Life Insurance for High-Risk Individuals – What you Need to Know

Who are the high-Risk Individuals?

Certain decisions that you make in your life are assessed when you apply for life insurance. This information leads to the categorizing an individual, into high, medium and low risk. If your lifestyle or health could lead to an early death or disability, the insurers consider you as high risk. This information leads to how much risk you are to insure and what your premium will be. The higher risk category you fall in, the more the premium increases for highrisk life insurance plans.

What is high risk for life insurance?

• Occupation: Your occupation influences your premium. If you are into mining and dealing with dangerous drilling machinery, you have to pay a considerably higher amount than an individual who is involved in a clerical job.
• Health:The insurer’sfirst questionwill be about your health conditionwhen considering providing life insurance for highrisk patients. If you suffer from any pre-existing medical condition (heart disease, cancer, diabetes), you are deemed to be a high-risk individual. The same rule applies to someone with dangerous habits like smoking, drinking or use of recreational drugs
• Lifestyle:Your lifestyle can lead you to high-risk zones. If you enjoy dangerous sports like skydiving, skateboarding, boxing, scuba diving you may, later on, find that you have to pay higher premiums. Chances are high risk life insurance cost will be more you buy insuranceconsidering any of these lifestyle factors.
• Genetic factors:When you are genetically susceptible to a particular disease it pushes up your premium. Life insurance companies will leave no stone unturned to check if you have any negative hereditary factors.
• Gender: Studies confirm that women tend to live longer than men. This impact the mortality risk therefore if other physical attributes are at par women is likely to be charged lower than a man of the same age.

It always pays when you are honest in revealing medical details while buying an insurance policy. Dishonesty in disclosing medical information may lead to your claim getting declined.

How to reduce the risk of being a high-risk Individual

The most critical factors on your life insurance rate will ultimately depend on two things – the severity of the above factors and how is your policy underwritten.

Let us work out on how to reduce the premiums on your policyif you are a high-risk individual.These are a few basic tips which you can follow to counter the abnormal premiums which you may have to pay as a high-risk individual.

• Avoid Excessive Drinking and Smoking:Both these factors severely deteriorate your health. So, every insurer requires you to answer this questionas this directly relates to your mortality and have lower expectancy ratio. These individuals are more prone to lung cancer, throat cancer, bronchitis, and so on.
• Current Health Status and Pre-Existing conditions:Your health condition is a significant indicator to insurers when it comes to determining your premium. The silver lining is that no plan can reject a person by pre-existing medical issues. No additional amount will be charged beyond the quoted amount.
• Longer Policy Tenure and High Sum Insured: If you opt for a longer policy tenure and higher sum assured, the insurance company may incur losses if you die in between the term. You can either reduce any one of the above which will help to reduce the premiums.
• Obesity:According to the World Health Organization(WHO),every one adult out of six is obese. This occurrence leads to the increase of Body Mass Index (BMI). Obesity can lead to many diseases if left unchecked. In case your BMI is more than the specified limit your premium goes up. Therefore, to reduce premium you need to reduce weight if you are overweight.
• Riders:Ridersoffer extra protection in comparison to buying a standalone policy. So look for riders before shelling out more which makes the base policy maintained with rider cover. The administrative cost of the plan becomes considerably less.
• Purchase Online or Offline:Online policies are much cheaper than the offline products. Because online policies save a considerable amount in distribution and administration which insurance companies pass on to policyholders.

Every life insurance policy is evaluated on a case-by-case basis by underwriters. No two life insurance companies’ procedure is the same. Make sure that you consult with your life insurance expert who knows multiple companies and can get you affordable high risk life insurance.

To get better quotes you have to follow the above habits and try to be in good shape, put down cigarettes, maintain a healthy weight, regular exercise and a healthy diet.

As a high-risk individual, you may find it difficult to buy affordable high risk life insurance. Possibilities are there, but the search has to be very wide.

Looking for Affordable High Risk Life Insurance

Some companies adopt a lenient approach to specific health issues which has raised the hopes of high-risk individuals. The key to success is to approach an independent insurance agency. If you contact the company directly, they will not have access to multiple brochures.

There are cases where people with epilepsy, pacemakers or high blood pressure medication that got approved policies through professionals who know the tricks of the trade. Finding approvals is all about knowing about the companies those are the best high-risk providers, and which one is right for you for affordable high-risk life insurance.

Also,when you are dealing with your agent, to answer to all questions on health and habits is very crucial. Life insurance plans have a two-year contestability period during which a plan can be canceled or a claim denied if any falsified information is recorded.

If you search the market, you will find some product which is available for those who are considered as high risk. You might not get the desired policy but something is better than nothing soyou can buy Term Life insurance which is the most cost-effective life insurance.

More Good News

If you are a high-risk applicant, there is more good news. Survivorship policies consider the health of both the parties during the underwriting process so if your spouse is in better health than your premiums become considerably less.

The option of guaranteed universal Life insurance is there for high-risk individuals as life insurance for high-risk patients which is a hybrid of whole and term life policies. Guaranteed Universal Life insurance policies provide cover until a certain age – such as 90, 100, 105, and 110. However, the clause of a medical exam is attached to these policies, so you have to be in good health.

Insure and be Secure

Insurance is atool where fatalities are compensated. You can search for the best suitable product which is still available, commonly purchased and will insure you and your family. Alternatives are always there which only a keen eye will result in a successful approval. Discuss with your insurance agent and reduce the impact. Take precautions to keep your health in bloom. The proverb – Health is Wealth will alwayshold true.