Often times I speak to clients on the phone and as they say “no I’m not a smoker” I can hear them take a big hit of their cigarette and exhale in relief. In most cases all I can really do is give them a fair warning when in reality I know that that won’t go far. Life insurance companies weren’t born yesterday. In fact most of them have been around for over 100 years and their system is very close to perfect. They have access to information about us that we often have forgotten. In some cases, they know more about you than you do.
So before we dive into detail. Let’s answer that question briefly.
Can you lie on your life insurance application? Absolutely. The only problem is it probably won’t get you far because life insurance companies have all the necessary tools to verify the truth. Even if you think you got one passed them during the application, it may come back to haunt you, or better yet, your beneficiaries. Let’s discuss that in detail.
How Can Life Insurance Companies Tell I’m Lying?
Life insurance companies have a few creative ways to tell if you’re lying on a life insurance application. Some of the most common things people lie about are tobacco use, drug use, prescriptions, depression, DUI’s, moving violations and health problems. So let’s see what measures life insurance companies go through to verify your application.
- The Medical Exam – most people tend to forget that during the application process you will schedule a medical exam. This medical exam will check your height and weight, so make sure you tell the truth there too. They will also measure your blood pressure, and take a blood/urine sample. Now if you are a smoker, nicotine levels will show up during this time. If you use any drugs, prescription or recreational, they will also show up on those tests. Lastly, any health issue you may have omitted will also be seen.
- Medical Information Bureau (MIB) – during the application you will be asked for your social to verify your identity. It will also be used to look into the MIB, where all your health records are stored. Outside of getting a good picture of your health and prescriptions you take, they can also tell if you went to the doctor a month ago and told him you smoke.
- Your Driver’s License – you will also be asked for your driver’s license number. This will be used to check your motor vehicle history report and see if you’ve had any DUI’s or excessive moving violations.
As you can see, they do their due diligence to determine what risk you pose. They can also request doctor’s records if necessary and run a background check to see if there are any felonies on your record.
What They Know for Sure
There are certain things that the companies will know for sure and that is done through their detective work mentioned above. When applying for life insurance make sure to never lie about your health issues, your dangerous job, your family history, and your driving record. All this information is easily verifiable.
What Happens if I Lie?
There are three things that can happen to you if you lie: rated up for coverage, declined for coverage, and declined payment to your beneficiaries.
- Rated up – if it’s your first life insurance application its always possible that you simply forgot or omitted something form the application. So if they find a falsehood on your application, they will simply adjust your qualification based on their new findings. Which usually means increasing your rate.
- Declined for Coverage – this can happen if you are found to be a serial liar across many life insurance applications. If you have a history of trying to deceive companies, they may start declining you. Another reason for declined coverage can be that what you omitted, is serious.
- Denied Death Benefit – the first two years of your life insurance coverage is called a “contestable period.” During this time life insurance companies have the right to investigate your death if they think there has been fraud committed. If they figure out that there has been fraud, they have the option to either adjust the death benefit amount to the truth, or deny the payout altogether. That’s not a legacy you want to leave behind.
When You Work With a Professional, You’ Don’t have to Lie
Lying on your life insurance application is a horrible idea but most do it because they want a better rate or simply want to get approved for coverage and are afraid they will get denied. To fix this problem work with a knowledgeable agent. A good independent agent will be familiar with high risk cases and knows which company to put you with to get the most favorable result. Just because company A denied you, and company B rated you up, doesn’t mean company C will. Often times people think to just apply with the company that offers the lowest rate on the quote engine, but if you’re a high risk, the company with the lowest rate is different for you. For this reasons work with a professional and you won’t have to lie to qualify for coverage.
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The good news for you is you’ve arrived! We’re an independent agency that specialize with high risk cases. We represent over 60 A-rated life insurance companies and we do the shopping to get you the best rate, at no extra cost to you! If you have any questions simply call us at 888-492-1967 or hit the chat button below! Welcome to InsureChance!
