Can Health Improvement Reduce Life Insurance Bills? |
Good health is rewarded when you are applying for life insurance. But if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or some other ailment that makes you a "higher risk" and boosts your premium payments, you could end paying a lot more than you original thought. An insurance agent may tell you that if you lower your cholesterol or blood pressure, you can reduce your premium payments. While this may be true in some cases, many insurance companies will express concern that other factors, including the possibility of different health problems down the road, may prevent you from actually getting the premiums lowered or getting a guarantee that they could be. In an insurance company's eyes, the healthier you are, the less risk you represent. When you buy your life insurance policy, many companies can even give you specific requirements for a premium reduction (suitable cholesterol and blood pressure levels, for example). Companies also reward good health in order to keep customers from shopping around for another policy. After The Policy is Issued: Premium Reduction Guarantee Not Likey However, insurance companies stop short of putting a provision in your contract that promises your premium will go down if your health improves. Instead what many companies will put into your policy is that if you requalify on a medical basis for a lower rate, they will give you a rate reduction to keep your business. Another reason you won't get a guarantee of rate reduction from insurers in writing is that they may change their "insurability requirements" in the future, thus negating any promises made. If you want to show your insurance company that your health has improved, many companies require you to show medical proof from your doctor that you've maintained improved health for a specific period of time. For example, if you had high blood pressure that you later reduced, the insurance company could ask to see all of your blood pressure readings for the past year from your doctor before giving you a premium reduction. For more severe health problems, such as cancer and heart disease, the time period for showing improved health can be longer. Getting a premium reduction after suffering a serious condition like cancer is possible, but a company may require that the cancer be in remission for a long time, such as five to 10 years, before they lower your insurance bill. There are some ailments for which it is unlikely you will ever get a reduction. Heart wall damage from a heart attack is a condition that will not improve, thus making it nearly impossible to get a reduction. In some cases, the company will require you to undergo their own medical tests (collecting blood and urine samples, for example) to verify the information from your doctor. If the company finds out through any medical exam that you have other serious health problems, they will not charge you a higher rate. For example, if you lowered your cholesterol but the blood test showed you had developed diabetes, your premium would not increase. There generally is no limit regarding how many times you can ask the company to revisit your health and premiums, so it doesn't hurt to ask. They can't go back and reunderwrite to charge you a higher rate. |
