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One of the most important
factors in whether or not you can get
life insurance, and how much you have
to pay for it is your health. Should you
have a clean bill of health, you'll find
that your life policy will cost a great
deal less to protect your family.
What can you do though if you take a
medical exam for your life insurance and
it shows that you have high cholesterol,
high blood pressure or any other ailment,
such as angina, which makes you regarded
as high risk and thus raises your premium
payments?
You insurance broker may say to you that
all you have to do is get your cholesterol
or blood pressure down or treat whatever
medical problems have been identified,
and your premium payments will shrink.
That is not fully correct.
Speak to an insurance company and many
will tell you that improving your health
will in fact lower your premiums. But
it's not just your health at that moment
that matters, it's also whether or not
you will suffer from health problems down
the line. Remember that life insurance
as a product is for a long term, up to
about 30 years sometimes, and that is
the bet your insurance company takes.
The company has freedom to change whichever
guidelines they want to, so lower premiums
cannot be guaranteed to you. |
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So, some companies may
give you specific requirements to enable
you to reduce your premium, such as getting
your blood pressure down to a certain
level. But they will stop short of guaranteeing
in your policy that your premium will
go down, to help them avoid a lawsuit.
Should you re-qualify for a lower rate
on the basis of a further medical examination,
your premiums should be lowered, but this
will not be contracted. When someone is
assessed for premiums, the whole picture
is looked at, so you could lower your
cholesterol to the level asked for, but
if your blood pressure has risen during
that time, your premiums may not be reduced.
Providing medical proof from your doctor
that you've maintained your improvement
in health for a specific period, that
might help you, so should you be able
to show all blood pressure readings for
the last three years, you may warrant
a premium reduction.
Should you suffer from cancer or heart
disease, or other more serious illnesses,
your time period for proving that your
health is improving could be longer. You
may need to show five to ten years of
cancer remission before your insurance
bill is reduced. Some diseases, such as
heart-wall damage from a heart attack,
will not improve, so it's nearly impossible
to get a reduction.
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