Life Insurance Medical Exam Guide

Life insurance premiums are based on an applicant’s age and medical risk, which is why a medical exam is necessary and required when purchasing life insurance.

Instead of going to the doctor to get a recent medical exam, our agency will schedule the exam in the comfort of your home or place of preference. Medical exams take between 20-30 minutes. We always recommend and encourage taking a medical exam in the morning to obtain the best test results.

Here is a breakdown of things to consider prior to a medical exam:

Nurse will need to obtain the below:

  • Driver’s License
  • Blood Sample
  • Urine Sample
  • Measurement of height, weight, pulse and blood pressure
  • Series of health questions

They will be testing for:

  • HIV and AIDS
  • STDs
  • Cholesterol
  • Hemoglobin AIC and glucose levels
  • Creatinine and protein to identify kidney disease
  • Urine acidity (can indicate kidney issues or diabetes)
  • Drugs
  • Nicotine

What not to do consume before a life insurance medical exam:

  • Poppy seeds – can cause false positive for opiates
  • Vitamin B12 – can cause false positive for marijuana
  • Tonic Water – cause false positive for cocaine
  • Ibuprofen- can cause false positive for marijuana
  • Sleeping pills – can cause false positive for barbiturates
  • Avoid drinking alcohol 48 hours prior to exam  
  • Avoid eating fast food 48 hours prior to exam
  • Limit sweets
  • Reduce caffeine consumption 24 hours prior to exam

What to consider:

  • Eat more fiber to lower cholesterol readings
  • Drink plenty of water 48 hours before exam
  • Consider a 16 hour fast prior to exam
  • Wear light and comfortable clothes the day of

Once you complete your medical exam, the nurse will be giving you a ticket which will have the medical exam reference number. Please keep this in a safe place in the event you would like to obtain the medical exam results. It takes roughly between 5-10 business days for insurance carrier to go through your medical exam results and come back with a final decisions.

At times, insurance carriers can come back and request medical records from a certain medical facility or physician’s office. At this time obtaining medical records can take an additional 7-14 business days. In this situation, we will contact the applicant to have them reach out to the facility/physician’s office to expedite the process.

If you have any questions regarding your medical exam, please reach out via email, .