Is No-Exam Life Insurance Right for You?
Getting life insurance can be complicated and time-consuming. But not always.
To get life insurance in most cases, you must undergo a medical exam, since this is how the insurer determines the level of risk and calculates the premium. However, you may be interested in no-exam life insurance, especially if you’re in good health and don’t want to undergo the rigors of a full exam.
Many insurance companies offer no-exam life insurance policies which you can usually get quickly without undergoing any medical tests.
How Do No-Exam Life Insurance Policies Work?
Usually when you apply for a life insurance policy, you must undergo a relatively simple medical exam in which:
• Your height and weight will be measured
• Your BMI will be calculated
• Your pulse and blood pressure will be checked
• Blood and urine samples will be collected.
If you require more coverage or are over 50, additional tests might be required, such as an EKG. If you’re healthy, you’ll get better rates on your policy, but it does slow the process down.
This is where no-exam life insurance policies come in since with no-exam insurance you don’t need to take any medical tests. Three different types of no-exam life insurance policies are available:
Accelerated Underwriting Policies
With an accelerated underwriting policy, the insurance company analyzes the information you provide. It also sources data from third parties and uses special algorithms to determine if you are eligible. This type of policy has the convenience of a no-exam life insurance policy while offering the advantageous rates of traditional life insurance. However, you can usually only get a maximum of about $1 million in coverage. So, if you require higher limits, you will probably need to undergo a medical exam and go the regular insurance route.
Simplified-Issue Life Insurance
With the simplified-issue life insurance policy, you have fewer questions to answer. The insurer also doesn’t use as many resources to collect data about you. However, rates tend to be higher and coverage limits are lower than the accelerated underwriting policy.
Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance
As the name implies, you are guaranteed to get life insurance with this type of policy. You won’t have to answer any questions, and you won’t undergo a medical exam. However, coverage is limited – generally around $25,000 – and the premiums will be much higher than a traditional policy.
Tips on Getting No-exam Life Insurance
While getting no-exam life insurance is not as complicated as a traditional policy, it still pays to consider certain factors beforehand.
Determine How Much Coverage You Need
A no-exam life insurance policy is undoubtedly attractive because of how easy it is to get. First, however, consider the amount of coverage you need. It’s probably not going to work for you if you need higher limits. And if you want to cover a longer timeframe, you might need more insurance than these policies provide.
Be Certain You Can Get the Policy
Generally, you need to be very healthy. If you aren’t, you stand a good chance of being denied. This will go on your insurance record and create problems when you apply for insurance in