Reasons to Take a Life Insurance Medical Exam
Here at JWL Benefits, we often have individuals visiting our website trying to avoid medical exams by requesting No-Medical life insurance quotes. In some cases, No-Medical life insurance is the appropriate option, but in most cases, a fully underwritten product with a medical exam is the better choice. Having a nurse visit your home, answering medical questions, and possibly having to provide a urine and/or blood sample may not be the most fun thing to do, but here are a few reasons why you would want to take a life insurance medical exam.

1. Lower Premiums
The most obvious reason you would want to meet with a nurse for a medical exam is that it gives you access to lower premiums. No-Medical life insurance premiums can cost up to double or triple the amount of standard premiums that a fully underwritten policy would cost. This is because insurance companies are taking a higher risk by insuring someone without being afforded the opportunity to review their medical history in depth. Also, many companies that require a medical exam offer preferred rates to candidates that are of preferred health and lifestyle. Traditional Term Life Insurance that requires a medical exam is, in most cases, very affordable for clients who have no major health issues. The premiums on these policies could potentially cost you less than you spend on your daily coffee.

2. Full Transparency
By completing a medical exam, you are being completely transparent with the insurance company. The insurance company knows that you are not hiding anything from them. This is valuable at claim time as you do not have to worry about the insurance companies denying your claim since they had the opportunity to assess your health before they issued you coverage on your life. Some insurances that do not require a medical exam, like mortgage insurance through the bank (see my last article on mortgage insurance), are post-claim underwritten. What this means is that the insurance company can assess your eligibility to claims after you have passed away. When they do this assessment, they are meticulous and can find reasons to deny your claim. If you had done a medical exam and disclosed everything on your application with a traditional life insurance company, then you would not have any reason to worry about having your claim denied. Why buy something that may not pay out? Unfortunately, you do not have that same sense of security if you did not complete a medical exam. As long as you are completely honest with the insurance company on a traditionally underwritten policy, there is no reason for concern at claim time.

3. A Full Health Check
Has it been a while since you saw your doctor for a physical? While we always recommend getting tests done with your doctor, a life insurance medical exam will check for many abnormalities in your health.  Most medical exams require you to provide a urine sample and sometimes a blood sample (depending on factors such as your age and the amount of coverage you are applying for). In some cases, they may even require an ECG test or a PSA exam. If the insurance company discovers anything out of the ordinary, they can forward these results to your doctor so that you can meet with him or her to discuss these abnormal findings. In some cases, this has saved lives by identifying issues that applicants otherwise would have not have known about. We have had clients find out through blood work that they were borderline diabetic, or had cancer. For some, this enables them to get treatment or make changes where necessary (diet and lifestyle change) to prevent the condition from worsening. Even in cases where a rating might be applied due to an increased health risk, it could still be less expensive than a No-Medical product.

Life insurance is a crucial aspect of your financial plan. Don’t sacrifice proper coverage for convenience. The medical exam usually works in the applicant’s favour. Before purchasing a life insurance policy that doesn’t require a medical exam, speak to a licensed adviser to see if it is a suitable option for you, and most importantly, review how the policy will work at claim time.

Article written by: Mike Castagna