Life Insurance Medical Exam: Seven Tips to Prepare and Pass
Many life insurance companies require a medical exam during the application process to help determine your final costs for a traditional life insurance policy. While the exam itself is a simple process—just like a regular checkup—the result of your life insurance medical exam can have a big impact on what your rates look like.
Want to set yourself up for success? Here are some of the easiest ways to prepare for your life insurance medical exam.
What Happens During a Life Insurance Medical Exam?
Wondering what happens during a life insurance medical exam? Here’s a closer look at the process so you know what to expect:
Medical Questionnaire
Before undergoing any physical examination, you’ll need to complete a medical questionnaire. This questionnaire is typically filled out online or during the initial meeting with a life insurance agent. It asks for detailed information about your personal medical history, lifestyle habits, and family history of illnesses. Some of the topics you’ll be asked about include:
Health Conditions: You must disclose any pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or previous surgeries.
Medications: Insurance companies want to know what medications you take regularly, including prescription drugs and over-the-counter supplements.
Lifestyle Habits: Questions about your lifestyle, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise routine, and diet, will help insurers assess your risk level.
Family Health History: You may be asked if anyone in your family has had serious medical conditions like heart disease, cancer, or genetic disorders, as these can impact your future health.
Your answers to these questions help the insurance company determine which type of coverage you’ll be eligible for and what your premiums might look like. It’s important to answer truthfully, as withholding information or providing inaccurate details could lead to complications later on.
Physical Exam
The physical exam is used to confirm your answers to the questions on the medical questionnaire. It’s a simple checkup, similar to what you’d receive at a doctor’s office. Your weight, height, pulse, and blood pressure will be recorded. You’ll have a small sample of blood drawn, which will be sent to a lab for further testing.
Life Insurance Blood and Urine Tests
Blood and urine tests are some of the most important components of your life insurance medical exam. These tests allow insurance companies to get an in-depth understanding of your health by screening for specific medical conditions, and they play a significant role in determining your premium rates.
Blood Tests
When you undergo a blood test during a life insurance exam, the sample is sent to a laboratory for analysis. Common tests include:
Cholesterol Levels: High cholesterol can lead to cardiovascular disease and is a key factor in determining your risk for heart attacks or strokes.
Blood Sugar Levels: High blood sugar levels can indicate diabetes, a condition that may impact your health insurance rates.
Liver and Kidney Function: These tests assess whether your organs are functioning properly. Any signs of impairment can raise concerns for insurers.
HIV and Other Infections: Life insurers often screen for infections like HIV, hepatitis, or sexually transmitted diseases, which can influence your health risk and premium.
Urine Tests
A urine sample is typically collected to test for several important health markers, including:
Protein or Glucose Levels: Elevated protein or glucose in the urine can be a sign of diabetes or kidney problems.
Substance Use: Insurance companies may also use urine tests to check for the presence of drugs, nicotine, or alcohol. Some insurers may offer higher premiums or deny coverage to those who show signs of drug use or alcohol abuse, as these habits can lead to health complications over time.
General Health: Your urine test can also provide insights into your overall health, including your hydration levels and kidney function.
These tests offer insurers a detailed picture of your internal health and help them assess any potential risks you may face in the future.
Seven Tips to Pass Your Life Insurance Exam
Here are seven tips to help you pass your life insurance exam:
1. Schedule Your Life Insurance Medical Exam in the Morning
The life insurance physical exam itself doesn’t take long; most exams are 15 to 45 minutes. They can take place at an exam center, at work, or even at your home—whatever is most convenient for you. Being in a place where you’re comfortable will keep you more relaxed, which can help keep your blood pressure low.
Once you’ve decided where you’d prefer to take the exam, you should consider scheduling it in the morning. Your exam might blood work that requires you to be in a fasted state, which means no food or drink besides water. This is easier to achieve if your appointment is in the morning.
2. Don’t Drink Coffee or Smoke Beforehand
Drinking a cup of coffee in the morning can help you wake up, but it can also affect your blood pressure. You want to make sure you give an accurate blood pressure reading during your medical exam, so stick to water over coffee or anything caffeinated.
Additionally, being a smoker can directly impact your coverage and rates, so refraining from smoking before a life insurance health exam could be in your best interest. (This also includes any tobacco use, including vaping and smokeless tobacco products.) Avoid smoking before your exam because it negatively impacts your blood pressure.
