What you need to know about Life Insurance Medical Exams

3 min read

If you have decided to buy life insurance, it is important to know that you will have to undergo a medical exam. This exam is part of the insurance application process so that the insurer can estimate your life expectancy. It might sound a bit harsh but you can think of it as something similar to the questions you have to answer before you can donate blood.

What to expect during the medical exam

This routine medical exam typically includes a review of your medical history. You will be asked the names of your doctors (past and present), when you saw them, and if they recommended any form of treatment.

Aside from questions that needs to be answered, you will also undergo a simple physical exam to record your height, weight, blood pressure, and pulse. You will also have to provide a urine sample and have some blood work done.

It is important to note that if you are 50 years old or older, the doctor might require you to take a stress test. An example of this is an EKG test which checks your heart’s electrical activity.

The information you share is strictly confidential and will be sent directly to the insurance company. If you decide that you want a copy of your lab test results, you can request this directly from the life insurance company and they will provide you with the information you need.

Why do life insurance companies test your blood and urine
The blood and urine tests will be used to check the following:

  • Heart and Arteries for your cardiovascular system
  • Kidney and Bladder
  • Liver
  • Pancrease
  • Serum HIV
  • Cotinine to check for potential tobacco use

What to Avoid Before Your Life Insurance Exam
To help you get favorable results on your medical exam, we suggest that you avoid the following:

  • Avoid eating fast food a week before you take the exam. Saturated fat elevates blood pressure and also increases your cholesterol level.
  • Avoid sweets or sugar.
  • Cut down your caffeine intake by not drinking coffee, tea, soda, or other caffeinated products several hours prior to your exam.
  • Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages 24 hours prior to your test.
  • Avoid smoking or better yet, kick the habit. Some insurers would charge two times more for life insurance coverage for smokers.
  • Avoid extreme exercises 24 hours prior to your exam. If it’s an exercise that makes your sweat drip, then you should not be doing it.
  • Avoid nasal decongestants.
  • Avoid an all-nighter the day before your exam. Get at at least 8 hours of sleep the night before

 

LabFinder is a no-cost, online platform for people to easily schedule their medical tests and view results securely. The LabFinder team is passionate about improving the ‘patient and doctor experience’ through better communication, reduce out-of-pocket expenses and making everyone know more about their own medical tests. The mission of LabFinder is simple: we want to be solution to you and get you the test results you deserve so you can make right choices about your health.