the weekends you like to go skydiving, race cars, or go scuba diving, the company will still put you under the high-risk bucket. 

Gender

Did you know that men and women tend to pay different rates for all types of insurance? Studies that date back to the 1800s have found that men typically die earlier than women for reasons that primarily relate to genetics and hormones, making them more of a risk for the insurance company. When you receive a medical exam for your insurance policy, there are sometimes different standards for men and women, particularly for blood pressure, cholesterol, and body mass index. This has caused and still causes a lot of anguish for those who are transgender or non-binary applicants. 

Weight

Your policy premium won’t be determined because of your current weight at the time because most companies will factor in the past history of your weight. Insurance companies will not deny you altogether because of your weight. Instead, they will just increase your premium. If you purchased your life insurance policy, and later on you lose a considerable amount of weight, consider checking back in with the company. There is a possibility that they will lower your premium. 

Applying for a term life insurance policy means that the company will have to consider many factors to determine your premium. It can become confusing, but Fabric has made it easier! Fabric will allow you to apply in as little as ten minutes and enable you to keep yourself and your family protected. Get started today receive your term life insurance quote.