Paramedical Exams During The Coronavirus

Paramedical Exams During the Coronavirus Era

Life insurance and paramedical exams go together like peanut butter and jelly; however, life insurance companies have new guidelines which allow for accelerated under-wiring of the policy if the insured
qualifies. Accelerated underwriting generally applies to people looking to purchase 1,000,000 or less of life insurance and are age 50 or below, have good credit, and very few underlying prescriptions or health conditions. If this describes you, congratulations! Give us a call, we can put together some quotes and give you information for free.

Our office recently spoke with Apps Para Medical Services based in Bellevue Washington and their manager told us the new protocol with COVID-19, here is how it works: when the examiner reaches out
the client, they will be asked if they have had a fever or cough in the last 14 days, or if they know if they have come in contact with someone with COVID-19. If the answer is yes, they will postpone until they
can answer the questions with a no. If the proposed insured’s answer is “no”, the examiner will then proceed to confirm she/he has not had a fever, cough, or come in contact with someone with COVID.
Apps Para Medical also has the ability for applicants to swing by their office to complete the paramedical exam instead of a home visit if the client is more comfortable in a medical setting. Apps
Para Medical will only allow the client and the examiner in the room, and they are scheduling longer appointments to avoid having other people around at the same time.

Paramedical exams have been conducted for many years when applying for life insurance. If life insurance applicants are not eligible for the accelerated underwriting program, they will usually be required to complete a “paramedical exam” if they want the insurance company to make them an “offer”. Basically, it means the underwriter at the insurance company does not have enough information in order to feel comfortable making a decision when it comes to how much to charge. They need more information before they can come up with a “rating” for the “proposed insured”. At this point the underwriter will want to see lab results from “proposed insured”, if this happens, the insurance company will pay a paramedical exam company to have an examiner meet up with the “proposed insured” to conduct a paramedical exam and collect blood and urine samples, as well as physical measurements and vitals.

This will require having a third unbiased paramedical professional to meet at your home or you can go to the paramedical examiner’s office in order for lab work to be completed. If the underwriter still does not have enough information, they might request doctors’ records in the name of the proposed insured (which is also typically the applicant & owner). After the life insurance underwriter evaluates all the information, they will either make an “offer” such as super preferred, preferred, standard, substandard, or they will decline the application and not make an offer at all. If the insurance company makes an offer, the licensed insurance agent will then communicate with the applicant and confirm the death benefit, details of the policy, and the final price based on the rating. Once payment has been made the policy becomes “effective” and “put in force”. If you are curious, here is what the life insurance company underwriter is checking the blood and urine for:

 Glucose
 HGB A1C
 BUN
 Alkaline Phosphatase
 Bilirubin Total
 AST
 ALT
 GGT
 Total Protein
 Albumin
 Globulin

 HDL Cholesterol
 LDL
 Cholesterol/HDL
 LDL/HDL
 Triglycerides
 HIV Antibody
 Cocaine
 THC
 Cotinine
 Glucose
 Protein
 White Blood Cells
 Red Blood Cells
 Granular Casts
 Hyaline Casts
 Specific Gravity
 Creatinine
 Protein/Creatinine Ratio
 Diuretic Agents
 Beta Blockers

Commonly people will say, “I just had a physical at my doctor’s office and they did a blood test, can’t the insurance company just get the information from my doctor?” The answer is “no”, because your
doctors’ office does not generally test the blood or urine for the same things the insurance company underwriter needs to make an underwriting decision.

At Pacific Insurance Group we are a team of agents who understand the benefits of both term and whole life insurance, we are willing to speak to anyone in the United States but most of our clients are located in the great State of Washington. If you would like to see the cost, just go to www.pacificinsurancegroup.com click on the “Free Instant Life Insurance Quote” button and you will see how much it costs. Take a few minutes to check out the rates, poke around our website, and if you want to chat, give us a call at 425-246-4222, we welcome the opportunity of speaking with you.

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