Life insurance companies base much of the cost of their premiums on a person’s life expectancy, the level determined by actuaries for various age groups. This results in younger people being able to purchase life insurance at a lower cost than older people. Your life insurance company also needs to ascertain an individual’s health level to allow them to either accept the person as a particular risk by imposing an additional cost or rejecting them outright. On occasions an insurer will request an applicant’s own doctor to forward certain details about the applicant’s health so they can achieve a better understanding of the risk they will be carrying, and the amount of premium they will need to levy against the applicant.