A Guide to No Exam Life Insurance
When you apply to purchase life insurance, your request goes through underwriting, which is how the insurance company determines your eligibility and premiums. The average underwriting process takes about three to four weeks.
Specific customers qualify for accelerated underwriting thanks to medicine and digital technology innovations (meaning faster than the normal process). This allows them to receive life insurance in less than two days by skipping the medical exam and most of the paperwork involved in a traditional application.
Several companies use this expedited approach, such as:
- Statefarm - no medical exam
- Bestow - no medical exam
- Lemonade - no physicals
This article will explain the main types of no exam life insurance and touch on costs and eligibility. Even if you're not eligible for accelerated underwriting, we'll also introduce you to a new, exam-free way to apply online for life insurance.
No Medical Exam Life Insurance
If you do a Google search for no medical exam life insurance you will find the term "accelerated underwriting insurance" often pops up next to "no exam term life insurance." This is because term policies tend to accommodate a faster application process. These policies are flexible and affordable by design and provide temporary insurance coverage (up to $1 million), usually for 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 years. Your premiums remain the same during this time, so you know exactly how to budget each month.
To benefit from term life insurance with no medical exam, candidates must be young and healthy with no pre-existing conditions.
Alcohol abuse, cancers, chronic diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's, and several mental disorders are among the medical conditions that could limit your chances to qualify for accelerated underwriting.
The entire process starts with a phone interview or online in which you explain your coverage needs. You'll also be asked to expand on your lifestyle and hobbies, which can play an essential role in calculating your final life insurance rates.
After that, underwriting experts bypass the most time-consuming portions of the application process by automatically pulling public records. So even though you forgo the physical, they can still access and evaluate within hours key information such as:
- Prescription medication history gathered from pharmacy reports.
- Driving records from your state's Motor Vehicle Department.
- Past life insurance application records from the Medical Insurance Bureau.
This information is used to assess your insurance risk and assign you one of four health classes, each with its own premium rates: Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus, and Standard. Some companies have different names however the concept is the same.
For instance, if you apply for a Preferred health class with the most affordable rates and your physician's records point to certain health complications, you might be approved for a lower class such as Standard.
Wondering, "Can I get instant life insurance?" Close enough. With many companies, you can get approved within 48 hours from the initial in take process.
Aside from being young and in excellent health, qualifying candidates must prove that they are living responsibly. You're more likely to be accepted for accelerated underwriting if you have no evictions, a good credit history, no bankruptcies, clean driving history, and no criminal background.
Note: While accelerated underwriting is accessible to many customers, depending on your specific situation, you could be asked to take a medical exam.
The best part is that there are no additional costs for no exam term life insurance. If you don't get the green light for accelerated underwriting, you continue the application process through traditional underwriting.
More No Exam Life Insurance Options
You can also apply for simplified issue life insurance such as which is similar to the typical regular no medical life insurance. The main difference is that you won't be assigned to a health class since this type of policy is made for applicants with minimal health complications.
Simplified issue policies are so straightforward and fast that customers are often offered a "yes" or "no" answer within 48 hours or less.
Another option is choosing a no medical exam whole life insurance policy from a company like Gerberlife Insurance that provides guaranteed acceptance in exchange for hefty premiums. As opposed to simplified issue life insurance, which favors the young and healthy, guaranteed issue (GI) life insurance is designed for people 60 years or older with significant health challenges.
In addition to being one of the most expensive types of policies, GI doesn't pay the full death benefit until the policy has been active for two or three years.
A simplified issue would be your best choice unless you have a severe health condition or can afford to make large premium payments.
