Life Insurance Underwriting – Low, Low Rates May Have A Surprising Price

In looking at term insurance rates online, we’ve begun to see some very low rates for life insurance buyers over age 50 and 60.  Anxious to offer the lower rates to our customers, we inquired about quoting these rates on our site. Not surprisingly, these extremely low rates come come with some additional application and underwriting requirements.

Life Insurance Medical Exam – Take a few simple steps before the examiner arrives.

No one likes taking a medical exam for life insurance. However, taking a few simple steps before the examiner arrives could make a real difference in your ultimate rate classification and what you’ll pay for your new coverage.

When you schedule your exam, arrange to have the examiner arrive as early as possible in the morning. You’ll get your very best lab results after fasting at least 8 hours, and if possible 12 hours before your exam.

How Long Does It Take to Get A New Life Insurance Policy?

Once you have gotten life insurance quotes, selected a new life insurance policy, completed your application, taken your medical exam and they have been submitted to your chosen life insurance company you need to allow from 4 to 8 weeks for your new life insurance policy to be approved and issued.

If you have an unexceptional medical history and are not currently under a doctor’s care, approval and issue is most often quite prompt. However, if there have been recent medical visits, treatments or ongoing health issues, the life insurance company underwriters will need additional information from your physician(s) and health care providers.

If additional medical information or test results are needed from your doctor(s), a request is sent and a fee is paid in advance by the life insurance company. Unfortunately, the longest delays most often occur in waiting for this information to be provided to the life insurance company.

In some cases, a personal call to the health provider helps. However, even with regular follow-ups, getting these “attending physicians statements” is often a slow process and the insurer must simply wait until the required records have been received.

Life Insurance and Cholesterol – LDL, HDL and Ratios Matter

It seems as though nearly everyone is being treated for elevated cholesterol these days, and it not just the age 50+ citizens anymore. We see numerous 30 and 40 year olds and a growing number of 20 something applicants who are attempting to deal with elevated cholesterol.

And now the good news! From a life insurance perspective, controlled cholesterol alone (whether you are being treated with medication(s) or not) will not exclude applicants from super preferred and preferred rate pricing classifications. That being said, what are the limits? That is to say, what are common cholesterol underwriting guidelines?

Wal-Mart, Target, CVS and Walgreens Opening Nationiwide Medical Clinics

Wal-Mart will open in-store medical clinics under its own brand name and plans 400 walk-in, in-store clinics with Wal-Mart brand name by 2010.

Wal-Mart joins CVS, Target and Walgreens in offering quick service for routine conditions ranging from colds and bladder infections to sunburn care.

Six Killers! – Leading Causes of Death in The United States

Life insurance companies ask a lot of personal and family medical history questions when considering your eligibility for life insurance. People are living longer and life insurance costs have decreased dramatically in the last 5 to 10 years.

So, what are the life insurance companies primary health concerns in evaluating your medical exam, your family medical history and your application for life insurance?

Life Insurance Quotes – Height and Weight Need To Be Accurate!

A recent shopper at 1stQuote.com completed his quote request indicating that he was 6′1″ and weighed 200 lbs. He had no medical issues, did not use tobacco and was shown rates based on a super preferred no-tobacco classification. The 20 year $600,000 policy he selected was priced at $302.00 per year.

When his medical exam was completed his height and weight were measured at 6′0″ and 210 lbs. The one inch and 10 pound difference changed his health classification from super preferred to preferred rates and his annual premium from $302.00 per year to $ 422.00 per year.

Can I Buy Life Insurance with High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)?

The short answer is YES! In fact, if your high blood pressure is very well controlled with medication and there are no other health or family history factors, you may be able to buy life insurance at preferred or even preferred plus rates.

Surprisingly, we have many clients who are being effectively treated for both high blood pressure and high cholesterol and have received preferred and preferred plus rates.

If you run a personal term life insurance quote, the best rate illustrated will probably be a preferred rate classification. However, at the end of the underwriting process you may actually receive a preferred plus or preferred best rating – and even lower life insurance costs than originally quoted.