Guide
No-exam life insurance
Which applicants qualify, how the process operates, and what happens if you do not qualify for it.
A growing number of carriers provide accelerated underwriting: for those within certain age and amount boundaries, decisions rest on application details, prescription and driving records, and other available data rather than a medical exam. Decisions can be made quickly, sometimes within hours. Each quote shows whether an exam is required, possibly required, or not required for that specific carrier.
What it changes
Accelerated underwriting does not skip the underwriting process. Information you provide is checked, and a policy based on false information can be rescinded in its first two years. If the carrier's records raise concerns, an exam or blood test may still be requested; you choose whether to proceed.
Who tends to qualify
Most commonly, applicants under age 60 seeking coverage amounts within the carrier's accelerated window, with no serious health issues and no tobacco or nicotine use within the past year. Some carriers will accept recent clinical lab results in place of an exam.
If required, an exam generally means a 20- to 30-minute session at your home or office location in the Cupertino area, at no charge to you. For healthy applicants, exam results often result in better rate classification, so requesting an exam is not necessarily a disadvantage.