Last Updated: May 2020
One of the most common abnormalities found in the lab work from a life insurance medical exam is elevated liver function tests.
While you may have a good heart, regular blood pressure, and a healthy weight; an elevated liver function test can indicate risk to insurers, leading them to increase the cost of your coverage. If you’ve been rated by a life insurance company because of your liver enzymes, there may be better options out there.
Often, consumers will wonder if they can get life insurance with elevated liver function tests and elevated enzymes.
Consumers also find themselves taking the first life insurance policy they are approved for and do not effectively shop the market with the best possible companies for this scenario.
Don’t feel obligated to take the first offer you get, because chances are, there are better premiums rates out there, even with your condition.
In this article, we will cover the following:
- Liver Function Test and Life Insurance
- Why Elevated Liver Function Tests Matter to Life Insurance Companies
- Elevated Liver Function Test Can Place You As High Risk With Life Insurance Companies
- How Life Insurance Companies Classify Your Rates
- How To Get The Lowest Rates For Coverage With Elevated Liver Function
- Do Not Settle For Less Than The Best Even With Elevated Liver Function Test
Life Insurance is Boring. Let’s Get To The Root Of It! Here are the key takeaways…
You can be approved for life insurance with elevated liver function tests and elevated liver enzymes. Often, you can be approved for coverage at great rates. Your approvals for coverage with elevated liver function tests will be judged based on many factors such as your overall health profile, family history, and lifestyle.
The answer provided above may leave you wondering exactly what else is entailed in the process when applying for coverage with elevated liver enzymes.
In this post, we’ll walk through everything you need to know about your liver function tests and what the results might mean for your life insurance coverage.
Liver Function Test and Life Insurance
As its name suggests, a liver function test is a blood test that checks to see how well your liver is functioning. It’s a portion of the medical exam that life insurance companies require you to undergo when you apply for coverage with them.
It’s important to note that there are exam-free policies out there, but those policies will have higher premiums as the risk of insuring you is higher.
Depending on your situation, a no medical exam policy might be your best option, but you should hold off until you read the info below.
You might be surprised at the premiums you can get with elevated liver function test results. It all depends on your specific case.
In order to assess how well your liver is operating, the test looks at the levels of specific elements such as albumin, bilirubin, total protein, liver enzymes, and your body’s prothrombin time, which tests how quickly your blood clots.
An excess amount of bilirubin could result in jaundice, an indicator of liver problems.
Elevations in SGOT (or AST) and SGPT (or ALT), the liver enzymes referenced above, are typically caused by liver damage which allows these enzymes to be released out of the cells.
The GGT (or GGTP) test is a very sensitive enzyme for the detection of early liver disease or damage and it will also rise when the liver is busy metabolizing some types of drugs or toxins – like alcohol.
Why Elevated Liver Function Tests Matter to Life Insurance Companies
You and your doctor aren’t the only people who might be concerned with abnormal results to your liver function tests. Life insurance providers will care about these results as well.
Here’s how it works. When you apply for life insurance coverage, you enter what’s known as the underwriting process, where you are responsible for providing an accurate picture of the state of your health, and the underwriters are responsible for classifying you based on your responses and the results of your medical examination.
That classification will determine the cost of your premiums, which is how much you will pay to keep your life insurance policy in place, as well as the maximum size of your policy in some cases.
The elements that are analyzed in a liver function test could be indicators of liver disease and other issues. As such, they elevate the risk to the company of having to pay out on your policy in the event of your passing.
Elevated Liver Function Test Can Place You As High Risk With Life Insurance Companies
There are many impairments that cause elevations in liver enzyme tests like hepatitis, cirrhosis, excess alcohol use, or liver cancer.
Medications can also increase liver enzymes, such as Allopurinol, Dilatin, and Phenobarbital, so there is more to consider than just the numbers themselves.
The abnormal liver test results should be assessed for their underlying causes.
The underwriter will consider the degree of elevation, the clinical history, and the current physical findings and then rate the customer for either high-risk life insurance or standard.
How Life Insurers Classify Rates
While the exact classification methods may vary from company to company, they generally look at the same criteria and place customers similarly across the board. What differs is the weight each of these factors holds in rating you.
