Life Insurance Over 50 with No Medical Exam (Updated 2024)

Life insurance is an important piece of most people’s overall financial plan.  It’s coverage that most people know they need. However, oftentimes people don’t want to deal with having to complete the medical exam, that is often required when buying life insurance. 

The good news is that there are companies that offer life insurance coverage to people over 50 without having to complete an exam.     

Look, we get it. 

Having to do the exam can be inconvenient.  First, you need to fast for 8 hours. Then during the exam which takes about 25 minutes, the examiner completes a blood draw, takes a urine sample and asks you health questions. 

Many of us lead busy lives and having to take the exam becomes yet more thing you need to do.  

Also, if applying for coverage that requires a medical exam it will usually take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks on average before your application is approved, and you have a policy in place.  Because it takes several weeks you really have to have a lot of patience.  

One of the nice things about no exam life insurance policies is that there’s a possibility you could be approved for coverage in less than a week.  Perhaps even the same day.  

Speed and convenience are a couple of the reasons why you may want to get life insurance after age 50 with no medical exam.

In this article we will look at what you need to know about no medical exam life insurance.  We’ll look at the factors you will want to consider in deciding whether to buy no exam life insurance.  We’ll look at the different types and options that are available to you.  Finally, we will also look at options that you have even if you don’t qualify for no exam life insurance. 

Before we really dive in let’s take a moment and look at the basic types of life insurance that are available.  Then we will look specifically at the no exam life insurance options.

Types of Life Insurance Available to People Over Age 50

If you are over age 50, there are still many life insurance options that can be available to you. This includes both term and permanent coverage.

With term life insurance, you will have coverage for a certain amount of time, such as 10, 15 20, 25, or possibly even for 30 years.

A level term life insurance policy guarantees that the amount of the death benefit, as well as the amount of the premium, will remain fixed for the length of the level term period.

On the other hand, the death benefit and the premium may or may not be fixed if you have a permanent life insurance policy.  It depends on what type of permanent life insurance policy you buy.

Types of permanent life insurance include whole life, indexed universal life universal life, and guaranteed universal life.

One type of permanent life insurance policy where the death benefit and the premium you have to pay will not change is guaranteed universal life. 

Guaranteed universal can provide you guaranteed coverage for the rest of your life – even if you live to be 120 years old for instance (provided that you can continue to pay the premium of course) .

The death benefit on a whole life policy is also guaranteed.  However, the cost for whole life is usually quite a bit higher than the cost for a guaranteed universal life policy. 

This is because there is also a cash value component to the whole life policy.  Since the actual cost of insurance is lower than the premium the whole life policy requires, the extra money stays in the policy as cash value.

Life insurance policies that are designed to build cash value can be great for the right person in the right situation if it is a good policy that is designed optimally, and funded properly.  

However, we rarely recommend policies that are designed to build cash value if you are over 55. If you are under 55 and have discretionary income or assets to put into one of these policies it might be great a great option for you. 

With that said, for low cost permanent life insurance coverage we will almost always recommend a guaranteed universal life policy…especially if you are over 50 years old.  

The only exception typically is if you need less than $25,000. Below this amount, only whole life insurance policies are offered.  

Alright, that covers the basic types of life insurance coverage.  Now that we know the basic types of life insurance, let’s look at the options for both exam and no exam life insurance policies.  

Life Insurance With a Medical Exam

If you do choose to apply for coverage where a medical exam is required here is what to expect..

You will meet with a paramedical professional.  This is usually done at your home or place of business.  He or she will ask you medical questions. They will also take your heart rate and blood pressure reading, as well as a blood and a urine sample.

Oftentimes the insurance company will also want to obtain your medical records so they can review your medical history.  These may come from your primary care doctor, any medical specialist that you see – or all of these.

The typical application process takes about 4 to 6 weeks.  

Life Insurance With No Medical Exam

Well here’s the first thing to expect with no exam life insurance…. No medical exam!  We bet you already knew that though!  All kidding aside here’s what you need to know…

Oftentimes people think that a no medical exam life insurance policy is easier to qualify for than a policy that requires you to complete a medical exam.  This may or may not be the case. There are different types of no exam life insurance policies.  

