Underwriting Basics: What Insurers Look At (And What You Can Control)

When you apply for term life insurance, the insurer reviews a few key details about your health and lifestyle. This process—called underwriting—helps determine your eligibility and the premium you’ll pay.

For many people, underwriting sounds more complicated than it actually is. In reality, insurers typically focus on a handful of common factors. Some are things you can influence over time, while others simply help complete the overall picture of your health.

Here’s what insurers are usually looking at.

Health and Medical Factors

Most underwriting decisions center around basic health indicators. These give insurers a snapshot of your overall wellness and long-term health risks.

Height and Weight

Insurers compare your height and weight to standard ranges (often expressed as BMI). Staying within a healthy range can help you qualify for better rates.

Blood Pressure and Cholesterol

These measurements provide insight into cardiovascular health. What matters most is whether these numbers are within normal ranges or well-managed, even if medication is involved.

Current Medications

Underwriters review prescription medications to understand your medical history. Many common conditions—such as controlled blood pressure or cholesterol—are routine and manageable from an underwriting perspective.

 

Lifestyle and Risk Factors

Insurers also look at a few lifestyle habits that can affect long-term health.

Nicotine Use

Smoking cigarettes, vaping or using other nicotine products is one of the biggest factors affecting life insurance rates. Applicants who avoid nicotine typically qualify for lower premiums.  Attention pipe, cigar and chewing tobacco users:  we have special non-tobacco rates designed especially for you.

Family Medical History

Underwriters may consider family history of certain conditions, especially if they occurred at an early age. While this isn’t something you can control, it’s one piece of the overall evaluation process.

What You Can Control

Some underwriting factors are fixed, but many can improve over time. Maintaining a healthy weight, managing blood pressure or cholesterol, and avoiding nicotine can all contribute to better life insurance rates.

 

Even small improvements can sometimes make a meaningful difference in your underwriting classification.

 

A Clearer Picture Before You Apply

The underwriting process is simply about matching coverage and pricing to your individual health  profile. Because each insurance company has different underwriting guidelines, we can help you choose the most cost effective policy specific to your underwriting profile. 

 

At Low Cost Life Insurance, we help clients understand what to expect before they apply so the process is straightforward and predictable.

 

Ask us what to expect based on your specific health profile.