The Lowdown on High Cholesterol and Life Insurance

By McKenzy Bowers | March 1, 2020

What do cholesterol and life insurance have in common? Your cholesterol level is a major factor in how much you will pay for life insurance. To find out more, read on.

Unless you’ve been living on your own private island with no Wi-Fi, you’ve probably heard by now that your cholesterol levels are a huge indicator in determining your overall heart health. Cholesterol is the waxy gunk (also called “lipids”) in the fatty part of the blood. (Ew!) According to the Mayo Clinic, high cholesterol levels can increase your risk of heart disease.

At this point, you might be asking yourself: “What does this fatty crap have to do with life insurance?” The answer is: “Quite a lot, actually.” Having good cholesterol is one of the “checklist” items that underwriters use to determine life insurance eligibility and pricing. Not too long ago, if you had a combined level of HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol) of over 250, it was harder (or at least more costly) to get life insurance. (Bummer, right?)

But wait…news flash! Over the past few years, insurance carriers have been using the “Cholesterol/HDL Ratio” as the preferred gauge to determine an individual’s heart health. And who benefits from this shift in methodology? YOU! (At least maybe.)

So even if your total cholesterol is a higher-than-normal number, and you thought you’d never qualify for life insurance, you might be pleasantly surprised. Now that carriers are using the Cholesterol/HDL Ratio as the “gold standard,” more people just like you, may now be eligible for preferred best rates for quality life insurance. (Now you can start your happy dance.)

Take two and learn more from our veteran Medical Underwriting Expert, Howard Weissman.

Everyone who has ANYONE depending on them financially needs life insurance. It’s an incredibly affordable way to ensure that your family’s financial future is protected when you die. And last time we checked, the odds of death are still 1 out of ONE. (We’re just sayin’.)

Now call us at 800-442-9899 and speak to a real person! (yes, we’re old school.) You have enough things to think about, so we’ve taken the stress out of shopping for life insurance.

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