In this next section we’ll start to look at the different types of no exam life policies that are available for people over 50.

No Medical Exam, But Full Underwriting

The first kind of no exam life insurance still takes about 4 to 6 weeks to get approved.  The reason it takes so long is because although they don’t require you to do a medical exam, they will still do a thorough job in doing their due diligence before approving your application. 

They will review your medical records, check your prescription drug report, and your driving record etc…

Here’s the bottom line…  

As long as you have a lot of patience and don’t mind waiting 4 to 6 weeks before being approved for coverage, you can potentially qualify for some rock bottom rates.  

If you need or want to get a life insurance policy in place faster, then you will want to consider buying a simplified issue policy which we will discuss in the next section.  

Simplified Issue – Fast Approvals

The process of getting life insurance can be lengthy, but the simplified issue process shortens the process considerably.  Not only do you not need to complete a medical exam, but the insurance company won’t obtain your medical records either. These are the two things that cause the typical application process to take as long as it does.

You will still have to complete an application which will include several questions about your health and lifestyle habits.  The insurance company will run a prescription drug check to see which medications you’ve taken in the last several years.  They will also check your driving record as well by running a motor vehicle report.

If you apply for a simplified issue policy, you could be approved for coverage in less than a week, and possibly even the same day you apply.  These can be great policies to buy if you need coverage quickly.

Perhaps your current policy is lapsing soon and you need new coverage as soon as possible.  Maybe you need coverage in place quickly, because of a loan you are looking to get or maybe as part of a divorce agreement. 

Depending on your age there are options to secure up to $1,000,000 of coverage without having to complete an exam or having to wait for the insurance company to obtain your medical records. Total application time is usually just a few days.

Simplified Issue For Final Expenses – Fast Approvals

This is for people that are looking for coverage just to cover final expenses including burial and funeral costs.  Also, you may want to consider this type of policy to cover any outstanding medical bills. Coverage amounts offered are from $1,000 to $40,000.  

There is no medical exam required, the insurance company does not obtain your medical records, and they don’t check your driving record either.  They make the determination of whether they can approve you or not based on the answers to the medical questions on your application, and your prescription drug report.  

Usually approvals for coverage will happen the very same day.  

Guaranteed issue

We call this last resort life insurance.  The only reason you should buy a guaranteed issue life insurance policy is if you can’t qualify for a better policy and/or if you have been declined for traditional life insurance coverage.  This is so important.  Many people own guaranteed issue life insurance, but would actually qualify for much better coverage.

Like the name implies you are guaranteed to be approved for this type of coverage.  Not only do you not need to do a medical exam, but you don’t even have to answer any health questions at all.  That’s the upside.

The downside is that you are usually limited to about $25,000 of coverage depending on the insurance company.  Also, the costs are high and there is a waiting period usually for either 2 or 3 years depending on the policy.  This means that if you were to pass away during this waiting period, usually only the premiums paid plus some interest is returned to the beneficiaries.  The full death benefit would not be paid out until after the waiting period.  

You should only consider buying a guaranteed issue policy if you can’t qualify for a policy that covers you from the very first day your policy is put in force, 

No Exam Life Insurance Does Not Mean No Underwriting

We do need to clarify something when it comes to no exam life insurance…  

Oftentimes people think that qualifying for no medical exam life insurance insurance is easier than qualifying for a policy that requires you to complete a medical exam.  For the most part this is not true.

If you apply for a no exam policy the insurance company is still going to thoroughly evaluate your risk.   You are still going to have to answer all the health questions on the application.

Think of no exam life insurance as something you want to get, because you like the convenience of not having to do an exam, and because you can get approved much faster.  

Perhaps you have some medical issues that you are concerned about.  If you are thinking that by not doing a medical exam it would be easier to get approved because you have some pre-existing conditions, that’s likely not going to be the case. 

Maybe you haven’t been to the doctor in a few years for even a routine physical. The insurance company may be concerned that you could possibly have some health issues and not even be aware of it. 

