Treadmill value in apparently healthy life insurance applicants.

نویسندگان

  • Adrienne H Mihelic
  • John A Tak
  • Curt Rullestad
چکیده

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to assess the cost/value tradeoff of a routine treadmill requirement for life insurance applicants. For this purpose, we are interested in the treadmill's ability to provide unique information on the mortality risk in a population of apparently healthy and asymptomatic individuals, as opposed to the treadmill done for diagnostic or confirmatory purposes. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a protective value study, solving for the face amount at which the mortality savings outweigh the various treadmill requirement costs. Multiple scenarios were evaluated, varying the following assumptions: percent of cases uniquely discovered through the treadmill, excess mortality associated with the treadmill, proportion of would-be applicants ending the process when confronted with a treadmill requirement, proportion of not-takens in the face of a positive treadmill, and various profitability requirements. While there is an array of information available from the treadmill, to avoid double counting effects we chose 2 representative and independent findings: abnormal ECG and low fitness (duration). Prevalence of findings and mortality associations were derived from published studies. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION While many companies are moving to eliminate or restrict the use of treadmill testing, low break-even policy sizes were produced in virtually every iteration of our assumptions. In one variation, however, we ignored the possibility of any "fitness" findings. Under this assumption, results were roughly consistent with current industry practice. This suggests that some companies could enhance the value of their treadmill requirements by requesting Balke protocol treadmills and/or interpreting duration information. Others may want to reconsider current face amount thresholds for their treadmill requirement in light of this valuable risk-selection information.

برای دانلود رایگان متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Can Individuals with Latent (Precirrhotic) Hemochromatosis be Accepted at Standard Rates?

A rational evaluation by insurance medical directors of an applicant for life or health insurance requires not only adequate information from a prospective insuree, but current knowledge concerning a common genetic disorder such as genetic hemochromatosis (GH), and the routine use of an appropriate screening test for GH of all applicants. Such an evaluation could make a vital difference in prog...

متن کامل

Increased mortality associated with elevated carcinoembryonic antigen in insurance applicants.

OBJECTIVE Determine the relationship between the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) value and all-cause mortality in life insurance applicants aged 50 years and over. METHOD By use of the Social Security Master Death Index, mortality was examined in 115,590 insurance applicants aged 50 and up for whom blood samples for CEA were submitted to the Clinical Reference Laboratory. Results were stratifi...

متن کامل

Disability Insurance and the Dynamics of the Incentive Insurance Trade-Off.

We provide a life-cycle framework for comparing insurance and disincentive effects of disability benefits. The risks that individuals face and the parameters of the Disability Insurance (DI ) program are estimated from consumption, health, disability insurance, and wage data. We characterize the effects of disability insurance and study how policy reforms impact behavior and welfare. DI feature...

متن کامل

Disability Insurance and the Dynamics of the Incentive-Insurance Tradeo¤

We provide a lifecycle framework for comparing the insurance value and the incentive cost of disability bene…ts. We estimate the risks that individuals face and the parameters governing the disability insurance program using longitudinal US data on consumption, health, disability insurance, and wages. We characterize the economic e¤ects of disability insurance and study how policy reforms impac...

متن کامل

Demographic predictors of false negative self-reported tobacco use status in an insurance applicant population.

OBJECTIVES To identify and quantify demographic correlates of false-negative self-reporting of tobacco use in life insurance applicants. BACKGROUND Several studies have assessed the sensitivity of self-reporting for tobacco use in various populations, but statistical examination of the causes of misreporting has been rarer. The very large (488,000 confirmed tobacco users) sample size, US-wide...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Journal of insurance medicine

دوره 34 1  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2002