No Exam Life Insurance Does Not Mean No Underwriting

When applying for over 50 life insurance some policies require you to take a medical exam, and others do not.

I talk to people all the time that tell me that they only want to apply for no exam life insurance.  I can totally understand.

Who really wants to have to fast for 8 hours?  Then have an examiner come to your house and poke a needle in your arm and tell you to pee in a cup! It’s inconvenient.  I get it.

And for the people that don’t like needles it’ more even more a hassle.

If the reason you want to apply for an over age 50 no exam life insurance policy is because of the convenience factor that’s a great reason to go the no exam route.

Many of us lead such busy lives.  Perhaps you work a lot.  Making time to have to do the medical exam might be something you want to avoid just to free up some of your time.

Misconceptions about no exam life insurance

Unfortunately, many people seek out no exam life insurance for the wrong reasons.

It’s critical to understand that…

There’s is still underwriting even if an exam is not part of the underwriting process.  

Too often I have found that many people that are wanting to apply for a no exam policy do so because they have, or have had certain health issues.

Some people think their medical history won’t need to be disclosed.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.

Perhaps you have been diagnosed with diabetes, have had a heart attack, or been diagnosed with cancer at one point in your life.

All of this will be asked about and will need to be disclosed on your application for life insurance no matter whether there is an exam required as a part of the underwriting process or not.

And depending upon the company and the type of policy you apply for, they may very well want to obtain your medical records.

Also, all companies will run a prescription drug check.  In this prescription drug check report the insurance companies can see all the medications you have been prescribed for the last several years, and how often you fill the medications.

The bottom line is that just because no exam may be required to obtain over 50 life insurance, the company will still do a careful job of assessing your overall risk for coverage.

No exam options for healthy people

If you are healthy and haven’t had any concerning medical issues you might be able to qualify for the best rates an insurance company offers.

A 50-year-old man applying for a 20-year term policy for $500,000 could pay as little as $73 a month. This assumes he qualifies for the best rates an insurance company offers.

To get this rate he would need to do a medical exam and often the insurance company will want to obtain medical records.  And if they choose to obtain medical records it will take an average of 4-6 weeks to get approved.

As you can see this does not happen overnight.  You must have a lot of patience to go this route.

Alternatively, he could apply for a no exam life insurance policy for about $82 a month.  With this specific company not only would you not have to do a medical exam, but very rarely will they want to obtain your medical records.

As a result, you could potentially be approved the same day!  However, often approvals take 2-3 days.

Now that’s fast.

The question is which one is better?  Exam or no exam?

For the healthy applicant it really is your preference.  The difference in the premium is about $9 a month in this example.

This is where the convenience factor comes into play when buying over 50 life insurance.

Is it worth it to you to potentially save $9 a month and take the exam?  And are you willing to wait several weeks to have a chance at absolute rock bottom prices?

Or do you see the exam as a hassle and would rather just get the policy in place quickly and be done with it?

There is no right or wrong answer here.  The choice is yours.

No Exam Life Insurance Over Age 50 – Healthy but Many Years Since You Saw a Doctor

Another man I helped wanted to go with a no exam policy again for the convenience factor.

He worked for himself as a general contractor and was working a lot.  Ideally, he didn’t want to take the exam because of the hassle if he didn’t need to.

When he came to me, he had already applied for life insurance through another company and was declined for coverage.  However, it wasn’t due to any health issues, or driving issues, or anything else like that.

He was declined for coverage because he was believe it or not…….. he was too healthy!

As a result, he hadn’t been to the doctor in about 8 or 9 years.

Since he was 55 years old and hadn’t been to a doctor in several years for any checkups or anything else, the insurance company declined his application for coverage. The insurance company was concerned that perhaps he might have a health problem, but even he wouldn’t know because he hadn’t been to  doctor for a checkup.

If he was 25 or even 35 it probably would not be an issue. However, at age 55 it is a concern. From the insurance companies standpoint they are also concerned that he wouldn’t go to the doctor in the future for routine screenings.

He was applying for $500,000 of life insurance which is a good-sized policy.

The insurance company felt they didn’t have enough information to really evaluate him and to approve him for coverage. As a result, they declined his application.

I had him apply with a company that does require an exam.  He did the exam so that the insurance company would have more information to make an assessment.

He is healthy and fortunately the results of his exam looked great.  As a result he qualified for preferred best rates which are best rates an insurance company offers.

No Exam Life Insurance for The Not So Healthy Applicant

No exam life insurance can also be an option worth considering if you have one or more concerning medical issues.

As we already mentioned, you could either apply for an over 50 life insurance policy that requires you to take a medical exam or you can apply for no exam life insurance.

Recently I helped a 53-year-old man who was looking for a $250,000 20-year term policy.  He had a few different health issues he was dealing with.

Based upon his medical history, the rates that he would most likely qualify for would probably fall somewhere between $118 and $175 a month.

Most likely we believed he would qualify for a rate somewhere in between.  Perhaps in the $140’s per month.

Ultimately, the rate that he would have to pay would largely be dependent on the results of his medical exam, and exactly what it says in his medical records.

Alternatively, he could apply with a no exam company that would probably approve him for a rate of $165 per month.  He’d find out if he was approved in about 2 days.

He mentioned how he applied for life insurance in the past and it took a long time to get medical records from one of his doctors.  As a result, he chose the no exam route.

He didn’t want to wait weeks to be approved.  Instead, he just wanted to get the policy in place and be done with it.

Life Insurance Policies for Final Expenses

If you are only needing a $5,000 to $25,000 policy to cover final expenses such as funeral costs and perhaps some outstanding medical bills, then the decision between exam or no exam becomes a whole lot simpler.

This is because the only option you will have is a no exam policy!

Keep in mind that the insurance company must pay for the exam.  It’s a cost of doing business for them.

They don’t want to pay for an exam for these types of smaller policies.  Also, they don’t want to spend time and money obtaining your medical records.

They will review your application and run your prescription drug check to verify what medications you have taken in the last several years.

You can get approved for one one of these over 50 life insurance policies often times the same day.  Sometimes it takes a few days.

What’s the Next Step?

Chances are you have questions about what you just read.  Go ahead and give us a call today.

We’re happy to answer any questions you have when it comes obtaining life insurance if you are 50+ so that you can make an informed decision.  We look forward to helping you secure the coverage you need.