Look, if you are in your 20’s and 30’s the insurance company likely won’t be concerned if you haven’t had a routine physical in a while.  However, when you get into your 50’s, 60’s and beyond then the insurance companies tend to get much more concerned if you haven’t completed routine physicals.   

As a result they may not be willing to approve your application.  They may feel that they don’t have enough information to make a decision for approval. 

On the other hand, if you had a physical in the last year and everything else looks great, the insurance company would be much more comfortable approving you for coverage.  

Understand that this typically applies for larger policies such as for policies over $100,000 depending on the insurance company.  If you are applying for a smaller policy such as one between $1,000 and $40,000 to help cover final expenses, they won’t be concerned at all about when your last physical was.  

No Medical Exam Life Insurance Companies For Those Over 50

There are plenty of options for no exam life insurance over 50.  Options you will have available to you depend primarily on your age and the amount of coverage you are seeking.

Let’s take a look at some of the top no exam companies and what their options are.

Hero Life – (Hero Life is underwritten by Assurity Life Insurance Company)

Assurity Life is based out of Lincoln, Nebraska.  They have been around for over 130 years and are A- rated by A.M. Best.

What’s really nice about Hero Life is that if you are in “average” health you potentially could get up to $2,000,000 of life insurance instantly.  It’s really as simple as completing the application over the phone and then reviewing and signing your application online. You could be approved for coverage in as little as 20 minutes from start to finish.

The catch here is that you do need to be in fairly good health.  Also, here’s breakdown as far which term products and maximum coverage amounts available by age.

If you are between the ages of 18 to 55 you can get up to $2,000,000.

If you are between the ages of 56 to 60 you can get up to $1,000,000.

Depending on your age the following term options are available:

10 year term – 18 to 60

15 year term – 18 to 60

20 year term – 18 to 60 for non tobacco users.  Max age for tobacco users is 55.

30 year term – 18 to 50 for non tobacco users.  Max age for tobacco users is 45.

They do not offer coverage for people over 60. Not too worry there are companies on this list that do.

Savings Bank Life Insurance (SBLI)

SBLI can be another great option for no exam life insurance.  They are based out of Woburn, Massachusetts and have been around since 1907.  They have high financial ratings including an A rating from A.M. Best.

They offer no exam term life coverage for up to $750,000 for people between ages 18 and 60.  Products that are available include 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 year term.

However, the term lengths options that are available depends on your age, and whether or not you use tobacco products.

Non Smokers:

The following term lengths are available without having to complete a medical exam:

10, 15, and 20 year term – Ages 18 to 60

25 year term –  Ages 18 to 55

30 year term – ages 18 to 50

Nicotine users:

The following term lengths are available without having to complete a medical exam:

10 and 15 year term – Ages 18 to 60

20 year term – Ages 18 to 55

25 year term – Ages 18 to 50

30 year term – Ages 18 to 45

SBLI also offers their whole life policy for up to $750,000 for those between the ages of 18 and 60 years old.

SBLI offers very competitive rates for healthy people.  However, the downside to SBLI is they usually will want to obtain your medical records.  As a result, the total underwriting time usually takes about 3 to 6 weeks.

Foresters

Foresters is another great option.  They are a solid company all the way around.  Forester’s has been around for for over 140 years and they have high financial ratings.  They are rated A by A.M. Best.

Please note that their YourTerm product is available without a medical exam only in New York. They also have a term product called Strong Foundation that is available in all states except New York. More on that below.

They offer up to $400,000 on their no medical exam YourTerm product for those between the ages of 18 and 55.  And if you are between 56 and 80 you can get up to $150,000 of coverage.

However, the products that are offered varies based on your age and whether you use tobacco or not.

Non-Tobacco

10 year term – Age 18 to 80

15 year term – Age 18 to 70

20 year term – Age 18 to 65

25 year term – Age 18 to 60

30 year term – Age 18 to 55

Whole Life – Ages 18 to 75

Tobacco users

10 year term – Age 18 to 80

15 year term – Age 18 to 70

20 year term – Age 18 to 60

25 year term – Age 18 to 55

30 year term – Age 18 to 45

Whole Life – Ages 18 to 75

Forester’s also has another term product as mentioned above. Again, it’s called Strong Foundation and is available in all states except New York. It’s available for the same age groups as the 10, 15 and 20 year term.

