No Medical Life Insurance

Today, I took a call from a lady.

She wanted life insurance.

But there was one condition.

It had to be no medical life insurance.

She made no bones about it.

She wanted life cover but wouldn’t do a medical exam.

Why?

Usually, there are two reasons why people don’t want to do a medical:

They’re in good health but are afraid of what a medical report may show.
They’re in poor health but have yet to receive an official diagnosis…and don’t want one, knowing it will increase their premium.

But this lady had a third reason…

She just didn’t like her GP!

So, why don’t you move to a new GP I asked her

Ah, I don’t want to let him down. He’s the family GP, has been for years…

Anyway, none of my business, I’m sure it’s a common story in a lot of close-knit towns in Ireland.

Fortunately for this lady, she didn’t need to do a medical exam and I’ll explain why

Contents

When it comes to getting life insurance without a medical, you have two choices:

1. Over 50s Life Insurance:

This is a special type of insurance for those who want cover without underwriting.

If you’re over 50 you simply complete an application form and the insurer will automatically accept you for life cover regardless of your health.

Even if you’re terminally ill, you can get cover.

Irish Life used to offer this product through brokers but not any more so I’m afraid your journey with me ends here.

An Post can help.

Remember this policy is only suitable if you have serious health issues (e.g having treatment for cancer) which means you can’t get normal life cover.

If you’re in poor health you can still get cover with us.

Keep reading…

2. Term Life Insurance

Applying for a life insurance policy doesn’t automatically trigger a medical.

In fact, if you’re in good health, you won’t have to do a medical exam.

90% of the time the underwriters are willing to offer cover based on a combination of:

Application form
Health questionnaires
Medical report from your GP

How does Life insurance Underwriting Work in Ireland?

But there are a few occasions when you can’t swerve a medical exam:

Serious health issues
Non-medical limits
High BMI

Let’s look at each one:

1. Serious Health Issues

If you have had a serious health issue and your GP doesn’t have up-to-date information, you may need to do a medical exam.

2. What are Non-medical Limits

“Non-medical limits” is industry speak describing how much life insurance you can apply for without triggering a request from the insurer for further medical information. Even if you are in perfect health, non-medical limits cannot be avoided.

There are two factors that affect the non-medical limit that will apply to you:

I’m sorry to say the older you are, the more risk you represent for the insurer because you’re not getting any younger and you have to shuffle off eventually. Logically thinking, a 65 year old is closer to the pearly gates than a 35-year-old. Therefore it’s more common for an older person to need further medical underwriting.

The amount of coverage you need

You see the more insurance you buy, the more risk for the insurer if there is a claim because they will have to foot the bill for a large payout.

Combing age and amount of coverage mean if you are in your 50s and need over €300,000 cover, it’s going to be difficult to avoid a nurse medical exam.

Each insurer has different non-medical limits so be very careful when choosing which life insurance company to apply to.

Choose the correct one and you’ll get cover based on an application form.

Choose the wrong one and you’ll have to go through the hoops of questionnaires, medical reports, nurse screenings and medical exams.

3. High BMI

As a rule of thumb, if your BMI is over 35, the insurer will request you attend a nurse’s medical screening.

Here a nurse will visit you and take your height/weight and other readings.

How to know if you’re overweight for life insurance

Will the Insurer Require a Medical Report from Your GP?

Similar to the above, the insurer will need a PMAR (medical report) if a combination of your age and coverage exceeds non-medical limits.

What is a PMAR?

Over to you

So you see, you probably won’t have to do a medical exam.

No need to worry about getting prodded and poked.

But make sure you apply to the insurer with the highest non-medical limits as mentioned above.

If you’d like me to make a recommendation on the types of cover you should consider based on where you are in life, please complete this questionnaire and I’ll be right back.

Thanks for reading

Nick