Thinking About Your Health

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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The process of writing insurance is actually a calculated gamble. Teams of actuaries spend years refining statistical analysis so they have a fairly good idea of the odds on you having a traffic accident, or your home being burglarized, or you contracting various diseases and disorders. Needless to say, one of their key interests is the calculation of life expectancy. This has been rising steadily over the last fifty years and it's a constant challenge to estimate how long any individual is going to live. Did you see the other day, a scientist has claimed to find a quick blood test to tell how many more years of life you have left? Some scientists have reacted calling this "hokum". Others are less polite, but all this excitement in the media confirms a general fascination with our own mortality. Transferring this to the insurance industry, no one is rushing to buy this new DNA test. Instead the insurers rely on old-fashioned questions about your medical history and a medical exam. The rule is simple. If you are older rather than younger, and you want a higher rather than lower amount of cover, you will be invited to go through ...
... a medical exam.

The first thing to understand about this process is that you, as the proposer, have a legal duty to tell the insurance company everything about your health that might predict your likely expectations of life. So, if you have already been diagnosed with a heart complaint, you must disclose it in your initial application. The fact this may cause the insurer to reject the proposal or to ask for an outrageously high premium rate is not the point. If the insurer later finds you were economical with the truth when you were answering questions about your health, it can immediately cancel the policy. This makes it better to have the refusal early rather than leave it to your family to make a claim and then find the policy cancelled when the cause of death is revealed.

The modest exam usually comes in a mobile form and can visit with you at home or the office. There are questions and some samples will no doubt be taken, e.g. to confirm you are not a smoker and you have been honest about disclosing any drugs you are taking. If you appear overweight or unhealthy in some way, you can be referred for further testing. The offer of insurance can be made subject to conditions, e.g. that you quit smoking or lose some weight. This is all part of a general interest in your lifestyle. Admitting to playing contact sports or base jumping for fun is not going to improve your proposal. If there is anything in your family's medical history to suggest a greater risk of some diseases, you are likely to be invited for a full check-up.

When you start out the process and get multiple life insurance quotes, remember that all the quotes you decide to investigate will potentially require their own medical exams. This can represent a significant commitment in time. It also intrudes on your privacy. But this is the price you have to pay if you want to turn one of the life insurance quotes into a final policy.