However, the 25 year is available up to age 55 and the 30 year is available up to age 50 for non – tobacco users.

For tobacco users the 25 year term is available up to age 55 for females and up to age 50 for males. The 30 year term term is available up to age 50 for females and 45 for males.

Forester’s is a good company to go with if you need coverage quickly.  If you apply with Forester’s you could have a policy in force in just a few days – perhaps even the same day.

American Amicable

American Amicable is another good option for no exam life insurance. They are based out of Texas and have been around since 1910. They have an A Excellent rating with A.M. Best.

Their Term Made Simple product is a popular term product of theirs and is available without having to take an exam for up to $500,000 of coverage for those up to age to age 75. However, the specific term length available does depend on your age . Here’s the breakdown…

10 year term – Available for those 18 to 75

15 year term – Available for those 18 to 70

20 year term – Available for those 18 to 65

30 year term – Available for those 18 to 55

If you qualify and are approved for coverage the underwriting process typically only takes a few days.

Their Easy Term product is also good.  The pricing tends to be a little higher than the Term Made Simple.  However, one of the real nice benefits of the Easy Term product is that many that apply are approved for coverage the very same day.

Coverage is limited to $300,000 and is available for those up to age 70. Here’s the breakdown for Easy Term…

10 year term – Available for those ages 18 to 70

20 year term – Available for those ages 18 to 65

30 year term – Available for those ages 18 to 55

20 year return of premium term for those ages 18 to 60

30 year return of premium term for those ages 18 to 50

Mutual of Omaha

Mutual of Omaha is well known by many people. They were founded back in 1909 and are based on out of Omaha, Nebraska. They have an A+ rating with A.M. Best.

They have several no exam life insurance options including a term, guaranteed universal life, indexed universal, and whole life.

Their no exam term life insurance product is called Term Life Express.

Coverage is available from $25,000 to $300,000 for those ages 18 to 50. For those 51 to 60 you can still get up to $250,000 and for those between the ages of 61 to 70 up to $150,000 is available.

The term lengths that are offered depends your ages. Here’s how it works:

For ages 18 to 70 – the 10 and 15 year term policies are available.

For ages 18 to 60 – the 10, 15, and 20 year term policies are available.

For ages 18 to 50 – the 10, 15, 20, and 30 year term options are available.

They also have a return of premium option called ROP that is available on their 30 year term, but just for those ages 18 to 50.

It’s important to note that their maximum issue ages may vary by state and depending on whether you use tobacco.

With their Indexed Universal Life Express coverage is available for up to $300,000 as well depending on your age. These can be good options if you are needing coverage that would last your entire life no matter how long you live.  Remember, term life is great and for many term life is all you need. However, some need coverage for longer than what a term life policy provides.

Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group is a very strong and secure company. They were founded in 1905 and their company headquarters is based out of Radnor, PA.  They have an A+ rating from A.M. Best and are #172 on the 2021 Fortune 500 list by revenue and #21 by assets.

To be clear they do not have a true no medical exam option available on any of their term products. They have what’s called accelerated underwriting on their TermAccel term life product. This means that after they review the application they determine who needs to do a medical exam and who does not. It’s based in large part on their overall medical history.

For those that are in very good health and perhaps even in average health this may be a good option since they may waive the medical exam.

Coverage is available for up to $2,500,000.

10 year term – Available to those 18 to 60

15 year term – Available to those 18 to 60.

20 year term – Available to those 18 to 60

30 year term – Available to non-tobacco classes to those 18 to 55. For tobacco classes available from 18 to 50.

Prudential

Prudential is one of the largest life insurance companies.  They are one of the most well known companies so chances are you’ve either heard of them or would at least would recognize their logo.  Their company headquarters is based out of Newark, NJ and they have been around for over 145 years.

Prudential also does not have an automatic no exam option. However, they do offer their PruFast Track process which may be available to you based on your age, product you want to apply for, and the amount of life insurance coverage you need.

