Most insurance companies require all applicants to have an insurance medical exam, also called a paramedic examination. Many clients want to know if they can use results from a recent doctor visit so they do not need to do the blood and urine portion of the exam. Unfortunately the answer is they cannot. The insurance company needs independent results for two reasons: Chain of custody. The insurance companies want to be certain that they are looking at your results. The insurance company will test for things your doctor won’t such as nicotine and drugs. If they want more tests, the samples will be available to them. The insurance medical exam performed by a paramedic does not require disrobing. The amount of coverage you are applying for and your age will determine the specific requirements. Most exams will include height and weight, blood pressure, pulse rate, and blood and urine samples. They may also include any or all of the following: Complete medical history Resting EKG Mature Age Supplement M.D. Evaluation To prepare for your exam you should be fasting for eight hours. Drink water before the exam as this will help you provide a urine sample and will make drawing your blood easier for both you and the examiner. Also, refrain from stress or exercise before your exam as they will impact your blood pressure and EKG results. If you take medications always take them at your regular time and alert the examiner to include that in the paperwork. If you forget to fast, and eat before the exam, the best thing to do is to reschedule the blood and urine, but complete the rest of the exam. Many of the lab results can be affected negatively by eating.
9 You will need to show your driver’s license to the examiner for identification purposes. Have your doctor’s address and phone number ready for the examiner, as well as the last time you saw the doctor, the reason for the visit and the recommended treatment. If you take any medications, have them available for the examiner. Generally the exam takes between 20 and 40 minutes depending on the requirements and amount of medical history. You can request a copy of your lab work through your agent. While there are companies that offer life insurance without a medical exam, we find using a top rated carrier that requires an exam will usually save you money on the premium. An insurance medical exam and blood test can lower your premium and the savings can add up to thousands of dollars over the life of your policy. It’s well worth your time!
How long does it take to get a term life insurance policy in force? For this blog I will assume that you are applying for coverage that requires a medical exam. The quick answer is that you can have coverage in place as quickly as 3 weeks, or it could take six months or more. However, most cases are 1-2 months. You and your agent are the most important factors in the timetable. Your agent is responsible for getting you the application, setting up your exam, sending that exam to the carrier, and getting any other requirements the insurance company wants. The more organized your agent is regarding follow up, the faster requirements get completed. If you want a speedy turnaround time, you have to respond to your agent’s inquiries promptly! In our office, we communicate with our clients at least weekly to inform them of any outstanding requirements and/or keep them apprised of where they are in the underwriting process. Your time frame in returning the application to your agent is the first step. Well, actually, how fast do they get the application to you? Next is how quickly can you have your paramedic exam? After that, the ball is in the insurance company’s court. Life insurance underwriting is the next step! Once the insurance carrier has your application and paramedic exam, your lab report will be ordered. This will go to an underwriter for an initial review. If no other information is needed, your application can be approved with this information. Usually these are policies where the insured gets a super-preferred or preferred rating (the two best underwriting classes). Based on your medical history and your lab results, the underwriter may want to review your doctor records. This is where things can bog down! The records get ordered and... I have seen records come in the next day, and I have seen records take 2 months or more to be released. If your records are at the VA Hospital, or Kaiser Permanente or another large HMO or hospital, they may require a special authorization as well (and it may take 1-2 weeks to find this out). A good agent calls the doctor’s office to see if a special authorization is required- sometimes we can save 2 weeks with just one call! Then your agent should follow up regularly with the LifeNet Insurance Solutions 7 copy service to move this process along and, if necessary, have you call the doctor directly to assist. So all in all, you and your agent are the most important factors in keeping your application moving through the process. In general, without medical records being ordered we have policies in place usually within 4 weeks. With ordering records we average about 2 months. We try to make the process painless for you by keeping on top of things!
Many of us have medical conditions that will be considered pre existing when we apply for life insurance. Clients always want to know how these conditions will affect underwriting. An underwriter will consider your overall health, medical treatment, and family history before determining your rating category. Underwriters take many things into consideration when evaluating your pre existing conditions. 1. Probably most important….can your health condition affect your life span? 2. Is your health condition in remission or under control? 3. Do you regularly see a doctor to treat your condition? 4. How long have you had it? 5. Do you have any associated conditions from the primary health condition?
Once again, this is where an independent life insurance agent can be very helpful. The agent should know which companies will underwrite your condition most favorably. We use an independent underwriter to give us assistance with which carrier(s) will view your health picture in the best light. Additionally, they can directly contact the underwriter evaluating your application if needed. Certain pre existing conditions may require a waiting period before you can qualify for insurance
Certainly no company is going to insure you if you had a heart attack last month. After a period of time, with no further incidents and regular medical care, you may qualify, and possibly at reasonable rates. (Every case is looked at individually and all factors are taken into account). Diabetic pre existing conditions can usually qualify for life insurance. Your rating will be directly affected by how well you are controlling your diabetes. Uncontrolled, LifeNet Insurance Solutions 5 diabetes can lead to associated conditions that can certainly affect your life span and this would affect your ability to obtain life insurance. Cancer is another common pre existing condition. Underwriting will depend on the type of cancer, the stage at diagnosis, the pathology report, when the cancer occurred, your treatment and if there have been repeat occurrences, etc. The Bottom Line Possible pre existing conditions are too numerous to mention. Suffice it to say, your independent life insurance agent will be able to find out how your pre existing condition(s) will likely affect underwriting.
Even if you know exactly how much insurance you want or need, there’s another crucial element in this process. You have to find an insurance company that will provide the coverage you want at the best price. An insurance agent can be invaluable in helping find the right company. ∗ Note. There are thousands of insurance companies in this country that sell auto, homeowners and other coverages individuals need. No two companies offer all of the exact same policies. Some companies want only certain types of drivers or homeowners. Some offer higher limits. Some offer what might be described as bare-bones coverage. ∗ Note. There are at least six different coverages that are part of auto insurance! ∗ Note. Homeowners insurance policies have limits on what they will cover in terms of possessions, particularly jewelry, fine art and computer equipment. Many insurers offer substantial discounts (10%, even 20%) if you have both your auto and homeowners policies with them. Does the insurance company offer so-called umbrella policies, which provide additional liability coverage over the limits of your homeowners and auto policies? Do you even need an umbrella policy? How do you find what’s best for you? You could shop on the Internet for insurance. There are numerous sites that have price quotes for auto, homeowners and life insurance policies. But what coverage is available under these policies? And how can you be sure that you’re buying enough coverage?
You could look in the telephone book and find dozens of companies that sell auto, homeowners and life insurance policies. You can call each of these companies and talk to one of their employees. But does this person know your insurance needs? Can he or she assess how risk-averse you are based on a fairly short phone conversation? Does this person even have a license to sell insurance? And how can this person work for you when he or she is working for the company? Can you imagine a sales representative saying to you, “Frankly, I don’t think we have the kind of coverage you need?” You could call an insurance agent who represents one insurance company. These companies -- State Farm, GEICO, USAA, Farmers, the Auto Club, etc. -- are fine, financially sound insurers, but what if they don’t have the coverage you need at the price you want to pay? The agent doesn’t have any options for you. He or she represents just that one company.
