Nail the paramedical exam—your key to securing favorable life insurance rates. This guide provides a comprehensive roadmap to simplify the process.
What is a Paramedical Exam for Life Insurance?
A paramedical exam is a health screening that life insurance companies use to assess overall health and identify any high-risk health conditions.
It includes:
- Measuring height and weight.
- Checking blood pressure and pulse.
- EKG (in some cases)
- Reviewing your medical history
- Blood and urine tests
- Signing authorizations to obtain medical records and check the MIB.
The amount of life insurance you purchase impacts the paramed exam requirements – if you buy $5 million, you will have more detailed underwriting requirements than someone buying $1 million.
The results determine your eligibility and rates. Sometimes, you may receive more favorable offers when buying whole life insurance versus term life due to underwriting credits.
Bonus Tip: You may qualify for $500k – $3 million with no medical exam or instant life insurance approvals, which allows you to bypass the paramed altogether.
If you’re new to buying life insurance, check out our 101 guide, which provides detailed information about the process, how to plan for final expenses, details on living benefits riders, assignments, and more.
Why Paramedical Exams Matter for Your Life Insurance
A paramedical exam for life insurance is a crucial step in the application process. They provide insurers with a detailed snapshot of your health, influencing your eligibility and premium rates. A well-prepared exam can help you qualify for better term life insurance or universal life insurance policies.
Detailed Tips to Ace Your Life Insurance Paramedical Exam
Download a copy of our Foolproof Paramedical Examination Guide!
Some of the most important tips:
- Ask your Agent – Understand paramed exam requirements based on age and coverage amount.
- Know Your Dates – Dates of any surgeries, treatments, and tests.
- Physician’s Contact Information – Names and contact information of any physicians you have visited in the past five years.
- Medications and Dosages – Names and dosages of all medicines you take. Take your meds on exam day.
- Feeling Sick? Reschedule! Illness can lead to inaccurate lab results, which may affect your life insurance medical exam results.
- Watch What You Eat – For a few days before the exam, limit salty, fatty, and sugary foods.
- Fast – For 6-8 hours before your exam for best results, but do not fast if your medical condition requires you to eat.
- No Alcohol – Don’t drink for at least 48 hours before the exam, as it may elevate GGT levels.
- No Tobacco – Avoid tobacco for a few hours before to avoid raising blood pressure.
- Accurate Answers – Answer questions precisely, without guessing or oversharing.
- Limit Exercise – Skip your workout on exam day – Working out temporarily raises your blood pressure and liver enzymes.
- Morning Appointments Only—Schedule a morning exam, as your blood pressure is typically lower. It will also be easier on you since you are fasting.
Navigating a Failed Life Insurance Paramedical Exam
Failing an exam doesn’t always mean you’re out of options. You may need to apply with a different carrier. The paramedical examiner only collects data. The lab sends the results to the insurer, who makes the decision. Common reasons for failing include:
- Undisclosed marijuana use
- Elevated lab results (e.g., PSA levels, liver enzymes)
- Positive cotinine test when app indicates no tobacco use – cigarettes, chew, pipe tobacco, etc.
- High-risk medical conditions
Can you retake the paramed exam? No, the insurance company will not allow you to retake the test. It’s usually easier to move to a new company instead.
Frequently Asked Questions About Paramed Exams
The most common questions we receive from clients include the following:
Blood sugar, kidney/liver function, cholesterol, hepatitis, PSA, drugs, and cotinine. They also check your height and weight.
Yes, you will be provided with access to your lab results.
The insurance company pays for the exam, even if you don’t end up buying life insurance from them.
No, more and more insurers are trying to get away from requiring exams.
It can be done at home, at your workplace, or you may visit one of the test centers, typically located at Quest Labs.
Common Questions You’ll Be Asked
Have you been diagnosed with or treated for:
- High blood pressure?
- High cholesterol?
- Any high-risk health conditions such as:
- Heart Conditions – Chest pain, murmur, heart attack, EKG
- Cancer History – Breast cancer, melanoma, prostate cancer, etc.
- GI Problems – Ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s Disease, Hepatitis?
- Endocrine Disorders – Diabetes, Thyroid Conditions
- Respiratory Problems – asthma, emphysema, sleep apnea
- Mental or Nervous Disorder? (anxiety, depression, OCD, suicide ideation/attempts)
- Brain Disorders? (Seizures, epilepsy, TIA, MS, strokes)
- Have you ever been diagnosed with AIDs?
- Any disorders of the blood or immune system? (anemia, leukemia, lymphoma, HIV, etc.)
