Medical Exams With
Purchasing Life Insurance

When shopping for life insurance keep in mind that you will most likely be subject to a paramed exam before having the policy approved.

When applying for life insurance you will be asked different medical questions in the Health Questions section. Depending on the face amount and the type of life policy, will determine what all the paramedical (licensed health professional) is required to do. 

For instance, my wife and I were purchasing 20 year term life policies with ING with over $1,000,000 face amounts and neither one of us had to get our blood pressure checked because we were not taking medicine.

However, two years earlier I had blood pressure checked by Lincoln Financial when I was not on any medications. This will show you that every life insurance carrier is a little different on what they require based on health questions, face amounts, and type of policy.

What’s involved with the medical exam?

A paramed exam usually takes place at the applicant’s house or office.  The applicant’s house is the suggested place due to better readings than at the office– sometimes there is more stress at the office.  Please understand that the medical exam is done by someone other than your doctor; however, the carrier will order an attending physician’s statement (APS) from your doctor to get a general overview of your health.

The life insurance exam will usually consist of the paramedical asking you the basic health questions that were on the life insurance application, taking your physical measurements of height/weight, blood pressure, pulse, and blood work.  Again this can vary based on the answers to your health questions, age, face amount, and type of policy.

The insurance company does this testing to make sure there are no health conditions that will shorten the applicant’s life.  Sometimes people refuse to go to the doctor which would make the APS records useless if the applicant had not been to the doctor’s office in 5 years.
The bottom line is don’t be worried about the medical exam, most people get one.  However, here are 10 suggestions we have before the medical exam which will help your readings.

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senior division manager Article added 08/16/2011 by Ryan Eaton
Senior Division Manager: Morgan White Group
ryan.eaton@morganwhite.com

For more info about Term Life Insurance, please feel free to contact me.
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