After I completed the term life application, a nurse contacted me about 3-4 days later to set up the paramedical exam.  She would come to my house for the actual exam and we arranged a later day in the week.  She arrived as expected with essentially a travel suitcase and my file.  The life insurance company pays for the paramedical exam so I am not required to pay anything during the time of the visit.

We first sat down and after a little small talk (she knew my father-in-law), we then discussed the health and history questionnaire.  The great thing about the person giving the paramedical exam is that he/she knows exactly what to ask and to what degree of detail.  I wanted to make sure to provide all the necessary information and having a knowledgeable person made me feel much more secure in doing so.  She went through some of my general information relating to health status, history, driving history, and family health history both medical and physical.  I have elevated cholesterol so she asked some questions on this.  Interestingly, my cholesterol level was not an issue for life insurance qualification but probably would have been for health insurance.  We went through some of the more serious issues...a litany of health conditions that would impact life insurance underwriting.  Luckily, I could answer "no" to those.  There was a question of headaches or such for which I answered "yes".  I have had migraines since about age 13.  She had a series of follow up questions relating to this...maybe 3-4.  Having gone through migraine headaches, I can understand why they have questions.  It really is a pretty harrowing event.  The follow up questions centered around how often, medication/treatment, and if a doctor has evaluated it. 

During the paramedical exam, she also asked questions about family health history and status.  There were some issues which I gave her information for.  Following this general information, we then went into more of the physical exam part of the paramedical.  First, she measured my height and weight which can affect life insurance rates depending on their ratio (BMI).  She also took two separate readings of blood pressure and pulse, both of which were good in my case.  The double sets is to make sure one wasn't a fluke.  I think she wrote down both results.  Next comes the actual blood draw.  The great news is that as a paramedical nurse, she was a pro at drawing blood.  If you think about it, she does it all day long.  I hate needles but it wasn't bad with her quick sleight of hand. 

That was basically it.  I signed the page with the information she had recorded.  I believe that I signed a HIV notification form and a life application HIPAA authorization which allows them to request information from my doctor.  I don't believe they did but it's possible.  The entire paramedical exam probably took about 30 minutes with 5-10 minutes being small talk.  It was pretty painless for a life insurance paramedical.  She left a copy of the information she had received from me.  About 7 business days after the actual exam, I received a copy of my results.  It was pretty interesting.  Cholesterol was elevated as expected but everything else looked okay. 

It was now out of my hands.  The life insurance company will take this information and decide if I'm eligible for the policy I requested and at what rate.  I have made it through the paramedical exam and ultimately, I was offered my chosen plan at the best rate.  We'll do everything we can as your life insurance broker to make it a smooth process for you.