Life insurance medical exam

1. Not everyone will need to undergo a medical exam when applying for life insurance. A medical is generally only required when insurers can’t give an immediate decision on your application and need to find out more information
2. The exam will be booked for a date and location that is convenient to you (for example, your GP surgery or local healthcare centre) and the cost of the exam will be paid for by the insurer
3. The exam will typically be a two-part health check including a health questionnaire and a physical exam
4. Always provide the correct information and don’t withhold any answers
5. It’s possible for insurers to request a medical report from your GP (with your permission), arrange a mini screening or nurses call instead of scheduling a medical exam
6. If you decline the insurer's request for a medical exam or to see your medical records, your application won’t be able to continue as the insurer will not have the information needed to underwrite your policy
7. It’s possible to secure cover with no medical exam guaranteed. This would be through an over 50s plan which is available to UK residents aged 50 - 85. No medical information is required for you to secure a policy

Medical information

During the application, you’ll need to provide information about your current health and wellbeing, as well as your medical history. If no high risk factors are flagged, your application will carry on as normal.

However, if you declare a pre-existing medical condition and/or certain lifestyle factors (such as smoking and/or over average alcohol consumption), insurers will likely need more information.

They may simply ask a few more questions about your condition/lifestyle and can make a decision based on your responses. However, in some cases, they may require additional medical evidence, which we explain below.

A GP report

With your permission, insurers can request a medical report from your GP.

This will allow them to get more information on pre-existing medical conditions that you disclosed in the application.

This could be any treatments you received and/or medications you’ve been prescribed.

A phone call with a nurse

A call with a nurse could be organised to find out some more information about some of your application answers.

The phone call is usually short and shouldn’t take up too much of your time.

A mini screening

A mini screening could be conducted by a nurse at your home or workplace and includes a series of simple tests including a blood pressure check, BMI calculation and a urine test.

A medical exam

A full medical exam is carried out by a doctor and will include a range of health checks. It’s arranged and paid for by the insurer.

If any of the above are requested by an insurer when you apply for life insurance, fear not. They are only requesting this to find out more about your personal circumstances

• An alternative insurer - The insurer you applied with may not have been suitable for your circumstances. Just because one insurer declines your application doesn’t mean all others will, meaning it’s essential to compare multiple quotes
• A specialist insurer - If you’ve struggled to secure cover with mainstream providers, you could secure some form of cover through a specialist insurer. These are insurers that specialise in offering cover to non-standard applicants (such as those with pre-existing medical conditions)
• An over 50s plan - If you’re a UK resident aged 50 - 85, you could secure an over 50s plan where no medical information (or exam) is required. During the application you’ll just need to provide your age and smoking status