When purchasing life insurance on the open market, applicants generally are put into one of these broad categories:
* Preferred risk. This includes people in the best health.
* Standard risk. People who have only minor health concerns are placed here.
* Substandard risk. Below standard risk, applicants are placed into various tables, determined by the severity of their health problems, such as having diabetes or having experienced a past heart attack.
A standard risk might pay 70 percent more than a preferred risk for the same coverage.
Most applicants can qualify for life insurance at some price. However, insurers may reject applicants who are judged to have a terminal medical condition and may die soon.
You may have to take a physical exam for life, disability, health or long-term care. If you’re on the borderline, these precautions might improve the results and possibly push you into a healthier category, with lower costs:
* Watch what you eat. Don’t eat for at least eight hours before the exam. For the previous few days, avoid steaks and other fatty foods.
* Watch what you drink. Stay away from alcohol and from caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, or cola. Drink as much water as you can manage.
* Watch your schedule. Take your physical first thing in the morning, after a night of sleep. That will hold down your stress level–-and your blood pressure.
* Watch how you exercise. A strenuous workout before your exam can affect tests of liver function and downgrade your results.
Schedule your exam for a doctor’s office, where the equipment will be more accurate than a portable machine a paramedic brings to your home.
