Term Life Insurance Articles
Healthy And Denied Life Insurance - What Gives
2009-12-27
If you're a healthy person, you might find it odd or even shocking when you're denied term life insurance coverage. One would think that insurance companies would be fighting over healthy applicants. How can this be? How could you realistically be denied coverage if you're healthy enough to pass an insurer's physical exams and other tests?
Insurance companies use quite a few different criteria when evaluating applicants, and not all of them are directly centered on your health. Insurers might look into your family medical history, for instance. If you have a long family history of heart disease, cancer, or any other serious diseases, you might be denied coverage when an insurance company underwriter takes a look at your application. Your job and hobbies can also have a big impact. Remember, term life insurance policies are paid out on death, so if you're regularly doing something risky, insurers might send you away. For instance, extreme sport hobbyists--hang gliders, bungee jumpers, skydivers, etc--will often have a tough time, as will workers whose jobs take place under extreme conditions or in bad parts of the world where violence and disease are above the average levels (when compared to the average insurance policy holder).
The good news is that you can easily find out why you were denied for a term life insurance plan. Call or write the insurer that denied your policy application and ask them why it had been denied. They legally have to give you this information, so if they refuse, call your state insurance commissioner's office to take steps to report them--and don't go back to that insurer, of course. Once you find out the reason that you were denied, think about whether it's something you can change. If the denied policy was based on one of your activities or your job, you might consider a change in lifestyle. Otherwise, you might simply need to look for a new insurer.
There are quite a few insurance companies out there, and getting term life insurance coverage shouldn't be too difficult if you do a bit of shopping around. If you're consistently denied coverage, you'll eventually need to look for a "high risk" insurer that will provide a policy for you. These insurers often have high term life insurance quotes, but the sooner you buy, the lower the rates will be. With the right approach, you can find term life insurance coverage that works for you and accomplishes exactly what you're looking for--regardless of your lifestyle, medical history, or any other criteria that insurers use to evaluate you.
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If you're a healthy person, you might find it odd or even shocking when you're denied term life insurance coverage. One would think that insurance companies would be fighting over healthy applicants. How can this be? How could you realistically be denied coverage if you're healthy enough to pass an insurer's physical exams and other tests?
Insurance companies use quite a few different criteria when evaluating applicants, and not all of them are directly centered on your health. Insurers might look into your family medical history, for instance. If you have a long family history of heart disease, cancer, or any other serious diseases, you might be denied coverage when an insurance company underwriter takes a look at your application. Your job and hobbies can also have a big impact. Remember, term life insurance policies are paid out on death, so if you're regularly doing something risky, insurers might send you away. For instance, extreme sport hobbyists--hang gliders, bungee jumpers, skydivers, etc--will often have a tough time, as will workers whose jobs take place under extreme conditions or in bad parts of the world where violence and disease are above the average levels (when compared to the average insurance policy holder).
The good news is that you can easily find out why you were denied for a term life insurance plan. Call or write the insurer that denied your policy application and ask them why it had been denied. They legally have to give you this information, so if they refuse, call your state insurance commissioner's office to take steps to report them--and don't go back to that insurer, of course. Once you find out the reason that you were denied, think about whether it's something you can change. If the denied policy was based on one of your activities or your job, you might consider a change in lifestyle. Otherwise, you might simply need to look for a new insurer.
There are quite a few insurance companies out there, and getting term life insurance coverage shouldn't be too difficult if you do a bit of shopping around. If you're consistently denied coverage, you'll eventually need to look for a "high risk" insurer that will provide a policy for you. These insurers often have high term life insurance quotes, but the sooner you buy, the lower the rates will be. With the right approach, you can find term life insurance coverage that works for you and accomplishes exactly what you're looking for--regardless of your lifestyle, medical history, or any other criteria that insurers use to evaluate you.
