Applying for Life Insurance with a Dangerous Occupation
Talk to one of our experienced advisors today!
11 minute read
Originally Published: March 17, 2022
Updated: November 15, 2022
Applying for Life Insurance with a Dangerous Occupation
Talk to one of our experienced advisors today!
11 minute read
Originally Published: March 17, 2022
Updated: November 15, 2022
Your occupation is a huge part of your life and may have an equally large impact on your life insurance. If your job tends to be dangerous and is deemed high-risk by life insurance companies, it may be difficult for you to be approved for an affordable policy. Having a dangerous profession is unlikely to keep you from obtaining approval for policies, but it may increase how much you pay in premiums. The best life insurance companies will analyze your profession during the underwriting process and will weigh the risk of your profession alongside other factors to determine your premiums and whether or not they want to insure you.
In this article:
What is a dangerous job?
A dangerous job is one that exposes you to risky dangers you would not normally have to face. Those with dangerous jobs may be considered high-risk to insure by life insurance companies and face higher premiums as a result. In more severe cases, it may result in you being denied life insurance. That being said, just because you have a dangerous occupation, it does not mean your insurer will automatically consider you high-risk. However, you may be considered high-risk if you:
- Work high off the ground
- Work underground
- Work with explosives
- Are exposed to dangerous chemicals
- Use or are exposed to firearms
- Are in the military
- Travel to dangerous areas for work
If you work with hazardous materials or in hazardous conditions, you are likely to be deemed higher risk than the average person working a desk job. This will result in increased premiums or even denied applications.
Most dangerous occupations for life insurance
The following occupations will likely place you in the high-risk category for life insurance agencies.
The fishing industry is considered one of the riskiest professions due to the unstable conditions at sea and exposure to large and predatory sea creatures. This can be the case for both onshore and offshore commercial fishermen. Those who simply work in fish farming or processing may even face higher premiums.
Not all professions in the fishing industry are flagged as high-risk. Some factors that life insurance companies look for include:
- Onshore or offshore profession
- Size of boat
- Private or commercial work
- What type of fish you work with
- Proximity to the fish
- Other daily tasks expected of you
Logging also ranks high amongst the world’s most dangerous professions due to the numerous safety hazards workers are exposed to on a daily basis. Their tasks include being off the ground in unstable trees within large forests. These forests are also often far from hospitals and it is difficult to seek medical attention when you are that far away from civilization.
Certain regions and areas are deemed to be extra hazardous and have a higher risk to insure. Depending on your role in the process of logging and what you do on a daily basis, you are likely to face higher premiums due to your profession.
Flying planes and helicopters are considered dangerous, both as a hobby and an occupation. Whether you work as a pilot privately or commercially, you are likely to be placed in the high-risk category. That does not mean that all pilots are treated with the same level of risk. Those who work for airlines often are not even expected to pay a flat extra fee.
Those who fly any sort of aircraft from a hang glider to a blimp are considered to be pilots and will require further investigation. Additional information that will be required for life insurance companies include:
- What type of instrument rating do you as a pilot have?
- How many hours do you fly annually?
- Which countries do you fly in and out of?
Extraction workers encompass a broad category of occupations and refer to any profession that is involved in the removal of natural resources from the Earth. This can include both the ground or the sea. Extraction workers that will often fall under this category include:
- Oil riggers
- Platform workers
- Construction demolition
- Miners
If you specialize in one of these industries or others that involve extracting or cleaning up natural resources, finding life insurance will be challenging, but not impossible.
Those who work in the emergency services put their lives at risk every day to protect citizens. Emergency service personnel is also an umbrella term that encompasses many professions including:
- EMTs
- Police officers
- Firefighters
- 911 operators
- Bomb squad
Professions that do not require you to be out in the field are considered less dangerous than those that do. This means 911 operators rarely suffer any serious consequences in their life insurance applications. Police officers, firefighters and those on the bomb squad, on the other hand, tend to be considered a much higher risk due to the dangerous perils they face every day.
Some construction workers are often labelled as high-risk applicants due to the risk of injury associated with the profession. If you work at a construction site, you are susceptible to falling, getting injured by equipment and being exposed to a higher risk of fire or electrocution. However, how much your job in the construction field impacts your life insurance will depend on the following factors:
- Your daily job responsibilities
- The machines you work with
- The settings in which you operate
- The safety levels
- Your level of training
- Precautionary measures
How is life insurance affected by my job?
A common question people may have is “can I get life insurance with a dangerous profession?” when thinking about how their job may affect their chances of getting life insurance.
The answer is YES!
Life insurance companies base the risk level associated with insuring you on the likelihood that you may pass away. They consider factors such as your age, gender, health and lifestyle to estimate the probability that an individual will die at each age. This analysis is then factored into the cost of coverage that comes in the form of premiums. Note that each company has their own guidelines and rules that the underwriting must follow when reviewing applications.
