If you are applying for a life insurance policy, you’ll need to take a life insurance medical exam so that the company issuing your policy can determine if you are eligible and determine the appropriate annual premium to charge. Typically, this exam will be conducted by a nurse who will ask you questions and take one or two samples of your bodily fluids such as blood or urine.
Stages Included For A Life Insurance Medical Exam
There are two stages involved in a life insurance medical exam. The first stage consists of a verbal questionnaire. A medical professional will ask you questions from the questionnaire and enter your information into a database.
The second stage of your life insurance medical exam involves the collection of blood and/or urine. The medical professional who is handling your exam will probably be able to collect one or both of these samples while you are still in your home.
Conducting An Exam
Conveniently, most life insurance medical exams are performed in your home. You don’t have to go to a medical center or hospital to get the exam done. Typically, a nurse will make an appointment with you and bring a test kit with them. They will ask you questions to see if you’re eligible for the life insurance policy that you are applying for and collect the samples.
The medical professional will take your blood pressure, pulse and ask for your height and weight. You can expect them to ask questions relating to the medical history of your family, your lifestyle habits, the amount of life insurance you would like to purchase and if you suffer from any conditions. If you do have some type of condition, they will also ask you if you have recently been hospitalized.
Time Frame After An Exam
You’ll need to give the life insurance company a few months to review the results from your life insurance medical exam. If you are accepted, an insurance premium will be given as well as the date when your coverage begins.
Failing The Exam
If you fail the exam, you will be ineligible for coverage. In this situation, you will want to ask the insurance company to supply you with a copy of the results of the medical exam so that you can give it to your doctor. A mistake may have been made by the insurance company that can be remedied.
Dying Before Exam Results Are Completed
There is always a possibility that you may die before the medical exam results are completed. Typically, if you would’ve been eligible for coverage and it began when you applied for the insurance, you would be eligible and your beneficiaries would receive payment. However, circumstances will have to be examined before any payment is given. For example, if there is a suicide provision that excludes coverage, benefits will probably not be paid.
Alternate Choices
If you end up failing your life insurance medical exam, you may want to contact other companies to see if you are eligible under their guidelines. A life insurance broker can help assist you with this.
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!