Health I.Q. was founded to help health-conscious individuals save money on life insurance. Read my full review of Health I.Q. to learn how you can save money today.
Who is Health I.Q.?
Health I.Q. was founded in 2013 after its founder experienced chest pains after a race.
He had a poor family health history and wasn’t taking care of himself. After his hospital trip, he made some health changes and dropped 40 pounds. He even ran three marathons.
This gave him the idea for Health I.Q.
He decided people should be rewarded for their attention to good health.
To do this, he built Health I.Q., which is one of the companies in the emerging “insureTech” field.
When getting started, they were able to secure investors who put $34.6 million in startup money into the growth of Health IQ. All of those investors saw how Health I.Q. could change the life insurance market.
How exactly does Health I.Q. help people?
It uses a simple algorithm to categorize its clients into two groups:
- the health-conscious
- the non-health conscious
Health I.Q. has done research and compiled data from millions of healthy participants, to show that people who are concerned with their health have longer life expectancy rates.
They took these numbers to insurance companies and convinced certain carriers to offer their clients lower insurance premiums.
According to the Health I.Q. website, many insurance carriers were not immediately convinced. Most of them didn’t want to offer cheaper premiums for health nuts.
But, after Health I.Q. showed them all of the data, dozens of providers hopped on board.
Those companies who partner with Health I.Q. offer a better rate class above the typically Preferred Plus.
Health I.Q. did all of the work, and you can take advantage of it.
How is Health I.Q. Different?
LIMRA, a leading authority for insurance data, found some interesting survey responses as reported in their most recent Insurance Barometer.
According to that report, a large amount of the population, particularly millennials, overestimate the cost of life insurance, assuming it to be out of reach. That same study found that half of the respondents would prefer a no-exam policy.
If you are in pristine health, though, you likely aren’t concerned about a medical exam or the results, and you can expect the best rates out there with Health I.Q.
Health I.Q. rewards healthy people
Health I.Q. rewards healthy people, but they do more than that.
They take a long, hard look at your health, not just a broad overview of the numbers. Many traditional insurance companies will look at your health and weight to figure out your BMI or some similar number.
With Health I.Q., they want to know more about your healthy lifestyle.
For example, let’s say you’re a bodybuilder, or you just like to lift weights. You’re probably going to have a lot of muscle.
All that muscle can skew your BMI. To the insurance company, you will be seen as overweight, even though you may have a very low body fat percentage.
Health I.Q. knows that muscle is more dense than fat. It knows how often you go to the gym, and will be sure you don’t get penalized for your high BMI.
Instead, Health I.Q. will offer you cheaper rates because you workout.
During your application process, Health I.Q. will want to know how you manage your health. This is done through the classification of individuals in the following categories:
- Long-distance runners
- Cyclists
- Weight Lifting
- HIIT Athletes
- Swimming
- Triathletes
- Yoga
- Hiking
- and several more
Health I.Q. has special rates for those who adhere to those specific diets
They have a whole page dedicated to showing why Vegans should get lower insurance rates. They have a lower risk of hypertension, lower risk of diabetes, lower risk of certain types of cancers, and much more.
What to Know About Health I.Q.
Currently, Health I.Q. has relationships with over 30 A+ insurance carriers. These are some of the biggest companies out there, including:
- Mutual of Omaha
- Prudential
- Principal
- Brighthouse
- Securian
- John Hancock
- Transamerica
- And many more
These are the standard partnerships they have built.
In addition to these, they have also forged special relationships with three companies:
With these three companies, Health I.Q. customers are able to get an ever higher rating than an average customer. A better rating means lower rates.
Health I.Q. uses your quiz answers and activity levels to secure special rates from those companies and picks the lowest one.
There are some unique aspects of Health I.Q. which are different from a normal insurance company.
One of those is that you won’t have to take a medical exam if you’re getting less than $500,000 worth of coverage.
This is a much higher limit than several other companies.
Health I.Q. justifies this limit by verifying your level of activity and by you taking the quiz.
Any company can make outrageous claims, but Health I.Q. seems to have the numbers to back up its own.
According to the company website, 70% of Health I.Q. clients who are considered “health conscious” are put in the top rating class for insurance. Not only are these customers getting better rates classes, but they are enjoying savings of anywhere from 3% to over 40%.
How to Use Health I.Q.
Getting Health I.Q.’s cheaper rates is pretty simple.
- Go to the website, you can get started by filling out the form at the top.
- Provide your basic information including, name, address, coverage amount, nicotine use, height, and weight.
- After the basic info, you’ll need to give some more specific information, like whether or not you have had any serious health problems or driving violations.
- After that, you’ll take the Health I.Q. quiz. The Health I.Q. questions are going to be based on your lifestyle. If you said you’re a swimmer, the questions will revolve around swimming. If you picked weightlifting, then you will be asked about proper form and how to avoid injuries while weightlifting.
- While you’re taking the quiz, you’ll see a bar at the top. For every question you get right, the bar fills up and gets close to the “elite” category. You need to answer enough questions correctly to fill up the bar.
- After the quiz (which is about 20 questions), you need to do some groundwork. One of the Health I.Q. agents will give you a call in 24 hours. Before then, you need to verify your workouts. If you’re a runner, you probably use a smartphone app to track your runs. You will need to take some screenshots of your mileage and speeds and send them to Health I.Q. All you have to do is email them those pictures. A Health I.Q. agent will walk you through the process.
- Within a few short minutes of talking to an agent, you’ll be able to see their special rates, as long as you qualify.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Possible Lower Rates
- Rewarded for Healthy Lifestyle
- Access to 30+ Carriers
Cons:
- Additional Step in Life Insurance Process
- Health I.Q. Quiz can be Difficult to Earn “Elite” Status
Bottom Line
If you live a healthy lifestyle and want cheaper life insurance, it doesn’t hurt to take the Health I.Q. quiz.
It only takes a couple of minutes, and it could secure you some serious savings on your life insurance policy.
It’s an added step in getting life insurance, but the Health I.Q. agents make the whole process simple and easy to understand.
Even if you don’t qualify for one of the special rates, it’s well worth a few minutes of your time to find out.
