Asking for a better rate class later

Yes, you can ask, but the insurer is usually under no obligation to say yes. Most life policies are priced by the rate class you received at issue, and that class is part of the contract. If you quit tobacco, lost weight or got a condition under control, many insurers will review your file and may offer a lower rate; others will not, and they decide case by case. Your options are to request a reconsideration from your current insurer, or to apply for a new policy and replace the old one.

Two kinds of reconsideration

At the offer stage. If you are offered a higher-priced class than you applied for, you can ask the underwriter to reconsider before accepting, usually by supplying additional information, such as a doctor's letter, recent lab results or a corrected record. This is the cheapest time to push back, since the file is open. See life insurance rate classes: preferred plus to substandard for how the classes are built.

After the policy is in force. Some insurers will re-rate an existing policy on request when circumstances have changed, especially tobacco cessation or a sustained health improvement. This is generally an insurer practice, not a legal right, and its rules are often not published. Ask your agent or the insurer's policy service line what it offers and what it needs.

What tends to qualify

Insurers differ, but the situations most often raised are these:

• Quitting tobacco or nicotine. Insurers test for nicotine, and many require a stretch of verified nicotine-free time before treating you as a nonsmoker; the length varies. See how quitting smoking lowers life insurance rates.
• Weight and build. A sustained change that moves you into a different build bracket (see life insurance, weight and build charts).
• Blood pressure and cholesterol. Readings that are now controlled and stable over time (see life insurance with high blood pressure).
• A rated condition that resolved or stabilized. If you were given a table rating or flat extra because of a past event, a long clean record can support a review. See table ratings and flat extras explained.
• A correction of the record. An error in a driving, prescription or database report that affected your class.

Time matters. Insurers typically want to see improvement that has lasted, not a recent change, and some will not consider a request in the first year or two of the policy. Ask for the company's waiting period.

What the insurer may ask for

Expect to provide new evidence of insurability. Depending on the insurer, that can include:

1. A request form or a letter explaining what changed.
2. Recent medical records or a physician's statement.
3. A new paramedical exam with blood and urine tests, including a nicotine test if tobacco is the issue.
4. Updated database checks, such as prescription history and the MIB.

Ask before you start whether the review can lower your rate only, or whether it could also raise it. Many insurers say a reconsideration will not make things worse, but get that in writing; if the process uncovers new health information, you want to know in advance what the company can do. Policy terms on existing coverage generally do not allow re-pricing upward, but confirm with the insurer.

The safer way to test the market: shop first

The alternative is to apply for a new policy with a different insurer and, if you like the result, replace the old one. This is not a casual step. Replacement has real costs and risks:

• A new policy starts a new two-year contestability period, and you will be older, so the base price rises.
• Your old policy may have features you cannot get again, such as conversion rights or a guaranteed price.
• If you cancel the old coverage first and the new application fails, you could end up uninsured.
• Rules on replacements require disclosures; see replacing a life insurance policy: when it makes sense.

If you try this route, keep the existing policy in force until the new one is issued, accepted and paid for. Do not cancel in advance. An application to a new insurer is also recorded in the MIB database (see The MIB report: what insurers know about your history), so apply with intent rather than casually.

A hypothetical example

Say a 35-year-old bought a 20-year term policy as a smoker and now, five years later, has been nicotine-free and tested negative for years. The policy pays a smoker rate of $90 a month. If the insurer re-rates her to a nonsmoker class priced at $40 a month, she would save $50 a month, or $600 a year. If the insurer declines, a new 15-year policy from a different company might be cheaper per month despite her older age, but it resets the contestability period. These numbers are invented to show the arithmetic, not real prices.

Steps to take

1. Read your policy and any rate-class notice to see how your class was set and why.
2. Document the change: dates, test results, doctors' notes, nicotine-free records.
3. Contact your agent or the insurer and ask if it reconsiders rates, what it needs, and its waiting period.
4. Ask whether the process can raise your rate or affect your coverage.
5. If declined, ask why, and consider whether to shop other insurers with the improvement documented.
6. Compare any new offer to the old policy for price, length, conversion rights, and the cost of a new contestability period.

Key takeaways

• Rate reconsideration is usually at the insurer's discretion, not a right, and practices differ by company.
• The strongest cases involve a sustained change, such as tobacco cessation or stable improved health, with documentation.
• The cheapest time to push back is at the offer stage, before you accept the policy.
• Replacing a policy resets contestability and raises the base age; keep the old policy until the new one is in force.
• Ask the insurer in advance whether the review can raise your rate.