Health · Chapter 19 · Risk Factors
Health Underwriting Risk Factors
Definition
The factors underwriters weigh to answer "is the applicant insurable?": (1) physical condition & health history — current health, body build (extreme height/weight), medical/treatment history, and FAMILY health history; (2) moral hazards — habits and lifestyle; (3) occupation and hobbies (avocations); (4) age and sex. Insurable interest is also a prerequisite — the applicant must stand to suffer a loss if the insured incurs medical expenses or can't work due to disability.
In plain English
Health, habits, job, hobbies, age, and sex — evaluated in COMBINATION, never on any single factor alone.
Exam tip
Health underwriting is not a simple accept/reject call — even healthy insureds file claims yearly, so underwriters grade DEGREES of risk to predict future health and price the policy.
Easy to confuse with
These are what this term gets tested against — if you can't tell them apart cold, drill the contrast.
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