09/03/2019
What is no medical exam life insurance?
No medical exam policies are exactly what their name implies: You don’t have to take a medical exam like you do with traditional life insurance policies. Yet, they provide the same guaranteed coverage.
Usually, no medical exam policies are still fully underwritten — just not with a medical exam.
What insurers use to qualify you without an exam:
● Pharmacy report, which lists all medications you’ve been prescribed over the last 5–10 years
● Motor Vehicle Department report
● Medical Insurance Bureau report (to see if you’ve applied for or been denied life insurance in the past)
● Credit/financial history (only a few insurance companies check this)
The three types of no medical exam policies
1. Accelerated Acceptance Policies
These are the same policies that normally require an exam. They’re among the most competitively priced in the market. With this type of policy, the company sees no need to invest in a medical exam.
For healthy people, this is the best option. Only a select group of companies offers accelerated underwriting options.
2. Simplified Issue Policies
Simplified issue policies are those that offer no medical options to people with excellent to average health.
If you’re in excellent health, your policy will be approved immediately.
If your health history includes a serious or chronic illness, some insurers might require a medical report from the doctors you’ve seen. And if they can’t get the records they need, they might then require a medical exam. We know which ones do and don’t.
3. Express or Instant Issue Policies
With express or instant issue products, the insurance company approves or declines your application immediately. In some cases, an underwriter might review your application to make a final decision. This can push the approval time to 24 hours.
Express issue policies offer the same price for everyone, regardless of health. But, some insurers will decline an application based on current or previous health status. We know which ones are most likely to approve you.