We live in uncertain times, so if you don’t already have life insurance, you might have thought about it over the last half a year. However, getting the best rates and quotes is not the easiest thing to do if you aim to get the most favorable policy price. A typical life insurance underwriting process can take between 45 to 60 days. During this time, the underwriter assigned on your case verifies if the information you’ve shared on your application matches the data they manage to dig out about you.

In the past, all you had to do is go through a medical exam and fill in a questionnaire. Nowadays, insurance companies are using a whole set of digital tools to determine if the quote they are offering you is fair for them – at the end of the day, they are for-profit entities. This is why underwriters do a whole lot of online digging, trying to learn more about you and your lifestyle.

Medical records

Unless you are specifically opt-out, in most cases, your health service provide hands any information they’ve gathered about you over your lifetime to your possible life insurance company. Suppose you have an ongoing condition that you’ve missed to mention in your application order or test lab results you are not very proud of. In that case, your life insurance underwriter will find out all the details during the underwriting process. Insurance companies will have access to test results, past visit information, immunizations, allergies, etc.

Social media

If you’ve marked yourself as a non-smoker and non-drinker, but your profile image on social media shows you holding a cigar or a drink, you may be subjected to higher monthly premiums on your life insurance policy. Underwriters also use social media to determine if you are at increased risk as they can see if you have any dangerous hobbies that can potentially impact your expected lifespan. For example, if you are often tagging yourself at the nearby shooting range; or are into speedy mountain biking; or enjoy paragliding, this may result in more money out of pocket, as you might be considered high-risk.

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Prescription history

Even if somehow you opt-out from sharing your medical records with the life insurance company, they would still have a way to see if you’ve purchased any medication that could be used for treating health conditions that may decrease your lifespan and make you high-risk. For example, if you’ve ever purchased any prescription drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, you will see a bump in your potential life insurance premium.

Driver history

Your motor vehicle report comes in handy to insurance companies as they can see if you are a clean driver or you’ve had any hiccups during your driving career. They particularly look to see if you’ve had any accidents and convictions. As an example, a driver with a DUI in the past would be considered a higher-risk. The insurance companies are generally trying to get more money when an application is received or avoid paying off when a claim is submitted.

Credit score

Weirdly enough, applying for a mortgage is very similar to the process of obtaining a life insurance policy. Both processes can easily take two months, and both mortgage provider and insurance companies end up spending time researching your credit report and put your credit score into consideration before offering a rate. Life insurance companies utilize data from your credit score – it helps them better assess a proposed insured’s risk profile.

Digital prints

If you have not googled your name recently, now it may be an excellent time to see what can underwriters can find about you. The last thing you want for them is to end up on your old MySpace page that, for some strange reason, still indexes on Google and get them to see images of you smoking and having drinks with friends while you’ve checked the non-smoker and non-drinker checkboxes in the application form.

If you are preparing to apply for your first life insurance policy or thinking of changing providers, you will not only need to go on a diet with lots of greeny veggies, but you will also have to monitor what you share about yourself on the internet and social media. Luckily, advanced antivirus software solutions can let you browse the internet in private, helping you limit the digital prints you leave on the internet so no one can judge you. Who would have thought that all you would need for a fair life insurance quote would be to lose some weight and get antivirus protection?