How High Blood Pressure Affects Life Insurance Rates

How High Blood Pressure Affects Life Insurance Rates
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    If you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure or “hypertension”, you have every right to be concerned about how this may affect your insurance rates. Rates from the top 10 life insurance companies can vary significantly too.

    Fortunately, the good news is that you can still get decent term life insurance policies with high blood pressure. If you’re considering applying for life insurance with high blood pressure, keep reading to get the background knowledge you need to understand how insurance providers rate people in your position.

    life insurance quotes with high blood pressure

    You can get started now by comparing rates instantly. Make sure you read this entire post to help you understand what rates you may pay based on your blood pressure details.

    Health Ratings for Term Life Insurance with High Blood Pressure

    To understand how high blood pressure is going to affect your rates you must first understand how rates are determined. Term life insurance companies divide applicants up into health classes, and people in the best health condition generally get the best policy rates while those in the worst health conditions are either denied or get the most basic rates (the expensive ones).

    Basic Health classes 

    The basic life insurance health classes fall into these categories:

    • Preferred Plus Non Tobacco
    • Preferred Non Tobacco
    • Standard Plus Non Tobacco
    • Standard Non Tobacco
    • Smokers falling into Preferred Tobacco or Standard Tobacco
    Rate Class / Risk ClassPricing ResultCost Rank
    Preferred Best / Plus50% of Standard1 (Least expensive)
    Preferred63% of Standard2
    Standard Plus / Select86% of Standard3
    StandardStandard4
    Table Ratings  
    Table 1 / A25% over Standard5
    Table 2 / B50% over Standard6
    Table 3 / C75% over Standard7
    Table 4 / D100% over Standard8
    Table 5 / E125% over Standard9
    Table 6 / F150% over Standard10
    Table 7 / G175% over Standard11
    Table 8 / H200% over Standard12 (Most expensive)

    Now, if you have a serious preexisting health condition your rates are going to be higher. Instead of the general classes listed above, these Table Ratings range from Table A through Table J. Much like grades in elementary school, the further down the letter, the worse off you are.

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    best life insurance companies for high blood pressure

    Let’s look at how the top companies look at high blood pressure and where they may rate you based on your HBP details and if you take medication or not.

    CarrierPreferred BestPreferredStandard PlusStandardBP Treatment Allowed
    American General (AIG) (Ages 0-60) Perm140/85145/88150/92Not SpecifiedYes
    American General (AIG) (Ages 61+) Perm150/85155/88160/92Not SpecifiedYes
    American General (AIG) (Ages 61+) Term140/85150/85155/88Not SpecifiedYes
    American General (AIG)(Ages 0-60) Term135/85140/85145/88Not SpecifiedYes
    American National (ANICO) age 0-60135/80140/90N/A150/90No RX at Preferred Plus, other classes allowed
    American National (ANICO) age 61+140/85150/90N/A155/95Yes RX/UN
    Ameritas (Non-Med)     
    Assurity Life (Fully U/W)130/80140/90Not SpecifiedNot SpecifiedPreferred Plus does not allow treatment.
    Assurity Life (Non Med)N/AN/ASelect Plus No treatment (not specified)Select & STD Classes High Blood Pressure AllowedNo Treatment allowed for Select Plus
    Banner Life136/86 2yr avg146/90 2yr average152/92 2yr average156/94 2yr averageYes
    Fidelity RD ExpressN/AN/AN/ANot SpecifiedYes depends on # of medications
    Fidelity RD Final ExpenseN/AN/AN/ANot SpecifiedYes depends on # of medications
    Fidelity RDLN/ATier 1 140/90N/ATier 2 155/92/ Tier 3 See BP GuideYes; depends on # of meds & diagnosis age
    Fidelity RDSL (Senior Term)N/AN/AN/ANot SpecifiedYes depends on # of medications
    Fidelity RDSL (Senior WL)N/AN/AN/ANot SpecifiedYes depends on # of medications
    Foresters (NM and Full UW)<135/80<140/90<140/90<135/80Yes
    John Hancock (All Ages)Total View ApproachTotal View ApproachTotal View Approach – InterdependenciesTotal View Approach – InterdependenciesYes
    Lincoln Financial (Ages 0-69)130/80140/90Not SpecifiedNot SpecifiedYes
    Lincoln Financial (Ages 70 and Up)140/90155/90Not SpecifiedNot SpecifiedYes
    Mutual of Omaha140/85145/90150/90Not SpecifiedYes
    North American Full U/W (age 71 & up)140/85150/90N/ANot specifiedYes
    North American Full U/W (up to age 70)135/85140/90N/ANot specifiedYes
    North American LifeVueNo Dx of HBPNot specifiedN/ANot specifiedSuper Pref. No treatment allowed, Pref 1 med, STD 2 meds, Sub STD more than 2 meds
    North American SimpleTermN/AN/AN/ASTD & STD FLEX HBP AllowedYes
    Phoenix (Remembrance Final Ex)N/AN/AN/AHigh Blood Pressure AllowedYes
    Phoenix (Safe Harbor Term Express)N/AN/AN/AHigh Blood Pressure AllowedYes
    Phoenix (Safe Harbor Term)N/AN/AN/AHigh Blood Pressure AllowedYes
    Principal (Ages 20-44)135/85140/85145/90Not SpecifiedYes
    Principal (Ages 45-64)140/85140/90145/90Not SpecifiedYes
    Principal (Ages 65-85)140/90145/90150/90Not SpecifiedYes
    Protective (Ages 18-60)135/85140/90Not SpecifiedNot SpecifiedYes
    Protective (Ages 61-70)140/85150/90Not SpecifiedNot SpecifiedYes
    Protective (Ages 71+)150/90160/95Not SpecifiedNot SpecifiedYes
    Prudential (age 50 and up)135/85140/90145/90Insurability & ratings depend on actual blood pressure readings & other medical conditionsPref Plus doesn’t allow treatment; other classes treament OK
    Prudential (up to age 49)130/80135/85140/90Insurability & ratings depend on actual blood pressure readings & other medical conditionsPref Plus doesn’t allow treatment; other classes treament OK
    Sagicor Life (Non Med)N/A N/ASTD class in control, Rated class in control with medsPreferred doesn’t allow meds, other 2 classes allow treatment
    SBLI (age 61 and over)140/85145/90145/90Not SpecifiedYes
    SBLI (up to age 60)135/85135/85140/90Not SpecifiedYes

