A term life insurance policy is a very useful investment, which helps your family in times of a financial crisis. The term plan offers a huge financial cover to the nominees of a policyholder in case he or she passes away before the tenure of the policy is over. It is an affordable cover, as it does not come with any maturity benefits. A policy like this is a pure life insurance plan, as it only offers death cover.
When you apply for a term policy, the insurance company considers factors such as your age, lifestyle, current health condition, family history, gender, and income source.
Among these, the family history part is perhaps the most critical aspect to understand, as you need to learn about various points in this factor.
The insurance industry focuses on risk management to make sure that they are not taking too many chances with a policyholder as these risks result in huge losses. This is why the life insurance family history aspect is important to them. If your parents have any critical illnesses or if your family has a history of a recurring illness, you are exposed to a great risk. Knowing that helps the insurers to decide on how much premium you need to pay to receive the death benefit you want.
How Family History Affect your term Insurance Rates?
The following three main aspects of family history impact your mortality risk.
- Heredity
Certain medical conditions are known for being transmittable. So, if one of your parents is suffering from any condition, you run a high risk of being diagnosed with it at some point in your life.
- Average lifespan of your family
If the parents of the policyholder have died at an early age because of critical illnesses then he or she too has the risk of an early death.
- Family environment
The environment you and your family live in can be a catalyst for grave diseases. An unhealthy living condition might result in infections and other illnesses.
List of illnesses that are checked in your family history
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Heart diseases
- Lung diseases
- Kidney-related issues
Although every insurance company considers these illnesses, these do not affect their premiums equally. For example, some insurers might take diabetes very seriously, but others might not charge you too high for it. However, there is a tendency among the insurers to deny someone a policy if their family’s medical history is filled with illnesses. They can still consider you if your health condition is perfect and you lead a healthy lifestyle.
Never hide family history
Many people tend to hide their family history while buying a term life insurance plan because they believe that it might result in higher premiums or rejection. The truth is, the insurance companies might find it out on their own eventually. It surely comes out if any claim is made by your nominees. This results in a rejection of the death claim. It will surely put your loved ones in jeopardy.To avoid this situation, always be truthful about any information that the insurer needs to know.
The best way to save yourself from a high premium is to stay healthy. Take care of yourself, do not smoke or drink, exercise regularly, and go for regular health checkups.The insurance companies always prefer a healthy policyholder.