In the event that an insurer finds anything that they consider to increase your likelihood of death, they will increase your premiums to reflect that. Depending on the severity of your risk to the company, it is possible to even get denied. And if you are denied life insurance, that could just mean you need to apply to a different company or apply for a different type of life insurance. Therefore, if your job involves any hazards the average person does not have to consider, it may impact your ability to obtain affordable coverage.
How is the cost of life insurance affected by my job?
Life insurance costs are impacted by how the life insurance companies classify you. The different ratings are showcased below.
In order to obtain the best classification rates of preferred plus or preferred, your job cannot include any hazardous duties. How dangerous your profession is will differ from company to company, but anything associated with an increased risk of injury will have a negative impact on your rating. The lower your rating, the higher your premiums will be.
How are life insurance riders affected by my job?
Riders are supplemental coverage you can add to your life insurance policy. Some riders are free and come with the policy itself, while others come at the cost of an additional fee or an elongated underwriting process.
A rider that is traditionally unavailable to those with high-risk jobs is a disability income rider. This rider adds a monthly benefit on top of your life insurance in the event that you are disabled and cannot work. Those who have a high likelihood of disability due to their occupation will not qualify for a disability income rider.
What do life insurance companies look for when you have a dangerous job?
Life insurance companies base their analysis of your profession on the likelihood of you dying while performing your occupational duties. Every applicant’s situation is assessed individually, as is the risk associated with your occupation. Some questions you may be asked during your application include:
- How often do you engage in dangerous tasks?
- What activities are required during your job?
- What does a typical day on the job look like?
- What type of environment do you work in?
- What type of safety is available to you?
- What safety measures and guidelines do you follow?
- Are you continually trained in safety measures?
- Do you have higher levels of certification?
- Do you work with chemicals?
- Do you work with machinery?
You will also be asked occupation-focused questions. For example, if you are a pilot, you may have to answer questions like:
- What type of aircraft do you fly?
- What type of instrument rating do you have?
- How many in-flight hours do you log in a typical year?
- What cities or countries do you fly to and from?
Different life insurance companies will have different questions and ratings for you, but they generally consider other factors such as your body mass index, health conditions, family history, driving record or criminal record.
How to get life insurance with a high-risk job?
The heightened risk associated with your profession should be all the more motivation to seek coverage for your loved ones. The life insurance company would be taking a risk by insuring you, but you take on a greater risk by being uninsured.
The best way to ensure you are obtaining the best policy for you is to shop around. There are many policies with different requirements and guidelines that may apply to your specific situation. For example, if you are getting declined when applying for traditional life insurance policies, you could consider a no medical exam policy. These tend to be more expensive but will allow for easy approval.
It is important to be honest during your application. While lying about the risks associated with your profession may be tempting, you will face dire consequences if you are caught, which you likely will be. A great way to obtain an affordable policy that best suits your situation is to attain the help of a life insurance agent. Clearly communicate the nature of your work with them, so they can help you find the best life insurance for you. For more information try reading our blog about the cheapest life insurances in Canada.
Contact Protect Your Wealth today to find the best life insurance to obtain the right amount of coverage even with a dangerous occupation.
How to save on life insurance if you have a dangerous job?
Even if you have a dangerous occupation and are deemed high-risk by the life insurance company, you are not disqualified from competitive life insurance rates. A few things you can do in order to obtain the best possible rate is:
- Work with an independent broker
- Ask for reconsideration
- Pay your premiums annually
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Yes, you can! Your occupation may cause a life insurance company to classify you as a high-risk applicant due to your increased likelihood of passing. However, you can obtain coverage with just slightly higher premiums or a different type of life insurance policy.
A flat extra is an additional premium that is sometimes charged by life insurance companies. It represents the excess mortality risk of your medical condition, occupation or avocation. They are usually added to a policy during the underwriting phase.
The higher the risk and more dangerous the occupation, the higher your insurance premiums will be. People with high occupational risk often face more difficulty getting life or disability insurance.
Finding the right life insurance for you
How your occupation may affect your life insurance premiums or chance at approval will differ from case to case. Those with more dangerous professions will be deemed a higher risk and more difficult to insure. One of the best ways to find the right life insurance policy is to obtain the help of a life insurance agent.
At Protect Your Wealth, we work with and compare policies and quotes from the best life insurance companies in Canada to create the best solution for you and your needs. We’ve been providing expert life insurance solutions since 2007, including no medical life insurance, term life insurance, and permanent life insurance, to build the best package to give you the protection you need.
Contact Protect Your Wealth or call us at 1-877-654-6119 to talk to an advisor today! We’re proudly based out of Hamilton, and service clients anywhere in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia, and Ontario, including areas such as Edmonton, Mississauga, Stoney Creek, and Victoria.
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