Life Insurance Medical Exam: What to Expect

A life insurance medical exam is a way for your proposed life insurance provider to confirm the information you supplied to them on your life insurance application and to delve a little further into your medical history. A life insurance medical exam is typically conducted by a qualified medical professional such as a nurse, and need not be done at a hospital or clinic. In many cases, the exam will take place at your home.

Two Stages

There are usually two parts to a life insurance medical exam:

1. A verbal question and answer period with the examiner.
2. Standard measurements such as height, weight, blood pressure and heart rate (pulse). You will also likely be asked to give a blood and urine sample. The blood sample is to check things such as cholesterol, blood sugar, protein and HIV. The urine sample is to check for protein, glucose, HIV, creatinine and drug use.

The information derived from this two-stage medical examination will be compiled with the information from your insurance application and the statistical longevity information used by the insurer. All this will then be used to determine whether or not the insurer feels that you're qualified to be accepted as one of their insureds and, if so, your annual policy premium rate.

What's the Time Factor for the Test?

The examiner who comes to your location to perform your life insurance medical exam will bring everything they need to complete the session. The verbal medical history portion should take about twenty minutes, give or take, and obtaining the urine and blood samples should take just a few minutes more.

Why a Medical Exam is Required

There are several reasons insurers often require medical exams be undertaken by their prospective insureds. They include:

• As a verification for the information originally submitted on your application
• To get a full medical history. The exam questions go deeper into not only your personal medical history but also into your family medical history. If, from the information gathered, it's determined that you may statistically die earlier in life, higher premiums will have to be collected during the early years of the policy. Conversely, if it's estimated you'll live longer, early year premium payments will likely be lower.
• The exam may help uncover any underlying medical conditions of which you're not aware or that you may have not declared. It may also uncover any drug or nicotine use.