Can I Cheat on my Life Insurance Medical Exam?
If you’re thinking of buying a life insurance policy, and if you haven’t yet, what are you waiting for? Then, you may have heard about the medical exam you have to undergo so that premium rates can be identified based on any ailments you may be suffering from and your overall health. Insurers need to cover all bases, so that someone who’s more prone to illness, and therefore more likely to cause the filing of an early claim doesn’t end up paying a low premium. Basically, they’re judging your life expectancy based on this medical exam, and how much your insurance costs will be based largely on this exam. There are other factors too though that determine your premium rate such as age, gender, occupation, and hobbies, apart from what’s covered in the exam such as height, weight, medical history, and results of a blood test, a urine test, and blood pressure levels.
I know what you’re thinking; why not dupe the medical examiner when they come around for that test? Can’t be too hard really, considering that they usually send a paramedic or a nurse to conduct the test rather than a full blown doctor. Many people have tried, claiming to be non-smokers even though they only stopped a week before the test so that it appears that they don’t smoke, or lie about the fact that both their parents and grandparents have a history of heart disease thinking ‘meh, how will they ever know?’ Well turns out the joke is on you pal, because they will.
Let’s take the earlier example of smoking – after 3 whole years of quitting, maybe it won’t show in your medical exam, until then, if you tried to fib your way out of that one, you might get blacklisted from receiving a life insurance completely, don’t want that, do you? Similarly, your medical history is accessible by the medical staff at the insurance company, and they will do a thorough background check. Furthermore, there’s something called an “incontestable clause” inserted by most life insurance companies in their agreements. This clause basically protects them for a pre-defined period (usually 2 years) from having to pay up in case you lied on your exam. This means, if you kick the bucket inside two years from a heart condition, the one you lied about in your exam, the insurance company won’t pay a dime to your family. So, unless you can convincingly beat a blood test and a urine test, control your blood pressure, falsify medical records, and somehow conspire with all your previous doctors to back your claims for a period of two whole years you’d best stick to the facts and avoid ending up with an egg on your face.
Although, this doesn’t mean you shrug your shoulders, say que sera, sera and go raving the night before your test either, there are certain precautions you should take so that your health doesn’t appear worse than it actually is because of the indiscretions you committed during the previous night.
And don’t worry, this isn’t cheating either, in fact some of the tips that will be elucidated upon below have even been mentioned on the government website of southwest Florida’s Lee County. A document dedicated to the paramedical insurance exam procedure (a great resource if you want to know what to expect in the test) has been put up on their official website, and there is a segment called the “examination checklist” that contains this information as well, so don’t sweat it, following these tips is completely legal, and government endorsed.
Tips to help you put your best foot forward during a life insurance medical exam
The previous few days:
- Stop smoking and drinking. Don’t claim you’ve never done it, but high levels of nicotine in your system will increase your premium by huge amounts, the same goes for blood-alcohol levels.
- Stay away from red meat. Digging into those succulent ribs the night before might be fun, but ultimately your cholesterol levels will shoot up, and so will your premium cost.
- Hydrate. Water is the body’s in-built detox mechanism, use it. Drink a lot of water on the days leading up to the test for best urine-sample results.
- Sleep properly. That’s right, sleep well, for at least 8 hours, especially the night before the exam; nothing calms down blood pressure like a good night’s sleep.
- Test in the morning. Take the test in the morning, don’t eat anything until you do, and stay far away from caffeine until it’s over. Stick to water, and you’ll do better at the test.
- Painkillers are a no-no. Don’t pop an ibuprofen or an asprin the night before the exam, it won’t help your test results one bit.
- Fast before the exam. Don’t eat for at least 8 hours before your exam, preferably keep a good 12 hour gap.
- Mention any prescription medications you’re on. If your doctor is having you take medicines, take them, but let the tester know.
- Keep your records in order and dress appropriately. Your medical records will be asked, so will some form of identity proof, keep it handy or your blood pressure might shoot up during the frantic, last-minute search for your license. Also, wear a short sleeve shirt or something that easily folds up so that the blood test and blood pressure is easy to conduct.
If you want to find out how much your insurance will approximately cost, take a look at IntelliQuote, SelectQuote or AccuQuote’s websites. These firms are, as their names suggest, insurance quote providing services, so if you want to know how much a new policy will cost you, this is where you go. Picking the right source for quotes is important, so do some research, see who they’re affiliated with in terms of insurance companies, also, see what kind of benefits the company will provide, for e.g. some them offer a consultancy to help you decide which insurance to buy and how much to insure yourself for, so don’t be afraid to do some serious window shopping before taking the final call, after all it is in a very literal sense, a matter of life and death.
So think smart, and maximize the potential of your insurance premium, so that you live a tension free life and don’t get fleeced in the process either.
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Category: Insurance
