Sorting out the risk factors in Life Insurance

Sorting out the risk factors in Life Insurance

Many insurance companies are getting pickier about who gets their best rates, said Steve Irwin, analyst for insurance rater A.M. Best. You can get knocked out of the running if you carry a few extra pounds, smoke an occasional cigar or even travel to the wrong destinations. But insurers vary widely in where they draw the line, so it's worth shopping around.

At many companies, for example, you can lose out on the best rates if a biological parent or sibling died of cancer or heart disease. But the details of their illness can make a difference.

Prudential won't give its best rates on certain policies to those whose relatives died of either condition before age 70, according to Insure.com. At TransAmerica, you're shut out of the lowest premiums only if the relative died of cancer or cardiovascular disease before age 60. American General asks only about cardiovascular disease, and keeps its lowest rates for those whose parents were diagnosed after age 60.

Here's how the three companies treat some other health and safety issues:

· Elevated blood pressure or cholesterol. Any history or current treatment for either condition will prevent you from a history of high blood pressure as long as it's no longer a problem, but a history of or treatment for high cholesterol will prevent you from getting the lowest premiums.
· Weight. Here's where a few pounds makes a big difference. TransAmerica wants a 5'5" woman to weigh 160 or less, while American General says 165 and Prudential opts for a generous 174 (or 186 if you're 65 or over).
· Smoking. Most insurers take a zero-tolerance view, which means if you admit to a single puff in the past five years, you wind up with higher rates. American General is one of the companies that understands a cigar is sometimes just a cigar, not an addiction, and will give its best rates to those who admit to having a stogie as often as once a week.
· Hobbies. Some insurance companies won't give their best rates to scuba divers or private pilots. Some insurance allows diving up to 75 feet and will give pilots its best rate as long as they agree to exclusions for their flying. (In other words, the pilot's heirs wouldn't get paid if the pilot dies in a non-commercial plane crash.)

Travel to "dangerous" countries -- those on the U.S. State Department's Travel Warnings list -- will keep you from getting most companies' lowest rates. So will any number of illnesses and conditions, from asthma to ulcers.