How Family History Affects Your Life Insurance Rates

Your genes can determine a lot in your life, things like the color of your eyes, your height, and even whether you will develop any mental or physical health conditions. Your genes and your family history also help determine how much you will pay for life insurance, since insurers use information about your family’s medical history as one way to figure out how much of a risk you will be to insure. But have no fear, even if you have a lot of health issues in your background, you can still find a great affordable life insurance policy that will provide the coverage your family needs.

How Your Family History Is Taken Into Consideration

circle with two people in it and a small child in between them
Your family’s history plays a role in life insurance companies determining how much of a risk you are.

When you apply for a life insurance policy, you will have to go through an underwriting process, during which insurance companies will require you to undergo a physical exam, as well as give them your medical history and your family’s medical history to help determine how much of a risk you are to cover. This means that, even if you are healthy, but your family history has some serious and possibly hereditary illnesses lurking in it, you could still be charged a higher rate.

When looking at your family’s medical history, most life insurance companies will only be concerned with any major hereditary illnesses that could affect you. There is a list of illnesses or procedures that life insurance companies will look for in your family history, including:

  • Breast cancer
  • Colon cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Melanoma
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Heart attack
  • Angioplasty
  • Bypass surgery
  • Valve surgery
  • Arrhythmia

Finding A Great Plan

family of 3 under an umbrella
Life insurance is a great secure way to make sure your family is protected when you can no longer provide.

Even if your family has a history of any of the above-mentioned conditions, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find affordable life insurance. There are many different kinds of life insurance policies to choose from, which is why comparing plans is extremely important. Each life insurance company has its own guidelines of what they will look for in your medical history and in your family’s medical history, and how seriously they view each condition can differ. For example, some insurance companies might consider cardiovascular health problems more concerning than cancer, while others will not.

Your family has financial obligations that will not go away when you are gone; they will need your help more than ever with their expenses, and the last thing you want them to worry about is money while they are grieving. There are many great affordable life insurance options to choose from that will provide enough money for your family, for a low monthly price. The best way to find the right life insurance policy for you and your specific needs is by working with an agent who specializes in life insurance. We have provided the top life insurance companies in the nation below; each offers hassle-free assistance and the most competitive rates. Always check multiple sites to make sure you have bargaining power and know the advantages of each company. Make sure a hard time isn’t made harder by a financial burden, check life insurance rates today.

About The Author:
Cassandra Love

With over a decade of helpful content experience Cassandra has dedicated her career to making sure people have access to relevant, easy to understand, and valuable information. After realizing a huge knowledge gap Cassandra spent years researching and working with health insurance companies to create accessible guides and articles to walk anyone through every aspect of the insurance process.

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