Buying Term Life Insurance with No Medical Exam
Buying term life insurance with no medical exam is an attractive option for people who don’t want to go through the time-consuming hassle of getting checked out by an unfamiliar health care professional. (Most insurance companies do not accept a medical exam from your primary physician.)
Others seek out term life insurance without a medical exam requirement because they know they’re not in the best of health and may end up paying a higher rate as a consequence of the medical report. But this route isn’t for everybody and will even limit your life insurance options.
So, with this in mind, here’s what you need to know about buying term life insurance with no medical exam and whether it’s right for you.
How to qualify for term life insurance with no medical exam
First, you need to know that if you buy term life insurance without a medical exam –commonly known as guaranteed issue life insurance –you will have limits on the death benefit offered in the policy.
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Many companies put a $100,000 or $250,000 cap on life insurance policies issued without a medical exam. Moreover, the shorter the term of your life insurance policy, the better the odds that can get away without taking one of these exams.
Needless to say, insurance companies don’t really care much about your risk of getting lung cancer when you’re 55, if your term life insurance policy expires when you’re 45.
Term life insurance: No medical exam
Buying term life insurance with no medical exam can sound like a great idea, but if you’re not careful it can easily backfire. Many insurance companies will offer life insurance policies without a medical exam if you at least fill out a medical history form.
If your family has a history of heart disease, but you’ve done cardio-exercises religiously for ten years, a medical history will raise red flags that a healthy medical exam report might mitigate somewhat. Likewise, many people who seek life insurance policies without a medical exam, know that they’re not in the best of health, and insurance companies aren’t exactly ignorant of the trend, either.
By forgoing a medical exam as a healthy adult, you could be costing yourself a good chunk of money with higher premium rates.
Term life insurance: No health questions
Some insurance companies truly take the hassle out of buying term life insurance by allowing you to skip the medical exam and asking no health questions. Other companies dispatch with a formal medical history but still ask a few basic questions, such as any pre-existing major illnesses and relatives with a history of cancer or heart disease.
Even these questions will only a minimal effect on your rates, given low benefit coverage and a short term length. Beware, however, that there are potential drawbacks to opting out of either the medical exam or a more detailed medical history. Once your term life insurance policy expires, you may not be able to renew the policy if a major medical condition has presented itself in the meantime.
To avoid this problem, you can choose a term life insurance with an automatic renewal option, but these policies usually require a medical exam.
Advice for life insurance medical exams
First, if you don’t have any spare time, it’s worth noting that most insurance companies are willing to send their paramedics to your home to conduct the medical exam. That said, if you decide it’s best to go ahead and take the medical exam, there are several things you can and should do to get the best results possible.
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Focus on eating a healthy diet the week before the exam, paying particular attention to eliminate salt and fatty foods. Three days ahead of the exam, cut out alcoholic beverages and nonessential medications that can elevate liver enzymes.
The day before, completely eliminate stimulants as the will elevate blood pressure.
And, as counterintuitive as it seems, refrain from strenuous activities the day before the exam to avoid elevating proteins in the urine. This may sound like cheating to some, but you better believe your life insurance company will peruse the medical report to identify any areas of elevated risk that you present. Every little bit helps.
Finding online quotes for term life insurance
No matter what choice you make or policy you need, finding quotes for term life insurance is the easy part. Simply fill out a brief online form, and we’ll start matching you with the insurance companies in your area that best fit your insurance needs.
Buying term life insurance is a hassle in the best of circumstances, and, at NetQuote, we try to minimize this hassle by affording you the opportunity to review reliable quotes from several different companies from the comfort of your own home.
