Preparing to Take a Life Insurance Test

If you are getting ready to take a life insurance test, there’s no need to panic! While these tests are important, there are ways to prepare for your life insurance medical exam that will improve the likelihood that your application will be approved. This will also help keep your rates lower.

What You Can Do to Prepare

Drink Lots of Water: Water flushes your system and helps keep you hydrated. When you drink water prior to your test you will cleanse your digestive system and urinary tract and improve blood flow.
Eat Right: For a week or so before your life insurance test, make sure to watch your diet. Limit your salt and sugar intake. Eliminate or reduce the amount of red meat you eat. This will help to lower your blood pressure and your cholesterol levels. Additionally, consider adding whole grains to your diet as these can help lower these levels as well. This is very important because those with high blood pressure often see higher insurance premiums. Losing a few pounds before your weigh in can help reduce your premiums, too, as insurance companies look for you to be at a healthy weight.
Eliminate Alcohol: For a week before your test, or at least 24 hours, eliminate alcohol from your diet. You don’t want alcohol to be present in your bloodstream, as it could indicate to the insurance company that you have a drinking problem. Avoiding alcohol for a week before your test could also help you lose weight.
Don’t Exercise on the Day of Your Test: Exercise raises your blood pressure and elevates protein levels in your urine.
Reduce Stress: Avoid stressful situations in the days before your exam. Stress elevates blood pressure and can affect your digestive system. Practice yoga on the morning of your test, meditate or sleep in.
Dress Light: You will be weighed at your test, so make sure to dress lightly and stand up straight! The taller you are and the less you weigh, the more likely you are to meet the ideal weight for your height. Life insurance companies look at weight-to-height ratios to determine rates.
Ask to Have Your Blood Pressure Taken Last: If you are anxious, it’s a good idea to ask the examiner to take your blood pressure last. Your heart rate will lessen as you move through the test, and by the end, you’ll be feeling normal again. Then, when the examiner takes your blood pressure, it will be stabilized. Generally, the examiner will understand and it won’t be a problem to have it taken at the end of the exam.

Follow these tips and your life insurance test will be a breeze!