    How High Blood Pressure Affects Life Insurance Rates

    How an insurance provider classifies you will largely be dependent on the amount of control you have over your condition.

    If your high blood pressure is well-controlled by you and your physician through medication and/or other treatment and you are otherwise healthy, there is no reason for you to not be put into a health class rather than the Table ratings system. In fact, depending on your overall health, you could even be eligible for Preferred Plus rates— the best policies. In addition to your high blood pressure, life insurance companies will also be looking at any other medical conditions that may be present.

    Now, if your blood pressure is only moderately controlled through medication, for example, you will likely be offered a Standard rating. With poorly controlled high blood pressure you are likely to still get approved, but you may get a table rating.

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    Keep in mind that you can always start comparing rates across different health classes at any time by using our free online quote form. You’ll get a full list of insurance quotes right at your fingertips!

    The Medical Exam

    In most cases, you will need to take a medical exam as part of your term life insurance application package.

    During this exam, you should be prepared to answer questions about your lifestyle, family history, alcohol, tobacco use, etc.

    In regards to your high blood pressure, you should also be ready with information on when you were diagnosed, what medications, if any, you’ve been taking, and how effective they’ve been (though of course much of this information will already be in your medical records).

    No Medical Exam Life Insurance

    You are not required to take a medical exam to secure life insurance. No Exam life insurance is available and is sometimes preferred. It sometimes costs a little more than a fully underwritten life insurance policy. However, there are some great advantages to no exam life insurance.

    • Fast Coverage. A no exam life insurance policy can be approved much faster – some companies are immediate.
    • Convenient. No need to schedule a nurse to come to your home with a no medical exam life insurance policy.
    • Stress Free. A no exam policy doesn’t have a blood test or urine samples. You just have to answer health questions in order to qualify.

    How to Get Lower Rates

    When you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, there are a number of things you can do to improve your likeliness of being offered lower insurance rates:

    • Talk to your doctor about high blood pressure medication, as well as ways you can lower your blood pressure.
    • Adopt a healthy diet
    • Add regular exercise into your schedule (again, consult your doctor first before taking on new exercise routines)
    • Avoid tobacco products

    Bottom line

    Please don’t hesitate to call us for a customized quote and more information on getting the right term life insurance policy. In the meantime, feel free to start comparing quotes today with the quote form on this page.

    Michael Quinn

    Michael Quinn

    Michael is a licensed life insurance agent, expert & owner of Life Insurance Blog. LIB has helped thousands of shoppers understand life insurance and secure affordable coverage.

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