Guide
No-exam life insurance
Which applicants can skip the medical exam, the way it works, and what happens if you don't qualify.
A growing number of insurers now have accelerated underwriting: instead of a doctor's exam, they use your application answers, what other doctors have prescribed you, driving records, and other facts to decide—as long as you fit their age and amount boundaries. Some get back to you the same day. Every quote we show tells you if the carrier wants an exam, might order one, or doesn't need one.
What it changes
No exam is not the same as no underwriting. Your answers get checked, and if you put down something false, the company can challenge the policy in the first two years. When the carrier's own information brings up concerns, it might still order an exam or blood work; at that moment, you get to choose what to do next.
Who tends to qualify
Usually, people under around 60, applying for sums within the carrier's accelerated-underwriting cap, with no serious health history and no tobacco use for a year or longer. Some insurers will take results from a doctor's visit with blood work instead of requiring their own exam.
When an exam is needed, it's ordinarily a 20 to 30 minute visit by a paramedic at your home or workplace in the Antioch area, and you don't pay. If you're in good health, the exam outcomes often bump you to a better rate; so it's not always bad news.