Whether you lace up your sneakers and hit the pavement because you are motivated to shed a few pounds, or your doctor has ordered you to get moving to improve your heart health, the reasons to run are varied. On top of the physical benefits, it looks like there’s a new incentive to get moving: affordable life insurance premiums.
But is it really that simple? Will becoming a runner lead you down a path towards cheaper life insurance? It might, but it’s more complicated than it seems.
Will running actually lower your life insurance rates?
With the help of a questionnaire and a medical exam, insurance companies are able to assess your overall health and determine your classification.
Though it’s true that running is linked to improved physical health, there’s no way to guarantee that a runner will be considered a Preferred Plus customer with the most competitive monthly life insurance premium. Since underwriters look at several different factors to create a health snapshot around each customer, family history, lifestyle choices, BMI, etc, can land you in the Preferred or Standard Plus classification instead. (Learn about the different types of life insurance here.)
The better the health classification, the more affordable your monthly premium will be.
What are the best life insurance companies for runners?
When life insurance underwriters are creating your profile, they check if you or your family have a history of cholesterol, heart issues, and diabetes, among other conditions. While you might assume that these health benefits are guaranteed to place you into the most advantageous insurance classification, in reality, it’s not so cut and dry. Each company has its own underwriting guidelines so they have their own way of evaluating various health conditions. This is one of the reasons why you should compare multiple carriers.
Running can potentially lower your life insurance rates and place you in a higher classification because it helps combat the following issues that are considered risky for insurance companies:
Cholesterol: Life insurance companies assess your cholesterol by looking at your total blood cholesterol level and the ratio of “good” HDL cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol. Running might increase your HDL and lower your LDL cholesterol levels, helping to improve your overall numbers and boost your health. (Have high cholesterol? Here are the best life insurance companies.)
Weight management: If you are overweight, that might impact your health classification and rates. Each carrier has their own height/weight table that they reference, much like a BMI chart, to get a better picture of your health. Your best bet is to maintain a balanced diet and exercise routine, which is where running comes into play. Since running provides an efficient calorie burn, you could lose weight and improve your health if you are consistent with it.
Diabetes: Underwriters look at several different factors under the diabetes umbrella to assess your risk: age, type of diabetes, severity, complications, and treatment/control. Regularly running and working out falls into the treatment/control category. Since your muscles use more glucose when you are running, you might be able to lower your blood sugar numbers and maintain a healthy number if you are living with diabetes.
Heart attacks: If you’ve had a heart attack, they will look at the date, cause, any follow-up reports, stents, EKG results, and echocardiogram results. Running on a regular basis may lower your risk of heart attack and strengthen your heart. In fact, running for just a few minutes daily can significantly lower your risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared to non-runners.
High blood pressure: If you have high blood pressure, that can place you in a less-ideal health class and increase your monthly life insurance premiums. Running can play a role in improving your health report card because it has been shown to lower blood pressure. Regular exercise strengthens your heart so it can pump more blood without exerting itself as much.
What other factors influence your health classification?
While running can make you healthier and potentially place you in a better health classification, there are other factors outside of your control that can influence your “report card” from the carrier.
After you take your medical exam, underwriters will review various factors to determine your risk profile which reflects the projected life expectancy of the customer, in other words, how likely you are to die while your insurance policy term is still active. Those factors include:
- Physical makeup – Your age, gender, height, and weight will all be analyzed as part of the underwriting process.
- Lifestyle – Where you work, what you do for fun, how often you travel, etc.
- Family history – Does your mother have a heart condition? Does your father have diabetes? Their health profiles play a role in determining yours.
- Medications – Underwriters will look at your current and previous prescriptions to fill in any gaps in your medical records and get a better idea of your health history.
- Procedures and surgeries – All of your hospitalizations, procedures, and surgeries will be carefully reviewed during the underwriting process.
- Illnesses and conditions – Past and present illnesses and conditions will also be factored into your health snapshot.
Learn more about the cost of life insurance here.
This article originally appeared on Policygenius and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Featured Image Credit: Vesnaandjic.
