i’m in the market for my first life insurance policy and my lab results came in today. due to elevated AST and ALT liver enzymes i was quoted a less favorable rate on a whole life insurance policy. a quick google search leads me to believe this may be the result of training for and participating in endurance athletics, as i don’t take supplements and am not a heavy drinker.
has anyone had this issue? were you able to talk to the underwriters and plead your case? i see my doctor this afternoon and will be requesting an additional set of labs.
background:
28 y/o white male
duathlons, triathlons, and running races since 2008, full time cyclist from mid 2011 on
train and race, on average, six days a week
am i correct in concluding that my training and racing schedule could lead to these elevated enzymes? is there anything else i should worry about?
Alcohol and steroids typically cause those to spike.
I think that heavy workouts also cause moderate increases for about 4-6 hrs. However, I don’t think that you’ll be able to talk the insy company into a lower rate once they have test results.
i have elevated bilirubin in my body due to Gilbert’s Syndrome. it poses NO health risk to me, but my levels are off the charts. a few years ago i tried to get life insurance and told the nurse collecting my blood about my disclaimer and thought things would be fine. turned out not-so.
i got denied coverage, as they said i was too much of a risk. that my liver levels were off the charts and i should contact my doctor about possibly having liver failure. goes to show that underwriters arent doctors.
i’m still alive and kicking after 34 years of jaundice.
Insurance companies use actuaries to develop rates. Actuaries deal with laws of large numbers. If you are unique you won’t fit on the “large numbers” game. Seriously, they take a cursory look and try to fit your peg into their hole. If you don’t fit well they trun you down or charge more for the perceived addtional risk. Not really interested in finding out why you’re unique. They charge extra for scuba diving, hang gliding, flying, motor sports racing, diabetes, being vertically challenged for your weight & on & on.
Alcohol and steroids typically cause those to spike.
I think that heavy workouts also cause moderate increases for about 4-6 hrs. However, I don’t think that you’ll be able to talk the insy company into a lower rate once they have test results.
My experience has been different. I had blood work done the day after a hard 3day training block and with moderate alcohol consumption and no steroid use my enzymes came back elevated…but that was expected since I’ve read thats typical with endurance athletes.
we’re in an elite percentage of the populous AND we are less at risk for heart disease. what’s not to like about it? i wouldnt even know i had anything going on with me, i feel fine.
When I was 17 I had my liver enzymes tested before going on a prescription medication. The doctor told my parents that I had a drinking problem due to high AST and ALT. The truth was, I was on the cross-country team and doing some endurance cycling that summer and I had to that point never had a drink in my life. Even doctors can be idiots, let alone insurance companies.
I’ve had an elevated AST my entire triathlon life. Doc has concluded its directly attributable to my training. As long as it tracking what is normal for me he says I have no issues.
i’m in the market for my first life insurance policy and my lab results came in today. due to elevated AST and ALT liver enzymes i was quoted a less favorable rate on a whole life insurance policy. a quick google search leads me to believe this may be the result of training for and participating in endurance athletics, as i don’t take supplements and am not a heavy drinker.
has anyone had this issue? were you able to talk to the underwriters and plead your case? i see my doctor this afternoon and will be requesting an additional set of labs.
background:
28 y/o white male
duathlons, triathlons, and running races since 2008, full time cyclist from mid 2011 on
train and race, on average, six days a week
am i correct in concluding that my training and racing schedule could lead to these elevated enzymes? is there anything else i should worry about?
thanks.
In my opinion and experience, I urge you to continue to look into this issue.
I had a routine physical / blood draw during a pre-employment physical for another hospital that I worked at.
AST ALT and Alk Phosp were elevated.
After a year we realized I had some auto-immune issues (including Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, which was the cause of my liver issues). It took me feeling pretty poor before we could get me feeling good again.
I was 27-28 when it came up, similar situation to you. I’m not saying you have what I have, but I’m prodding you to not “justify” the results. Follow up appropriately.
Don’t take any NSAIDs for awhile prior to blood test. I’ve been told to stay away as little as a week to a few weeks or more prior to a test. They will impact your liver enzyme #'s. Depending on the range of scores, they have premiums that adjust accordingly. Ask your agent what those different key risk factor buckets are (liver #'s, cholesterol, etc.) and the impact on the premium.
And similar to what others have said, there are a lot of factors that affect the categories you are referring to and yes, insurance companies will offer you 0 out of 0 chance to review, qualitatively, those scores relative to your lifestyle. If you don’t drink, be sure to say as much when the medical official comes to do the personal interview (which is common, depending on your type of policy as well as the carrier’s procedures).
I loved it when my former cardiologist, who was a lard ass and looked like Santa, said I needed to change my diet and start exercising more.
Mild elevation of the liver enzymes is not uncommon among endurance athletes.
I know of instances where athletes have had this problem when applying for insurance, have retested with normal results, and obtained the insurance they wanted.
If elevation is due to exercise, then a couple days off combined with good hydration may produce a normal result.
You’re right to have a discussion about this with your physician. As others have already noted, there are other explanations for elevation of the liver enzymes.
i think lcreswell gave you the best advice. get your agent to have underwriting agree to retesting you. it’s possible that the company will allow a retest but make you foot the bill for it. it will be worth it if rest and hydration brings the results into line, both on the ins premium savings (if offered table rating) and getting this scrubbed from the medical information burea (mib)
i’ve had elevated liver enzymes forever. i’m a lifetime runner who has put in thousands and thousands of miles (113,000 and counting) plus in the last 15 years all the biking and swimming workouts. my doctor is not concerned and said it’s from working out…she is a 4x ironman finisher and her enzymes are also elevated
i spoke with my insurance agency this afternoon and they will allow me to retest (my doctor this time, not theirs). i have 14 days to submit new results. i also spoke with my doctor this afternoon and he ordered a new set of labs for me. the labs are good for a week, so how much rest is needed/recommended? i raced on sunday and took monday off. i plan on taking this afternoon off as well. am i okay to test tomorrow morning?
Same for me. They want ast below 41. I had a lot of testing from 07-10 then they decided not to worry. My lowest has been 44. My most recent one for the life insurance (in march '12)… which gave me a super high rate (4x normal quote) was at 70. I’d had the same test done for a physical 2 days before. That one was 49. Imho, it’s the training. My life insurance said if I could get a note from my doctor saying that it was normal for me… then they would reconsider the rate. I usually have a day off about once every 3 weeks. My weekly hours of training are between 10-18 with most weeks about 13 hours. NO junk minutes in those, however. My doctor will write me a letter but wants to run some other tests first.
Was diagnosed with PSC a few days ago and feel as though my life has shattered. As a thirty-nine year old male who has been in great health and running 1/2 and full marathons for the last six years, routine blood work led to other tests and the eventual diagnosis. I now feel as though I’ve been given a life sentence, with a bleak future for me and wife and kids. I’ve never used supplements, alcohol, or drugs, etc, and am not sure what the future holds with such a devastating liver diagnosis. Got online to find out what I can, and ended up on this site and came across one of your posts that mentioned you having it and that it took you feeling pretty poor before feeling better. Are you still feeling okay? I have no idea what to expect other than a downhill slide, about which I am quite nervous, anxious, and scared. Any words or thoughts you can share would help more than you know. Thanks!
any chance you had your labs shortly after a race or hard workout? i had labs the day after a very hard effort at an oly tri and my enzymes came back very high. i get tested every 6 months (rheumatoid arthritis) and these result drew a lot of attention from my doc. a re-check 10 days later showed normal results. after discussion, my doc figured that enzymes released by muscle breakdown will show similar results to elevated liver enzymes.