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 Class | Pricing Result | Cost Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Preferred Best / Plus | 50% of Standard | 1 (Least expensive) |
| Preferred | 63% of Standard | 2 |
| Standard Plus / Select | 86% of Standard | 3 |
| Standard | Standard | 4 |
| Table Ratings | ||
| Table 1 / A | 25% over Standard | 5 |
| Table 2 / B | 50% over Standard | 6 |
| Table 3 / C | 75% over Standard | 7 |
| Table 4 / D | 100% over Standard | 8 |
| Table 5 / E | 125% over Standard | 9 |
| Table 6 / F | 150% over Standard | 10 |
| Table 7 / G | 175% over Standard | 11 |
| Table 8 / H | 200% over Standard | 12 (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.
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.
| Carrier | Preferred Best | Preferred | Standard Plus | Standard | BP Treatment Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American General (AIG) (Ages 0-60) Perm | 140/85 | 145/88 | 150/92 | Not Specified | Yes |
| American General (AIG) (Ages 61+) Perm | 150/85 | 155/88 | 160/92 | Not Specified | Yes |
| American General (AIG) (Ages 61+) Term | 140/85 | 150/85 | 155/88 | Not Specified | Yes |
| American General (AIG)(Ages 0-60) Term | 135/85 | 140/85 | 145/88 | Not Specified | Yes |
| American National (ANICO) age 0-60 | 135/80 | 140/90 | N/A | 150/90 | No RX at Preferred Plus, other classes allowed |
| American National (ANICO) age 61+ | 140/85 | 150/90 | N/A | 155/95 | Yes RX/UN |
| Ameritas (Non-Med) | |||||
| Assurity Life (Fully U/W) | 130/80 | 140/90 | Not Specified | Not Specified | Preferred Plus does not allow treatment. |
| Assurity Life (Non Med) | N/A | N/A | Select Plus No treatment (not specified) | Select & STD Classes High Blood Pressure Allowed | No Treatment allowed for Select Plus |
| Banner Life | 136/86 2yr avg | 146/90 2yr average | 152/92 2yr average | 156/94 2yr average | Yes |
| Fidelity RD Express | N/A | N/A | N/A | Not Specified | Yes depends on # of medications |
| Fidelity RD Final Expense | N/A | N/A | N/A | Not Specified | Yes depends on # of medications |
| Fidelity RDL | N/A | Tier 1 140/90 | N/A | Tier 2 155/92/ Tier 3 See BP Guide | Yes; depends on # of meds & diagnosis age |
| Fidelity RDSL (Senior Term) | N/A | N/A | N/A | Not Specified | Yes depends on # of medications |
| Fidelity RDSL (Senior WL) | N/A | N/A | N/A | Not Specified | Yes depends on # of medications |
| Foresters (NM and Full UW) | <135/80 | <140/90 | <140/90 | <135/80 | Yes |
| John Hancock (All Ages) | Total View Approach | Total View Approach | Total View Approach – Interdependencies | Total View Approach – Interdependencies | Yes |
| Lincoln Financial (Ages 0-69) | 130/80 | 140/90 | Not Specified | Not Specified | Yes |
| Lincoln Financial (Ages 70 and Up) | 140/90 | 155/90 | Not Specified | Not Specified | Yes |
| Mutual of Omaha | 140/85 | 145/90 | 150/90 | Not Specified | Yes |
| North American Full U/W (age 71 & up) | 140/85 | 150/90 | N/A | Not specified | Yes |
| North American Full U/W (up to age 70) | 135/85 | 140/90 | N/A | Not specified | Yes |
| North American LifeVue | No Dx of HBP | Not specified | N/A | Not specified | Super Pref. No treatment allowed, Pref 1 med, STD 2 meds, Sub STD more than 2 meds |
| North American SimpleTerm | N/A | N/A | N/A | STD & STD FLEX HBP Allowed | Yes |
| Phoenix (Remembrance Final Ex) | N/A | N/A | N/A | High Blood Pressure Allowed | Yes |
| Phoenix (Safe Harbor Term Express) | N/A | N/A | N/A | High Blood Pressure Allowed | Yes |
| Phoenix (Safe Harbor Term) | N/A | N/A | N/A | High Blood Pressure Allowed | Yes |
| Principal (Ages 20-44) | 135/85 | 140/85 | 145/90 | Not Specified | Yes |
| Principal (Ages 45-64) | 140/85 | 140/90 | 145/90 | Not Specified | Yes |
| Principal (Ages 65-85) | 140/90 | 145/90 | 150/90 | Not Specified | Yes |
| Protective (Ages 18-60) | 135/85 | 140/90 | Not Specified | Not Specified | Yes |
| Protective (Ages 61-70) | 140/85 | 150/90 | Not Specified | Not Specified | Yes |
| Protective (Ages 71+) | 150/90 | 160/95 | Not Specified | Not Specified | Yes |
| Prudential (age 50 and up) | 135/85 | 140/90 | 145/90 | Insurability & ratings depend on actual blood pressure readings & other medical conditions | Pref Plus doesn’t allow treatment; other classes treament OK |
| Prudential (up to age 49) | 130/80 | 135/85 | 140/90 | Insurability & ratings depend on actual blood pressure readings & other medical conditions | Pref Plus doesn’t allow treatment; other classes treament OK |
| Sagicor Life (Non Med) | N/A | N/A | STD class in control, Rated class in control with meds | Preferred doesn’t allow meds, other 2 classes allow treatment | |
| SBLI (age 61 and over) | 140/85 | 145/90 | 145/90 | Not Specified | Yes |
| SBLI (up to age 60) | 135/85 | 135/85 | 140/90 | Not Specified | Yes |
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.
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.
