Having lived overseas most of my adult life...

[salmichaels]

I will be back in the US soon and want to get a term life policy. I'm in excellent health thank god, could stand to lose a bit of weight is all.

I have been living overseas for 15 years and all my medical records are there, some of it in English, some not. They have national healthcare so all of my records are centralized, and much of it is English. And all of it is accessible to me, I don't know about an underwriter.

Has anyone had any experience with this?

 

[scagnt83]

I will be back in the US soon and want to get a term life policy. I'm in excellent health thank god, could stand to lose a bit of weight is all.

I have been living overseas for 15 years and all my medical records are there, some of it in English, some not. They have national healthcare so all of my records are centralized, and much of it is English. And all of it is accessible to me, I don't know about an underwriter.

Has anyone had any experience with this?

From a medical records standpoint, you are fine if you have access to the records. If they request them, you can provide it yourself instead of the carrier contacting the doctor directly. Not all term policies are requesting medical records these days, so it might be a moot point deepening on the amount/product/carrier you choose.

Records not in english are not an issue for most carriers. Most have translator services they can use.

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Find an independent agent who can shop the market for you. They should be able to go into detail with your situation and ensure you choose the carrier with the best features/premiums/etc. for your specific situation.

 

[salmichaels]

Okay thank you that is helpful.

I have learned that I can download my medical records using a card reader when I login to the national healthcare website, and I suppose, store them in a zip file or the like.

Do you know how far back they would want?

Also, on a longshot, is there any company that would let me do a medical exam over here?

 

[scagnt83]

Okay thank you that is helpful.

I have learned that I can download my medical records using a card reader when I login to the national healthcare website, and I suppose, store them in a zip file or the like.

Do you know how far back they would want?

Also, on a longshot, is there any company that would let me do a medical exam over here?

It depends. Usually they want at least 5 years if not 10. Or they might not want them at all.

Medical exam depends. The issue is not as much the carrier, but the medical exam company. Each carriers has certain "approved" vendors. I dont know of any that have overseas offices, but there could be a few in the UK. That is a situation where the agent would have to communicate with the carrier before placing the application. Or ensure its a policy where they will not request a medical exam.

Many term carriers now have underwriting processes that do not automatically require medical records and an exam. So if your agent looks to those products first, it could alleviate some of your concerns, assuming you are in very good health as you mentioned.

IF they needed an exam performed overseas, they possibly might accept it from your primary physician. But any fees incurred would likely not be reimbursed as they would for an "approved vendor".

The larger issue might be residency. If you are not currently a permanent resident of the US, they will probably want more info surrounding that and ensuring the timeline of when you are moving back. But most likely it will be more of a formality than anything else.

 

[salmichaels]

Alright, thank you again for your help.

 

[scagnt83]

Alright, thank you again for your help.

No problem. Im not licensed in OH right now. But if you need a recommendation for an independent agent to shop the market, I can send you contact info of who I would recommend. Just PM me.