High Risk Life Insurance: All You Need To Know

Do you consider yourself or any other member of your family a high-risk life insurance applicant? Are you wondering if the amount of risk in your life can affect your chances of getting covered?

Well, if yes is your answer to these questions, you’re certainly not alone. Life, for the most part, can be a risky business at the best times. It could be that you have a dangerous job, hobby or a couple of high-risk lifestyle habits. And as you probably guessed, all these add up to make you a risky candidate for life insurance coverage.

You can tell that high-risk life insurance is meant for people who happen to hold an incredible amount of risk for an insurance carrier. As most if not all of us already know, life insurance is one of the most important purchases you’ll want to make in life.

It’s basically the surest way to protect your loved ones financially (especially at those times when they have to do with the emotional pain of no longer having you around). But of course, the process of getting life insurance as a high-risk applicant is different from that of regular people. In fact, chances are you’ve heard people say that you’re unlikely to get affordable coverage because of your health, lifestyle or nature of your job.

Well, while it may seem hard to get affordable high-risk insurance, it’s not impossible. There are several different ways to get lower insurance rates even as a high-risk applicant. So yes, you can still give your beautiful family the life insurance protection they need and of course, secure their financial future in the event of your demise.

First things First — Attributes that Create Extra Risk to an Insurance Company

• Health status
• Job or career
• Day-to-day activities
• Lifestyle
• Smoker

Note: Each attribute comes with a different type of risk, so of course, you may not know exactly what is affecting your life insurance rate.

High-Risk Health

First off, the life insurance company will consider your current health condition and see if you qualify for the coverage. Of course, when we talk of risky health considerations, you should be looking at things like serious illnesses, psychological problems, disabilities, and the likes.

Health issues like cancer, heart failure, diabetes, kidney disease lung disorders, and liver disease can make the insurer to classify you as one with a high-risk profile. What’s more, any disability or psychological impairment that prevent you from carrying out simple day-to-day activities (or pose a major challenge to your long-term health) may be considered high risk.

It’s also noteworthy to mention that individuals with a history of suicide attempts or thoughts may find it difficult to get life insurance. To sum it up you should have it mind that every health condition is worthy of consideration when applying for life insurance. In fact, each health consideration has its unique underwriting requirement which is typically based on how an illness is diagnosed or cured.

High-Risk Jobs

What can you say about your occupation? Do you find it to be laden with risks? If yes, you should be aware that it could be a threat to an insurance company when planning to get covered or protected.

Today, it’s obvious that there are quite a few professions that tend to have a wide range of risks and dangers on the job. Yes, it doesn’t matter if you work as an electrician, fisherman or pilot, you’re likely to face different types of threats daily.

But of course, the big question is, can these jobs increase your likelihood of experiencing life-threatening accidents? Well, that may not always be the case. For example, not every electrician is a high-risk applicant — yes, it basically depends on the level of risk you face while on the job. Of course, the dangers faced by a commercial electrician working with transformers is too great to be compared with that of a residential electrician working on basic home outlets.

As with health consideration, each occupation is looked at individually and of course, the company could ask a couple of questions to get a better idea of the amount of risks your job brings you.

Dangerous or Hazardous Activities

Yes, as you probably guessed, hazardous activities are those risky things you do at your leisure time or even at work. And of course, they can Increase your risk when purchasing life insurance. Now, when we talk about dangerous activities, we’re basically talking about everything from riding motorcycles to mountain climbing to skydiving to scuba diving to car racing and more.

Of course, chances are you know that these activities can expose you to certain dangers which could lead to terrible accidents or even worse, death.

So, what does an insurance company look at when underwriting hazardous activities? Well, we or any other insurer will want to know how much training you have in the activity, how often you perform it and a few other questions that shed more light on the type (or amount) of risks you deal with.

High-Risk Lifestyle Choices

While lifestyle choices may not be a factor for most people, it can also affect your plan to get coverage. Yes, at this point, the biggest threat to the insurance company are those with a bad driving record, criminal charges or history of marijuana or tobacco use.

It’s safe to say that people with criminal records generally have shorter live or are more likely to get hurt or lose their lives unexpectedly. But then again, you should be aware that each lifestyle choice is looked at differently. So of course, not every lifestyle choice will ruin your chances of getting the coverage you need.

What to Keep in Mind

Now, since you’re a high-risk applicant, you should expect to get a higher premium for a high-risk life insurance policy. Yes, since life insurance premiums are based on health, age, amount of coverage and risk factors, you should expect the premium to rise if the company finds you to be too risky. It’s also important to note that the insurance company can decline your request if they’re unwilling to accept the risk.

Tips for Buying High-Risk Life Insurance

• First off, we’ll recommend you do your research ahead of time. Essentially, you should consider your risks and of course, learn more about the questions the company could ask you (and of course, prepare to answer them). Speaking of answers, it’s crucial to make them as detailed as possible. Try to make mention of just about everything we or any other insurance company needs to know.
• Secondly, you won’t be wrong to prepare yourself to wait a bit longer than those seeking a standard issued policy. That’s about it!

NOTE: If you are above the age of 50 and a member of AARP, you would qualify for their life insurance products. AARP Life Insurance does not ask if your smoke or involved in high risk activities.

If you have any questions or comments please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We hope this article helped you in your life insurance buying process.

Frequently Asked Questions