What is a paramedical examination for life insurance? A life insurance paramedical exam is more than just a quick Q&A about your health. It’s a screening device insurance companies use to determine if you are eligible for their life insurance policy. Results determine if life insurance rates are affordable, rated, or declined. A paramedical examiner will measure your height and weight, blood pressure, and pulse, and sometimes even administer a resting EKG. The paramed includes medical history questions and requires authorization forms for insurers to access your medical records and the Medical Information Bureau. Paramedical exam screening is consistent whether you buy cash value term life insurance, term life, or universal life. Bonus Tip: Great News – There are companies now offering you $500k – $3 million with no medical exam, and a few companies now offer instant life insurance approvals with no paramed if you meet the criteria!
As we mentioned, most companies today offer a consumer guide to help you better understand the process.
You can get a PDF copy here.
Banner Life Corebridge Financial John Hancock Lincoln Financial Pacific Life Protective Life Prudential TransamericaWe’ll add additional companies as they become available.
The paramedical examiner makes no decisions; they collect the medical history and lab samples.
The lab receives the samples for testing and then transmits the results to the insurance company.
Failing a paramed exam can result in a decline by the insurance company.
In our experience, the following are the most likely reasons for failing:
Testing positive for marijuana but not disclosing use on the application or paramed exam.
Elevated lab results may indicate a significant health issue. Examples include PSA levels above 4.0 or significantly elevated liver enzyme results.
No, the insurance company will not let you take the test again. It’s usually easier to move to a new company instead.
Let us know if you’ve had a problem in the past, as we can help fix it.
Special note for cigar smoking and chewing tobacco programs.
If your quote requires a negative urine sample, stop long enough beforehand to ensure the negative test.
If you need a quick overview of the entire application process, our Life Insurance 101 guide is helpful.
In that case, you can disregard this entire article because conversions don’t require medical exams unless you add a life insurance rider for long-term care benefits or increase death benefits.
For business cases such as SBA loans or key person coverage, we can schedule all the exams simultaneously or on different days to fit your schedule.
If you’re getting life insurance to satisfy a divorce decree, you may consider a no-medical-exam life insurance policy instead, if available.
Non-U.S. citizens must complete the paramedical examination in the U.S.
The most common questions we receive from clients include the following:
What do the life insurance medical exams test for?Life insurance medical exams test for elevated blood sugar levels, kidney functions, liver functions, cholesterol, hepatitis, blood cell counts, PSA levels, illegal drugs, and cotinine.
Your lab results will be available after your paramedical exam is completed. Your agent can get a copy.
Who pays for the paramed exam?The life insurance companies pay for the medical exam, so there is never any cost to you.
Do all life insurers require paramed exams?No, more and more companies are eliminating the exam requirement.
Can I repeat my test if the results are unfavorable?In most cases, no. If you have unfavorable lab results, moving you to another life insurer will be easier.
How does the examiner collect my blood and urine samples?The examiner collects a few small vials of blood and gives you a cup to collect the urine; no, they don’t come into the bathroom with you.
How does the amount of life insurance affect the medical exam?The more life insurance you apply for, the greater the paramed exam requirements.
Where is the paramed exam completed?You have a choice between having the paramed at home, or you may visit a local facility, which is usually a Quest Diagnostics lab.
Does the paramedical check my blood pressure?The paramedical examiner will record three blood pressure readings and check your pulse.
How long is the paramed exam good for?Paramed exams are good for 6-12 months, depending on your age and the company you apply to.
Can my paramed exam be used at another company?Yes, your exam may be used with another life insurance company.
Have you been diagnosed with or treated for:
Let the examiner know about all the physicians you’ve used so underwriting can order the correct medical records.
We use Human API when available to speed up the medical records process.
With the increase in accelerated underwriting and instant life insurance approvals, insurers rely heavily on their life insurance statistics and data to determine if you even need a paramedical exam.
The life insurance paramedical will require blood and urine samples for many of the following tests. 1
It’s hard, if not impossible, to undo any of the following.
Important Note about Marijuana and Certain Medications!
If you use marijuana medically or recreationally, you must disclose this during the application and paramed exam process.
Not disclosing information may lead to suspicion and decline by the insurance company.
Do you take a prescription opioid? You must disclose this during the application and exam. If the use is temporary, the best advice is to wait until after you stop using the opioid.
Reflexive testing is more specific due to an elevation of one of the initial lab tests.
For example, if your labs test positive for marijuana, it may trigger tests for other illegal drugs.
Elevated liver functions related to alcohol use can cause a failed paramed exam. A CDT (Carbohydrate-deficient Transferrin) test provides a better picture of alcohol use over the past 2-3 weeks.
A positive CDT is the “kiss of death” in underwriting.
As life insurance companies move away from requiring paramedical exams, underwriting teams have been looking for better ways to evaluate your application.
ExamOne released its LabPiQture product in 2022. It’s a game changer for companies wanting to get a look at all your lab results over the past seven years.
It’s not so good if you are one of those applicants looking to hide past lab results or maybe fail to disclose your tobacco use (a $4 billion problem for the industry).
LabPiQture gives life insurers access to the lab results from the last seven years that Quest and LabCorp completed. Quest and LabCorp represent approximately 98% 2 of the lab testing market in the U.S.
More companies are implementing senior life insurance underwriting requirements.
| Test Name | Details |
|---|---|
| Chair Stand Test | The examiner will ask you to sit in a chair and stand up. This test may be repeated a few times throughout the exam. |
| Clock Drawing Tes | The examiner will ask you to draw a clock with the numbers 1-12 on the clock. You’ll then be asked to draw a specific time. |
| The Gait Test | You’ll be asked to walk across the room and back. The test is used to assess your stability. |
| Word Recall | The examiner will tell you five words they want you to remember. During the exam, they will ask you to recall those words. |
We’ll let you know beforehand if your paramed exam may involve one of these tests.
If your spouse is applying for life insurance, make sure they pay attention while you complete your tests, as they will need to complete the same tests.
Paramed exams are better than some agents make them out to be. That’s because some agents exaggerate paramed exam difficulties to get you to buy more expensive final expense policies.
In many cases, the life insurance medical exam takes 25-45 minutes to complete.
We’ll schedule your paramed exam with you.
We use ExamOne whenever possible, as it’s part of Quest Diagnostics.
They offer convenient locations and have been the most consistent paramedic exam company.
We’ll prep you to ensure you know what to expect. We work for you, not the life insurance company.
We aim to help you find your best term life insurance rate based on your medical history.
That's me, Michael Horbal, an independent licensed insurance agent. I am the owner and founder of RiskQuoter.com. I hate that many people pay too much for insurance because they end up with the wrong insurance company, agent, or both. That's why I started RiskQuoter. We're here to help you get the best insurance rates available.
