Life Insurance with High Cholesterol

Another factor life insurance companies consider when underwriting a life insurance policy is your cholesterol levels. 

Getting you great rates on life insurance with cholesterol readings above normal is part of what we do here at Affordable Life USA.

Insurance underwriters often feel elevated cholesterol can indicate an applicant’s potential future risk of coronary artery disease. 

Since cholesterol levels vary with each insurance carrier, knowing how your levels fit into their published cholesterol guidelines is beneficial.

We can match you with the best company and rates for life insurance with high cholesterol using our proprietary technology.

Life Insurance High Cholesterol Levels Explained

First, let’s take a quick look at the two cholesterol levels that many insurance underwriters consider essential when evaluating you for life insurance.

Total cholesterol consists of LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and VLDL cholesterol. A desirable level of total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL.

Cholesterol/HDL ratio comprises LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and VLDL cholesterol. A normal cholesterol/HDL ratio is 5.0 or less.

Next, it is always helpful to fully understand the different life insurance rate classifications. This will allow you to understand which category you might fit into based on your cholesterol levels.

classification of risk in insurance

*We are only showing the life insurance tables of A and B

What is considered high cholesterol for insurance companies?

Let’s take a quick look!

Here is how various cholesterol levels will fit within the above rate classifications:

• Preferred Plus Rate –  Many companies will offer their best health class if total cholesterol is less than 230 mg/dL and the cholesterol ratio is less than 5.0.
• Preferred Rate – Life insurance companies will offer their second-best class if the total cholesterol level is less than 260 mg/dL and the cholesterol/HDL ratio is less than 6.0.
• Standard Plus Rate – Most insurance companies will offer their third-best class if total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL with a cholesterol/HDL ratio of 7.0 or lower.
• Standard Rate – A total cholesterol level of 300-350 mg/dL or less with a cholesterol/HDL ratio of 8.0 or less will likely result in standard rates with most companies.
• Preferred Smoker Rate –Cholesterol level between 120-300, with or without medication. Your Chol/HDL Ratio is also important, and it may not exceed 5.5.
• Standard Smoker Rate-Total Cholesterol level up to 300, with or without medication. Your Chol/HDL Ratio may not exceed 8.0.

If your cholesterol level exceeds these guidelines and is in generally good health, some companies will still offer you a standard rate class.

Other insurance companies have stricter guidelines and assess a table rating, resulting in a higher premium on your policy.

What are my options if I get a higher than expected rate?

If you get a table rating, you can either activate the policy with the higher rate class or shop for lower premiums with a more liberal company.

While paying for your higher-priced insurance policy, you could always set some goals to improve your health.

You may need to get on medication, change your diet, and maybe even lose weight to help lower your cholesterol.

The great thing about lowering your cholesterol in the future is that your rates could also be reduced on a new lower costing life insurance policy.

People needing life insurance that are overweight face a similar solvable challenge when buying coverage. Obese people can save money by losing weight to fall into insurance company guidelines for a build.

The same goes for a former smoker that has quit for over 12 months and no longer has to pay smokers insurance rates.

The good news is that all of these underwriting factors are within your control!