- Do you drink alcohol?
- If yes, how often do you drink?
- Have you ever used illegal drugs?
- If yes, what did you use, and when?
- Drug addiction and/or alcohol abuse?
- Is there any other health history that was not mentioned?
- Do you smoke cigars or use other types of tobacco?
- What types, how often, and if you quit, when did you quit?
- They’ll also ask about your family history of medical problems with your parents and siblings.
Let the examiner know about all the physicians you’ve used so that underwriting can order the correct medical records. If you’re a foreign national with medical records in another country, you will need to pay for those records to be sent to the carrier.
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We utilize Human API when available to expedite 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.
Detailed Breakdown of Life Insurance Lab Tests
The life insurance paramedical will require blood and urine samples for many of the following tests. 1
Blood Tests
- Serum HIV – tests for the presence of HIV
- Hepatitis C Antibody – Detects prior infection.
- Glucose – Assesses diabetes risk.
- HbA1c – Evaluates glucose levels for the prior 2-3 months.
- BUN – Used to evaluate and diagnose kidney disease.
- Creatinine – Used to assess kidney function.
- Estimated GFR – Measures the functions of the kidneys.
- Alkaline Phosphatase – Checks for bone or liver disorders.
- AST – Tests for liver, heart, or muscle disorders.
- ALT – Test for liver disease.
- GGT – Alcohol use, certain medications, and liver disease.
- Blood Alcohol – Tests for ethanol in your blood.
- Total Protein – Screens for kidney and liver disease.
- Albumin – Tests for advanced liver disease.
- Globulin – This may indicate infections, immune disorders, etc.
- Cholesterol – Measures the amount in your bloodstream.
- HDL Cholesterol – The “good” cholesterol.
- LDL – The “bad” cholesterol that clogs arteries.
- Cholesterol/HDL Ratio – Measures total cholesterol to HDL.
- LDL/HDL Ratio – Used to calculate heart disease risk.
- Triglycerides – This may indicate heart disease and alcohol use.
- PSA – Used to evaluate prostate cancer risk.
Urine Tests
- Glucose – A test for diabetes.
- Protein – Screens for kidney problems.
- Leukocyte Screen – kidney or bladder infections.
- Hemoglobin Screen – may indicate kidney or urinary tract disease.
- White Blood Cells – May indicate an infection.
- Red Blood Cells May indicate infection, kidney damage, or cancer.
- Granular Casts – Used to check kidneys.
- Hyaline Casts – Significant elevations may indicate kidney problems.
- Specific Gravity – Evaluates kidneys.
- Urine Temperature – This is taken to ensure false samples are not provided.
- Creatinine – is removed from the body by the kidneys.
- Protein/Creatine Ratio – Evaluates kidney functions.
- Cotinine – This is a metabolite of nicotine.
- Diuretic Agents – Screen for blood pressure drugs.
- Beta Screen – Looks for heart medications.
- Cocaine – Illegal Drugs
- Marijuana – Drug Screen
- Codeine – Illegal Drugs
- Hydrocodone – Illegal Drugs
- Morphine – Illegal Drugs
- Hydromorphone – Illegal Drugs
- Oxycodone – Illegal Drugs
- Oxymorphone – Illegal Drugs
- Fentanyl – Illegal Drugs
Lab Testing Advice
It’s hard, if not impossible, to undo the results of these tests.
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.
If you leave something out on your application, the insurance company may get suspicious and decline your policy altogether. Even if it slips through, your beneficiary could face delays or even denial when it’s time to collect the death benefit.
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.
When Further Testing is Needed: Reflexive Testing
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 test for alcohol use (Carbohydrate-deficient Transferrin) test provides a better picture of alcohol consumption over the past 2-3 weeks.
A positive CDT is the “kiss of death” in underwriting.
The Future of Underwriting: How Insurers Verify Your Labs
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 that want to access all their 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 provides life insurers with access to lab results from the last seven years that Quest and LabCorp have completed. Quest and LabCorp collectively represent approximately 98% of the U.S. lab testing market.
Special Tests for Older Applicants
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 Test | 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 (survivorship policy), make sure they pay attention while you complete your tests, as they will need to take the same tests.
Final Thoughts
Paramed exams are often simpler 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.
We’ll schedule your exam with you, using ExamOne whenever possible for their convenience and consistency. We’ll also prep you to ensure you know what to expect. Our goal is to help you find the best term life insurance rate, taking into account your medical history, while navigating the paramedical screening process with ease.
- 2024 Quest Diagnostics Lab Tests for Paramedical Exams ↩︎
