High Cholesterol Means Higher Life Insurance

Coronary heart disease is the number-one killer of both men and women in the U.S., accounting for 29% of all American deaths. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels are two of the biggest risk factors for heart disease. According to the CDC, one in five Americans has high cholesterol, while one in three has high blood pressure. This is not good news for people looking for the best life insurance rates because both of these diseases can eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke. In other words, these diseases shorten the span of your life, which makes you a bigger risk for life insurance. High-risk applicants will pay high-dollar premiums.

The Impact on Your Life Insurance Application

When you apply for a life insurance policy, you will have to take a medical exam. During this exam, you will be asked questions about your family history, lifestyle, and smoking and alcohol usage. The person administering the exam will measure your height, weight, pulse, and blood pressure. In addition, you will have to give a sample of your blood, which will be tested for your cholesterol and lipid levels, among other things. If you have had high blood pressure or high cholesterol in the past, though, don’t panic. Most life insurers will not penalize you if you have hypertension or high cholesterol that is treated and controlled through lifestyle changes or medication.

What’s Considered High?

You might know your cholesterol, but you probably have no idea what your life insurer’s threshold is for high cholesterol. You can get this information from prospective insurers by calling them and asking. The good news is, life insurers tend to be much more generous with their cholesterol and blood pressure allowances than do physicians. So, even though your doctor might call you prehypertensive, your life insurer may not care. Typically, you should keep your total cholesterol (HDL and LDL) under 200 to be considered healthy. You will also need LDL cholesterol (”bad” cholesterol) below 100. If you meet these criteria, you should have “healthy” cholesterol according to your life insurer. Similarly, blood pressure of lower than 140/90 is usually considered healthy by most life insurers, though this will vary by gender and age.

What to Expect

Most applicants usually know they are in for problems with their cholesterol levels before they take the life insurance medical exam. By that point, they have normally discussed the issue with their physician. If you have followed your doctor’s orders and gotten on medication to treat the problem, you shouldn’t be in for any unpleasant surprises with your life insurance rates. On the other hand, if you’re unaware of your cholesterol levels, you might want to check into it before you apply for a policy.

Additional Resources

• What You Need to Know about High Cholesterol
• About Life Insurance Medical Exams