My daily work life comes with occupational hazards. Will I get Life Insurance?

To begin with, for you to be considered to have a high-risk job, you should be in a profession or occupation where the chance of you getting severely injured is very, very high. By nature, some jobs hold a great level of exposure to dangerous situations. There are occupations where health is significantly affected because of exposure to chemicals or other dangerous substances. In these circumstances, if you are in any unforeseen incident or accident, it could lead to you losing your life or leave you with permanent disabilities.

Some of the occupations that you can consider being hazardous or risky are, if you are an electrician, construction worker, police officer, offshore fisherman, pilot, fire-fighter, underground miner and a farmer. Now, these are only some of the occupations and are not the entire list.

More often than not, you might not even realize that your daily job is a high-risk occupation till you apply for a Life Insurance cover. While there is no specific or standard measure to decide the risk level associated with your occupation, the calculation of premium to decide the risk involved will change from one life Insurance Company to another.

What is interesting to note is that a particular profession may not be considered hazardous by all insurance companies. This might lead you to a situation where a Life Insurance company might not consider your application as a high-risk applicant, even if your profession is from the aforementioned list. It’s because when you apply for a Life Insurance policy, your risk is based on several factors - where you work, what equipment you use and what you do.

To be considered a high-risk applicant, these are some of the criteria:

• If your profession requires you to work high above the ground, such as helping to construct large buildings or to clean windows
• You work around dangerous chemicals or work with explosives
• If your work is underground
• Your work requires you to be near firearms or you have to use firearms
• You work with the military
• As a photographer, camera operator or journalist, you are required to travel to war zones

As a working professional who faces hazards almost daily, you could have comparatively higher premiums to pay towards your Life Insurance policy. However, it is always better for you to have a detailed conversation with your insurance provider to see what coverage you are eligible for, along with the risks you have to face. Before applying for a Life Insurance policy, it is even more important for you to check if they accept applications to cover for your high-risk occupation and if yes, whether the policy would be right for you.