Low Resting Heart Rate
Many endurance athletes have a low resting heart rate, which can be misinterpreted by insurance companies as a heart abnormality. A low resting heart rate is one of a number of common training-related ECG alterations which are physiological adaptations to regular exercise and considered normal variants in athletes. A low resting heart rate in an athlete is actually a sign of better risk.
However, studies show that runners have a 30% lower risk of overall death.
Older marathon runners have up to a 50% decreased risk of heart disease.
Training for a marathon leads to 5% lower cholesterol and a 4% increase in cardiorespiratory fitness in just 18 weeks.
Read more:
Anderson A, et al. J Genet Counsel (2017) | Nomura et al. Int J Cancer (2016) | Korat et al. Curr Nutr Rep (2014) | Bao et al. Am J. Epidemiol. (2013) | Gramling et al. Breast Cancer Research (2010) | Ramsey et al. Genet Med (2006)
Poor Family History
Insurance companies use family history to evaluate your risk. One metric used is the age at which a family member has passed away from a disease. The earlier the death of a family member, the higher your rate will be. Carriers establish a threshold age for considering a death “early” — for example, most carriers consider any death from heart disease before the age of 60 to be early.
Health IQ recognizes that family history is not destiny and has pushed carriers to lower the threshold age for our customers living a healthy lifestyle — in the case of heart disease, from 60 years old to 55 years old. We were able to accomplish this by uncovering science like the following:
50% lower risk of coronary artery disease
Across four studies involving 55,685 participants, a healthy lifestyle was associated with a nearly 50% lower relative risk of coronary artery disease among those at high genetic risk.
Preventing Diabetes
More than 90% of type 2 diabetes cases are potentially preventable by following a healthful diet, having a BMI of ≤25 kg/m2, exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, avoiding smoking, and consuming alcohol in moderation.
Healthy Lifestyle Trumps Breast Cancer
The degree of benefit from healthy behaviors has been shown to be the same for women with or without a family history of breast cancer.
Read more:
Drezner JA, et al. Br J Sports Med (2013) | Zilinski et al. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. (2015) | Liu, Chen and Gao. J Insur Med (2012) | Fox et al. J Am Col Cardiology (2007)
Nutrition
Vegetarian credit
Vegetarians have an overall 12% lower risk of death and 24% lower risk of death from heart disease.
Vegans have a 16% lower risk of colorectal cancer. On average, those following a vegetarian diet are 3 points lower in BMI and have half the risk of developing diabetes when compared to meat eaters.
Read more:
Anderson A, et al. J Genet Counsel (2017) | Nomura et al. Int J Cancer (2016) | Korat et al. Curr Nutr Rep (2014) | Bao et al. Am J. Epidemiol. (2013) | Gramling et al. Breast Cancer Research (2010) | Ramsey et al. Genet Med (2006)
Low-Carb Dieter credit
Triglyceride/HDL ratio is a better predictor of cardiovascular disease. It is possible to have total cholesterol in 220-260 range with little risk of atherosclerosis if HDL high and TG low.
Meta-analysis reviews show across studies that a low-carbohydrate diet improves markers of cardiovascular and type 2 diabetes risk factors. Overall, the benefits outweigh any apparent rise in LDL cholesterol, as HDL tends to increase and triglycerides decrease.
Read more:
Ajala O. et al. Am J Clinical Nutr (2013) | Santos et al. Obes Rev. (2012) | de Luz et al. Clinics (2008) | Foster et al. N Engl J Med (2003)
High BMI
The height/weight ratio used for BMI doesn’t address body composition and leads to misclassification of strength athletes into weight classes that the insurance industry considers risky. That’s because BMI measures excess weight relative to height— not excess fat.
That’s why Health IQ has pushed our carriers for a “BMI buffer” for our health conscious clients. For example if the limit for the preferred plus rate category for someone 5'9" is 198 lbs, our health conscious client can still get the preferred plus rate category at 208 lbs.
Read more:
Kraschnewski JL et al., Prev Med (2016) | Despre JP. Can J. Cardiol (2015) | Flegel et al. JAMA (2013) | Ruiz et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev (2009)
High Cholesterol
HDL cholesterol levels below 6.0 for men and 5.0 for women or in some cases 4.0 for the best rates are standard for many carriers. However, a growing body of research is revealing that blood cholesterol level is not the biggest predictor of heart disease, especially for people who are on low-carb diets eating a higher proportion of nutrients from healthy fats and protein.
That’s why Health IQ has pushed our carriers to keep rates the same for our health-conscious customers but allow cholesterol levels up to 5.5 for our preferred customers and as high as 6.0 for women and 6.5 for men for our standard plus customers.
High blood pressure
To qualify for the best rates, health insurance carriers often require a blood pressure below 130/80. However, for a health conscious person who is living a healthy lifestyle every day, this may not be the most important consideration for heart disease risk.
That's why Health IQ has pushed our carriers to keep rates the same for our preferred customers with a blood pressure of 150/90, and as high as 155/95 for our standard plus customers.
Making Insurance Cheaper
Health IQ's research and the New England Journal of Medicine have independently found that type 2 diabetics that manage their A1C through physical activity and a healthy lifestyle have a 40% to 72% lower risk of early mortality. So it just makes sense that you should pay less for life insurance.
Health IQ Research
Health IQ Data
Medical Research
How It Works
The Health IQ Difference
1.
Better price
Health IQ takes into account your whole health to better predict your long-term health, getting you lower rates.
2.
Better rate class
Many carriers start diabetics at a Standard rate. Health IQ starts well-managed diabetics at a lower premium than Standard.
3.
Better shopping
1.
We first shop our special rate partners to get you the best rate
2.
We double check the rate by shopping 30 additional carriers
Special rate check
We first shop our special rate partners to get you the best rate
Retail rate check
We double-check the rate by shopping 30 additional carriers
1.
Better price
Health IQ takes into account your whole health to better predict your long-term health, getting you lower rates.
2.
Better rate class
Many carriers start diabetics at a Standard rate. Health IQ starts well-managed diabetics at a lower premium than Standard.
3.
Better shopping
Special rate check
We first shop our special rate partners to get you the best rate
Retail rate check
We double-check the rate by shopping 30 additional carriers
Why Work With Us
Top In Protection
As Seen On...