If you’re taking out life insurance you might find yourself wondering how life insurance companies check a medical background. Do life insurance companies check medical records? You may be pleased to hear that not all of them do. Here are the facts about life insurance companies and your medical records.

Can Life Insurance Companies Access Medical Records?

An insurer can only access your medical records if you give your permission for them to do so. If you agree to let them go through your medical history, they’ll contact your doctor and will look at your records over the last five to ten years. If you don’t give your permission, they can’t investigate your background and could either refuse to insure you or offer you insurance with higher premiums.

When Would an Insurer Request Medical History Documents?

Insurers usually ask for access to your medical records because they have noticed something in your application that may indicate a heightened risk profile. So, for example, you may have been treated for cancer. Although you have recovered, your insurers would like more details in order to understand the level of risk they are taking on if they were to offer you insurance.

But medical records are looked at in one other scenario too. If you were to die soon after getting life insurance, your insurers may decide to check your medical records to see whether you had an illness that you knew about but didn’t disclose when you applied for your policy. If you did, they are entitled to refuse payment of your death benefit.

How Far Back do Life Insurance Companies Look at Medical Records?

Life insurance companies are interested in your current state of health as an indicator of how long you’re likely to live. This may have been affected by recent illnesses, or you may have a health condition that could shorten your expected lifespan. As a result, they’ll generally focus on the last five to ten years of your medical history. If you were seriously ill during that time, they’ll look into your treatment and try to find out whether you are fully recovered now.

Remember, insurers are trying to calculate risk. The more likely you are to suffer from a life-threatening illness while insured, the higher the financial risk of insurance, and the higher your premiums will be.

Will the Records Contain Details of Pre-Existing Health Conditions?

The whole point of keeping medical records is that they allow doctors to understand your health history and know how to treat you when you become ill. Or, they might notice recurring issues that warrant your going for medical tests to uncover why you frequently have a certain type of problem. As a result, your medical records will definitely contain information about pre-existing conditions that may affect your eligibility for life insurance.

For example, if a person has incurable cancer and is likely to die quite soon, they won’t be able to get life insurance at all. As a slightly less extreme example, if a person has a heart condition and is at risk, that translates into a greater risk for the insurer too and they may decide to charge a higher premium.

What is a Life Insurance Medical Exam?

Some insurers may ask you to have a medical examination as part of your application process. In most instances, it’s just a thorough checkup that includes a physical examination and a blood test and urine test. Insurers will want to know if you have high cholesterol, for example, or if you are HIV positive. They’ll also look for indications that you may have diabetes or possible kidney issues.

Is There Life Insurance That Doesn’t Look at Medical Records?

It certainly is possible to get life insurance with companies that don’t look at medical records. However, they’re still likely to ask you to fill in a questionnaire in which you will be expected to inform them of any health issues you currently have. It’s essential to be completely honest when completing a questionnaire from an insurer. If you aren't, they could argue that you concealed important information from them and refuse to pay a death benefit if you were to die.

Do Life Insurance Companies Check Medical Records After Death?

In general, insurers won’t ask to see your medical records after you die. However, most life insurance policies have a “contestability clause”. This clause states that your insurer may investigate the cause of your death if you were to pass away during a specific time frame - usually the first one to two years after your life insurance came into effect. If their investigation shows that you weren’t completely honest about your health when you applied for your insurance, they no longer have to pay your beneficiaries a death benefit.

Will Insurance Companies Want to See My History if I Have Type 2 Diabetes?

If you have Type 2 diabetes, most insurers will ask for access to your medical records or expect you to go for a medical exam. Some will simply turn down your application without further ado. In most instances, those who do decide to offer you insurance will charge you more for your cover.

At Blueberry Life, we recognise that a person with well-managed diabetes is likely to enjoy good health for many years to come. Our application process is simple and doesn’t require a look at your medical records. Simply fill in our questionnaire, telling us about your health and lifestyle as well as any medicines you’re using, and you’re done!

The advantages? Your application’s processing time, which usually takes 3 months with other insurance companies, now takes a matter of minutes! And because we use your individual information to calculate premiums, you can be sure that you’re getting a fair deal.

If you’re tired of all the rigmarole and invasion of privacy and want life insurance that’s tailored to your needs, it’s time you found out about Blueberry Life's insurance for people living with chronic conditions. Our application process is streamlined with you in mind. It’s as easy as filling out an online application - all you need is 5 minutes to tell us about yourself.

‍

This is a blog and should not be taken as financial advice.