by Luisa

Created on: February 15, 2007   Last Updated: July 23, 2009

Medical exams for life insurance are not required by all companies, for all products. Some life insurance companies will offer a quick issue policy that does not require a medical exam however; by doing this, in most cases, you are taking insurance at a standard rate, which quite possibly would be more than you would pay if you took a medical exam.

If you are a young, healthy person I suggest you take the exam and reap the benefits of a lower rate. If you are looking for a term policy, the money you could save by taking a medical exam could be applied to a 'return of premium' option. This would allow for you to be refunded every penny of premium that you paid over the term of your policy- assuming you haven't collected for disability.

For example, if you are going to purchase a 30 year term policy and your monthly premium is $25.00, at the end of the 30 year term you can request a full refund of $9000.00, which, of course, is tax free since you pay for your policy with money that has already been taxed. The beauty of doing this is that you basically are setting up a nice savings account while being protected with life insurance. It's a win-win situation.

To get back on track, if you are not sure of your health or have had health issues in the past; you may want to consider a quick issue policy. If you take the medical exam and are rated at a higher rate than standard, then you are stuck with that rating for life, regardless of what company you go to.

Also, be aware that any prescription medication that has been prescribed to you is kept in a medical data base called the MIB (Medical Information Bureau). By keeping the prescription records on virtually everyone in the country; it is easy for insurance companies to see what types of medical problems we all have. When you apply for insurance, whether there is a medical exam or not, you are authorizing the insurance company to investigate your records with the MIB.

Make sure you are certain of all medical conditions before making your decision to take a medical exam or not. One more tip is that insurance policies that do not require a medical exam generally have a higher height weight limit so if you are a little thick around the middle; you may want to consider skipping the medical exam.

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