• Your health status and lifestyle habits may create problems getting life insurance.smoking image by Horticulture from Fotolia.com
  
  Life insurance companies spend a significant amount of time and money evaluating applicants. Every aspect of the application paperwork is examined by underwriters to confirm the legitimacy of the statements made by the applicant. Additional investigations, including medical diagnostic testing and background checks, provide the company with sufficient data to draw an informed conclusion regarding an individual's insurability and an appropriate price to charge for coverage.
  
  

Tobacco Use

• If you smoke or use any other form of tobacco, your life insurance policy will cost more. The negative effects of tobacco are well known and publicized, and these health risks must be properly hedged with higher premiums. Insurance companies make no distinction between the use of cigarettes, cigars, pipes or chewing tobacco. If lab tests confirm the presence of nicotine in your system, your policy will be rated accordingly and your premium will increase.
  
  

Poor Driving Record

• A driving record that demonstrates habitually dangerous or risky behavior, or an inability to competently operate a vehicle, will result in higher life insurance premiums. Driving a car presents enough danger to your life, and carelessness or recklessness increases the likelihood of serious injury or death. Underwriters obtain copies of your motor vehicle abstract and will increase your policy premium if presented with evidence of drunk driving, multiple moving violations, at-fault accidents or similar indications that driving presents an increased risk.
  
  

Criminal History

• Your criminal history may present a problem getting life insurance, depending on the specific type of crimes you committed and the length of time since your conviction. Insurance companies hesitate when presented with criminal histories because they fear recidivism and a criminal mentality. This hesitation is most prevalent when an applicant's background check reveals felonious crimes, especially offenses committed recently.
  
  

Poor Health

• A life insurance carrier's biggest concern when underwriting new policies is the applicant's health status. If you have been diagnosed with an ailment that may shorten your natural lifespan, or demonstrate symptoms of such an ailment, the price of a policy increases to offset the risk posed to the carrier. Diseases or illnesses with no known cure that undoubtedly lead to an early demise may present problems getting life insurance because the company's financial exposure is significantly larger.
  
  

Dangerous Occupations or Hobbies

• Your daily activities and habits indicate additional characteristics that influence the price of life insurance. Occupations or hobbies that pose a legitimate physical risk may create problems getting life insurance. Any job or pastime that places you high above the ground, below ground, or requires you to travel extremely fast could cause underwriters to charge higher premiums for fear of death caused by these activities. Skydiving, bungee jumping, hang gliding, window washing skyscrapers, cave exploring and race car driving are some examples of occupations and hobbies that result in higher life insurance premiums.