If you have high blood pressure, you may still be able to get life insurance at regular premiums – in fact, it’s quite likely.

 A bit of background on how life insurance treats high blood pressure. First, these days it’s very common for doctors to prescribe HBP medication at the slightest indication of high blood pressure. Doing so has probably saved uncountable lives because so many people are taking these medications now it’s greatly reduced the mortality that can arise from complications. 

In fact, consider this. If you ‘have high blood pressure’ and are taking medication, do you have high blood pressure? The answer is, your blood pressure is likely fine – it’s no longer high blood pressure, it’s high blood pressure controlled by medication, or – ‘not’ high blood pressure. The life insurance companies recognize this, and have the statistics to back it up.

Therefore, if you started taking HBP meds when you were older, your blood pressure is well controlled, well within ranges, and that’s been sustained for a year or two, then you may very well qualify for life insurance at regular premiums.

If these factors are not all true – particularly if it’s not well controlled, then the life insurance companies are likely to decline to offer you life insurance. If you’re not taking your medication consistently over extended periods of time, and your blood pressure is varying, then you are no longer seen by the life insurance companies as ‘well controlled’ and they won’t take these risks on. 

To get life insurance if you have high blood pressure, we suggest you consult with one of our life insurance agents (contact us and request a consultation). We normally suggest that you apply for a regular life insurance policy instead of a no medical policy, as the benefits will be better and the premiums will be cheaper. This would generally include taking a urine sample and blood test (including BP) as part of the application. You should take this part of the application first thing in the morning, with nothing to eat or drink, and before you exercise. That gives the life insurance company the best test results. Combined with your medical data, that gives you the highest probability of the life insurance company viewing your risk profile as standard. 

As a counter point, we’ve had clients eat a McDonalds meal and then run up 4 flights of stairs before taking their medical test. Yes, they were initially declined. Yes we did eventually get them coverage, but it was a bit of a process to get there.