Getting Term Life Insurance with High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is one of the most common medical conditions in the United States. Recent estimates from the American Heart Association (AHA) state that roughly 78 million people—roughly 1 in 3 adults—living in the United States currently suffer from high blood pressure. Though having high blood pressure will likely not disqualify you from getting a term life insurance policy, it can still have an impact on your monthly premiums and the types of policies you are eligible for.

Let’s take a closer look at how having high blood pressure affects your ability to get a term life insurance policy:

What is the Difference Between Term Life Insurance and Universal Life Insurance?

Before applying for a life insurance, it is important to know the difference between the major types of policies that are available on the market. The two most common types of life insurance policies are generally categorized as either a term life insurance policy or a universal (whole) life insurance policy.

There are several differences between term policies and universal policies. While term policies only cover you for a predetermined amount of time—usually 10, 20, or 30 years—universal life insurance policies will cover you for your entire life. Universal life insurance policies also provide a tangible cash value that you can access later in addition to several other benefits. However, universal life insurance policies are notably more expensive than their limited term counterparts. These price differences may increase by even more if you suffer from a condition such as high blood pressure.

How Do I Know if I Have High Blood Pressure?

A blood pressure reading will have two different numbers, written as your systolic number “over” your diastolic number. Generally, blood pressure rates can be divided into four different categories:

• 90 over 60 (or less) is considered low blood pressure
• Between 90 over 60 and 120 over 80 is considered normal (healthy) blood pressure
• Between 120 over 80 and 140 over 90 is considered “at-risk” blood pressure
• Over 140 over 90 is considered to be high blood pressure

If you are worried that you have a high blood pressure, it is important to consult your doctor (or at least obtain a reading). Hypertension (aka high blood pressure) increases the risk of having a stroke, heart attack, and numerous other negative health effects.

The Impact on Your Life Insurance Policy

Your life insurance rates are determined by your general life expectancy. Though many people with hypertension do make it to an old age, statistically, having high blood pressure increases the risk of experiencing an early death.

But if you do have this medical condition, there are still likely many quality term life insurance policies that can be easily worked into your monthly budget. Though your monthly premiums will likely be marginally increased, the condition is considered to be much less risky than others, and the increase in your monthly premiums will likely be relatively small.

How Do I Get Term Life Insurance with High Blood Pressure?

Whether you have high blood pressure or not, finding the term life insurance policy that is best for you should begin with a significant amount of research. Taking the time to compare different policy types and different life insurance providers can really pay off.

When you are comparing different providers, it is generally a good idea to compare their policies with or without including high blood pressure. This way, you can determine the exact difference among various different policies.

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Many policies will allow you to lower rate in the future if you are able to get your blood pressure reading back down to a normal level. Regardless, getting term life insurance with high blood pressure is never something you should willingly rule out.