Prepare for Telemedical Interview Before Buying Term Insurance – A Detailed Guide

The physical medical check-up done before buying a term insurance policy has been a detriment in many ways. However, insurers have now started offering policies through telemedical interviews. So, rather than conducting the physical medical tests before buying the policy, it is now done over a call. This way, the insurer saves a lot of time in terms of turnaround time as well as it supports policy seeker to avail right coverage amount.

The telemedical interview is a process under which an interview is conducted over a telephone call to ask a few questions to people willing to buy a term plan. The telemedical is done by doctors appointed for this purpose. The questions asked include things related to lifestyle, medical conditions and more. This conversation is recorded and kept as proof for later use to collect information related to health risks. Moreover, this conversation is also used by the insurer to decide if they are interested in issuing a policy to the person or not.

Important Questions Asked in Telemedical Interview for Term Insurance

Most of the questions asked in telemedical in term insurance are similar for different insurance companies.  Below are some questions asked in a telemedical interview:

1. Medical history of the policy seeker
2. Medical history of the policy seeker’s family
3. About pre-existing medical conditions
4. About any medicine that the policy seeker is taking
5. About any history of hospitalisation
6. About any medicine that you take regularly
7. About your lifestyle habits such as smoking, consuming alcohol etc.
8. About the history of any mental condition such as depression, anxiety etc.

The policy seeker of a tele medical term plan is advised to answer all the questions asked in an honest manner to avail the right coverage at the right premium price. This is because if you hide any information from your insurance company it will be considered breach of trust or fraud in case the truth is revealed at a later stage at the time of claim settlement.

How to prepare for a Term Insurance Telemedical Interview

To prepare for a telemedical for term insurance, a policy seeker must keep all healthcare related information handy during the question answer session. You may provide all the information accurately and save time.

Below is a list of information that might be required at the time of telemedical interview:

• Keep the date of any surgery or any other medical information handy if you have gone through any in the last 10 years
• If you have gone through any treatment recently, keep the prescription handy
• Keep the details of your doctor including name, address and phone number handy
• Offer details of your family’s medical history such as diagnosis or death of any members etc.
• Your physical details like height, weight, BP level etc.
• The physical activities you are involved in
• Any lifestyle habit like smoking, drinking etc.

Why Insurance Companies Conduct Telemedical Interviews

Insurance companies conduct Telemedical interviews because it eliminates the need to get a physical check-up done by visiting a hospital. Under telemedical, the medical examination is conducted over the phone by certified doctors. This facility was very fruitful during the covid-19 period when people hesitated to visit clinics for getting medical check-ups done.

Also, by discussing the various conditions of a policy seeker by personally talking to him/her, a doctor can confirm the state of health of the person well. So, it serves as a more effective alternative for insurance companies.

The process of telemedical has reduced the cost of insurance companies in terms of providing enhanced risk assessment significantly. It has also reduced the turnaround time and supports the client to get better coverage by describing every fact correctly. Moreover, the client is more at ease to share details on call.