Life insurance medical exams test for the presence of both nicotine and a substance called cotinine. Nicotine stays in the body for up to three days, while cotinine is detectable for over a week. Secondhand smoke does not show up on a life insurance medical exam test.
Don’t lie about your tobacco status at any point during the life insurance application or medical exam process. This is considered fraud, and the insurance company can decline or cancel your application. While life insurance is more expensive if you smoke, you can still get insured at an affordable rate—especially if you work with SelectQuote. We can shop hundreds of policies from different highly-rated insurance carriers and find the policy that works for you.
If you recently quit smoking, good for you! That’s a great step toward better health. You are eligible to get nonsmoker life insurance rates after a year of not smoking or using tobacco.
3. Avoid Salts and Fatty Foods
During the life insurance medical exam, the examiner will likely take a blood sample for testing, and he or she will also check your blood pressure and pulse. Certain foods directly affect blood test results, so avoid sugary, fatty, salty, and fried foods at least a few days before your appointment.
You can also eat foods that raise your good cholesterol, including salmon, whole grains, and nuts like walnuts and almonds.
4. Drink Lots of Water
Staying hydrated isn’t just important for hot summer days or when you’re working out. Drinking around eight glasses of water a day, especially in the days leading up to your exam, can help clean out any toxins that could show up in your blood or urine samples. Being well-hydrated also makes it easier to draw your blood.
5. Avoid Working Out
While getting some movement every day is great for improving and maintaining your overall health, strenuous exercise can raise both your pulse and blood pressure. This is why it’s smart to skip the gym in the few days leading up to a life insurance medical exam. Working out might also negatively affect cholesterol levels and increase protein levels in your urine. Save the workout for after your exam!
6. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
A good night’s sleep does a body good! Your vital signs will reflect the type of sleep you had the night before in both your pulse and blood pressure, so hit the sack early the night before. Not only will you be more alert the next day, but you'll be more confident heading into your life insurance medical exam after recharging your body the night before.
7. Have Important Documentation Ready
On the day of the exam, you’ll need to have your driver’s license as well as contact information for any doctors you see regularly. You’ll also be asked to share any hospitalizations, medications, procedures, and surgeries from the last five years. Spend some time in the days leading up to the exam gathering that documentation so you’re ready.
What to Expect If You Don’t Pass the Medical Exam
If you don’t pass the life insurance medical exam, it doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be denied coverage. However, it could result in higher premiums or a modified policy. Insurers may offer you a substandard rating, which means you’re considered a higher risk, leading to increased costs. In some cases, the insurer might exclude certain health conditions from coverage or limit the policy’s benefits. Alternatively, you may be offered no medical life insurance:
No Medical Exam Life Insurance Options
While traditional life insurance will require a medical exam, there are a few different types of no medical exam life insurance:
Instant Term Life Insurance: SelectQuote is a no-hassle way to qualify for up to $5 million in affordable coverage if you’re 60 years old or younger and in generally good health. Our application is quick and doesn’t require a medical exam or the waiting period associated with traditional life insurance policies. You can get coverage over your lunch break!
Simplified Issue Life Insurance: Simplified issue life insurance is a type of final expense insurance in which coverage is based on a questionnaire about your health and lifestyle rather than a medical exam.
Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance: Another form of final expense insurance, guaranteed issue whole life insurance is just as the name implies: guaranteed. If you’re between the ages of 45 and 85, you can’t be turned down, so it’s often a promising life insurance choice for seniors or individuals with health concerns, as oftentimes, no medical exam is required.
Accelerated Underwriting: Accelerated underwriting allows you to purchase traditional life insurance quickly. It doesn’t require a medical exam, but you’ll still have to provide both current and historical health-related information.
Looking for life insurance? Let SelectQuote help you find the right policy today.
By knowing what to expect during the medical questionnaire, physical exam, and lab tests, you can feel more prepared and confident. While medical conditions or the results of certain tests may impact your policy, there are often options available, such as guaranteed issue policies or modified coverage, to ensure you still have access to life insurance.
At SelectQuote, we aim to simplify the process, helping you navigate the complexities of life insurance and find the best coverage for your needs. Whether you need help understanding the medical exam or are ready to start comparing life insurance quotes, our team is here to guide you every step of the way. By partnering with multiple trusted carriers, we offer a personalized experience to find options that ensure you get the right coverage at a rate that suits your budget.