It’s important to know that you need to be in “average” health or better to potentially qualify for life insurance without a medical exam with Prudential.  Also, If you qualify for the PruFast Track process you may be approved in just a few days.

Their term life product is called Term Essential. If you qualify for accelerated underwriting you may be able to get up to $3,000,000 of life insurance coverage.

10 year term – maximum issue age is 75 smokers and non smokers.

15 year term – maximum issue age is 70 for smokers and non smokers

20 year term – maximum issue age is 65 for non smokers. For smokers it’s age 60.

30 year term – maximum issue age is 55 for non smokers. For smokers it’s age 45.

Their PruTrack process is also available for some permanent life insurance products as well if you are needing coverage that will stay in place for entire life no matter how long you live.

Sagicor

Sagicor Life Insurance Company has been operating in America since 1954 and has A- rating from A.M. Best.  The parent company Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited has around for over 175 years.

Sagicor currently only offers permanent life insurance products.  One of their more popular products is their Sage IUL product.  This is an indexed universal life policy and is available for those that are:

Ages 18 and 85; to 70 in CA – the minimum amount of coverage you can buy is $100,000.

If you qualify for for Sagicor’s Accelewriting process you will not have to complete a medical exam and they will not obtain your medical records either.

To qualify for Accelewriting they will assess your overall history and lifestyle habits. If approved it typically only takes a few days for you to obtain a policy.  It’s even a possibility that you could be approved the same day you apply.

Here’s the potential with this expedited process:

Those ages 18 to 50 may be able to get up to $1,000,000.

Those ages 51 to 65 may be able to get up to $500,000.

No Exam Life Insurance – A Brief Summary

Convenience

This might sound obvious, but once again you don’t need to do the exam.  You don’t need to fast for 8 hours. You don’t need to take the time out of your day to coordinate with the examiner and schedule a time for them to come to your house, and of course you don’t need to take the time to do the exam itself.  

The whole application process could be completed in just a few days and perhaps even completed in less than 24 hours.  Keep this in mind when comparing no exam life insurance quotes with life insurance options where a physical is required.

Privacy

This is simply because no examiner will come over to your place to take a medical exam. 

Accessibility

Many companies do offer no exam life insurance policies.  The options that are available to you depend on your age and the amount of life insurance you are seeking.  

Price of no-exam policies

The cost for no exam life insurance is typically, although not always, going to be more than life insurance you could get if you were to do the medical exam.  Think of it this way. You are paying for the convenience.

It’s like if you go out to eat. You pay for the convenience of having somebody serve and cook the food for you.  It costs more to eat at the restaurant than if you were to make the same meal at home.

Insurance companies have to charge more for no exam life insurance because they have to hedge their bets so to speak. 

Perhaps you have some health issues that you don’t even know about. Without a medical exam to review the insurance company needs to charge more since they may be taking on more risk than they realize.  The benefit to you though is that you could get a policy in place likely in less than a week, and not have to worry about a long application process.   

Having said there are some option today where if you apply for coverage you may or not need to complete a medical exam.  The company review your application, and run a few checks including checking your prescription drug history and your your motor vehicle report. If all looks good they may choose to waive the need for you to do a medical exam.  With this type of option you may be able to qualify for some of the best rates available in the marketplace without having to complete a medical exam.

Where to Get the Best Rates on No Medical Exam Life Insurance If You Are 50 or Over

If you are shopping for the best premium rates on no medical exam life insurance coverage, we can help.  Pick up the phone and give us a call.

We work with many of the best life insurance carriers in the industry today, and can provide you with all of the details that you need.  We will tell your options and give you the pros and cons of each of your choices.  We’ll give you the good, the bad, and the ugly of each option, so that you can make the best choice for you.

We will also let you know your options if you take a medical exam as well as the options you have available to you if you don’t.  You will be able to see your option just like the example below with the chart for the healthy 50 year female looking for a $250,000 10 year term policy.

50 Year Old Healthy Female - $250,000 - 10 year term - Sample Rates

To proceed, just take a brief moment to fill out the quote form on the side of this page.

If you have any additional questions about purchasing a no medical exam policy for those who are over 50, again please feel free to give us a call.  We are here to help.