Overall, here are some of the general factors that underwriters will consider during your application process:
- Your height and weight (and weight history to see any major fluctuations)
- Family health history
- Your health conditions (past and present)
- Drug and alcohol use (history of substance abuse can be detrimental to your coverage)
- Tobacco use
- Hobbies (life-threatening ones like skydiving will hurt your chances)
- Profession (dangerous fields increase premiums and may limit policies)
Most life insurance companies work in the following categories:
- Preferred Plus or Preferred Select, which means you’re in tip-top shape with no family health history or health problems
- Preferred, which may mean you have high blood pressure or a similar well-managed condition
- Standard Plus, which may entail a couple of minor issues
- Standard, which may mean you have a negative family health history alongside a few issues
- Substandard rating, which may suggest more severe issues like a heart attack or diabetes
The further down the list you are ranked, the higher your premiums will be. As we mentioned earlier, you might also see limits to the size of the policy you can purchase.
You can check the criteria of each company you’re looking at to see if issues like your liver test results or other conditions are weighed heavily in your classification as some companies are more lenient with specific conditions.
How to Get the Best Rates with Elevated Liver Functions
There are several life insurance carriers that are more aggressive than others with elevated liver function tests.
But the fact of the matter is, great rates aren’t out of the question, especially if your liver functions are only slightly elevated.
Scoping out which companies will be preferential to your condition can be daunting, with countless insurers to choose from. We can help.
In order to determine which carrier will offer you the lowest rate, we’ll need to learn more about you and what might be at the root of your elevated liver function test, whether it’s due to a medication, disease, or alcoholism.
Here’s the information we need from you:
- Length of Condition: How long have you had elevated liver functions? Is it a new finding?
- Who Tested You: Was the testing done by your physician or was it found in the lab results from the life insurance exam?
- Elevation Level: How elevated are the tests? (1x normal amount, 2x normal amount, or more than 3x normal amount)
- Alcohol Marker: Has there been a positive alcohol marker test? What are your drinking history and habits?
- Known Cause: Is there a known cause of your elevations? Has your physician reviewed the elevated labs yet?
Once we know the answers to these questions, along with other health and lifestyle questions related to the health factors we covered earlier, we’ll review over 60 life companies and find the best rate based on your situation.
Secondary Life Insurance Options If You Struggle Securing Life Insurance With An Elevated Liver Function Test
Sometimes, you are not able to secure traditional life insurance coverage whether you try for no-exam life insurance or fully underwritten.
It happens more than you think and is not something to get too upset over.
You have other options to secure coverage that is often overlooked and may be beneficial for you and your family depending on your situation.
Two of those options include guaranteed issue life insurance and accidental death life insurance coverage.
Let’s touch on Guaranteed issue life insurance first.
Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance With Elevated Liver Enzymes
Guaranteed issue life insurance is a great option to consider if you have been declined life insurance due to your results for your liver function tests.
More and more companies are beginning to offer this coverage and the ages are beginning to expand for who qualifies.
Currently, with most companies offering this coverage, you will need to be between the ages of 50-85.
With guaranteed issue life insurance, your liver function test will no longer be relevant.
These policies are issued without the need of answering any medical questions.
Coverage amounts range from $5,000-$25,000 and it is technically a whole life insurance policy.
The kicker is this.
For the first two years of your policy being in force, you will only be offered your premiums returned plus 10% interest.
It is a high performing savings account for the first two years essentially.
After these two years have passed, you will have the full-death benefit active.
It is a great option to consider if you have been declined and will at least provide some financial relief to your loved ones in the event something did happen to you.
Companies such as AIG and even Gerber are two of the top providers for this coverage at this time.
Some coverage is always better than no coverage at all.
Accidental Death Life Insurance
Accidental death is another option you can consider if you have been declined due to your liver function test and do not prefer guaranteed issue coverage.
Accidental life insurance is going to be much cheaper, offer coverages typically up to 500K, and only cover you in the event that you pass away due to an accident.
However, assuming you feel good about your health and you are simply waiting before re-applying for traditional coverage, accidental coverage can be an excellent way to layer some protection in the meantime for relatively cheap premiums.
Consider a company such as Mutual of Omaha if you are leaning in this direction.
Do Not Settle For Less Than The Best Even With Elevated Liver Function Test
Most consumers make the mistake of paying more than they should for life insurance because they dealt with an agent who didn’t know where to take them after learning about elevated liver functions. Don’t make this mistake.
Don’t settle for poor premium rates without researching all of your options.
You can give us a ring for quick, personal service or find out on your own using the quote form on the right!
We’re happy to answer any of your basic questions about how life insurance works and help you land on the right type of policy, whatever that might look like.
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