Guide
No-exam life insurance
Learn which applicants can skip the medical exam, what the accelerated underwriting process involves, and what to expect if the carrier requires traditional underwriting.
Many carriers now offer accelerated underwriting: for applicants within certain age and amount limits, they decide using the application, prescription history, motor-vehicle records and other data instead of a paramedical exam. Some decisions come back the same day. Each quote on this site says whether an exam is necessary, possibly required, or not required for that product.
What it changes
Accelerated underwriting doesn't bypass the approval process entirely. The carrier verifies your statements, and policies based on false information can be challenged within the first two years. If the carrier's independent information uncovers inconsistencies, they might still request medical records or an exam—and you can choose whether to proceed.
Who tends to qualify
Candidates are generally under about age 60, applying for coverage amounts within the carrier's accelerated underwriting cap, without serious past health issues, and with no tobacco use for a year or longer. Certain carriers will use recent bloodwork from a routine doctor's visit instead of requiring a separate exam.
Results often improve a rate class for healthy applicants, so an exam is not always a disadvantage. If you do need an exam, it is usually a 20- to 30-minute visit by a paramedical examiner at your home or office in the Pacifica area, at no cost to you.