If you are a primary earning member of your family, then having a life insurance policy is important. What is life insurance? It is an insurance product that insures your life against various risks and dangers. In case such events lead to you passing away, the policy provides a sum assured to your loved ones. This sum assured ensures that your family has financial support during unfortunate times and that they live a life of monetary well-being. To get your life insured, you have to reach out to an insurer and submit a life insurance application.
The insurance application may be rejected or approved based on several factors. We list down a few major factors why your life insurance policy application may be rejected.
Adverse Health Conditions
One of the biggest concerns of insurers, when they are providing a life insurance policy, is the health condition of the buyer. A person who is healthy and does not seem to be suffering from any chronic or serious health conditions will have their insurance application approved easily. On the other hand, if you have conditions such as obesity, very low or very high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and so on, there is a high likelihood of your application getting rejected.
To get a better understanding, insurers also ask the buyers to undergo medical tests before issuing the policy.
Dangerous Professions And Occupations
Certain professions and occupations are more dangerous than others. They have a higher risk of accidents, illnesses, collisions, and unfortunate events in general, that can lead to one’s demise. This is the main reason why life insurers are a bit sceptical about approving the life insurance policy application of people who are engaged in certain professions. For instance, the chances of you suffering an accident are quite high if you are a truck driver or a rig driver, or if your vocation involves you travelling frequently to locations where natural disasters are common. People engaged as pilots, flight engineers, fishermen, labourers, etc. may also have difficulty getting their application approved.
A Higher Age
When you use a life insurance premium calculator, you will notice that the lower the age you enter, the lesser will be the premium estimated by the calculator. Age plays a big role in whether your life insurance application will be rejected or not. People who apply for life insurance at a higher age have a bigger risk of getting rejected, because health issues are more prominent and frequent for older people. That means that the policyholder is more likely to raise a claim very soon. This is not the case when a buyer is in their 20s or 30s. Therefore, it is advised to buy life insurance as soon as possible.
Lifestyle-Related Factors
The lifestyle you lead also influences your life insurance application’s approval chances. For instance, you may have noticed that a life insurance premium calculator also asks you whether you are a smoker. Individuals who smoke may have a higher chance of incurring a higher premium or having their life insurance application rejected. Smoking, and similarly harmful lifestyle habits such as drinking heavily, an extremely sedentary lifestyle, and so on, can lead to the deterioration of an individual’s health. This means that a claim may be raised sooner than regular.
Income And Monetary Limitations
When verifying your insurance application, the insurer also checks your income status and your financial situation in general. If the insurer feels that you do not have the wherewithal to pay for the premiums for the policy, the application may be rejected.
What You Can Do If Your Life Insurance Application Is Rejected
-
Get Treatment Started
If the reason for the rejection was a chronic health condition, then you can consider opting for its treatment. If the insurer notices that you are making an effort to reduce your diabetes symptoms, or lower your cholesterol medically, then they may give your application another thought.
-
Make Lifestyle Changes
You can consider cutting down on smoking or drinking if those were the main reasons for the application rejection. Furthermore, these changes will also lead to the betterment of your health in general which will lead to better chances of your application getting approved.
-
Opt For A Different Life Insurance Product
Different life insurance policies have different criteria. If a whole life insurance policy seems difficult right now, then opting for a term insurance policy may be the right option.
It would also be advisable to talk to an insurance agent to understand what kind of life insurance is suitable for you.