Term Life Insurance With No Medical Exam: How Does That Work?

Work projects are piling up, there’s 17 notifications pinging from the kids’ class apps and barely time to squeeze in essential errands before the end of the day. Any chance to skip a step and still get an important task done can make a big difference for parents with a busy schedule (in other words, all of us!).

Thus parents and anyone else who’s super busy ask all the time: “Can I get life insurance without a medical exam?” It’s possible, depending on what type of policy you’re considering and certain qualifying factors like your health.

No-exam life insurance policies have the ability to let you skip the in-person medical exam. There are several types of life insurance plans without a medical exam. Make sure you understand the different options to find the protection that fits for you.

What Is No Medical Exam Life Insurance?

Traditionally, the process of applying for life insurance has looked something like this:

1. Decide on the type of insurance you want, such as term vs. whole life

2. Figure out how much coverage is right for you

3. Apply online or through a life insurance agent, answering questions about everything from your job and financial situation to your hobbies to your health (here's a walkthrough of a typical application and the kinds of questions it asks)

4. Undergo a medical exam, which generally involves a health professional doing things like taking your height, weight, blood pressure and drawing a blood sample, plus talking to you about your health history

5. Wait while your exam results are sent to life insurance underwriters, who are the people tasked with assessing how risky it'd be to insure you

6. Receive a final price for how much it'd cost for you to get life insurance through that provider, or if the underwriters have determined that they won't be able to insure you

7. You decide if you want to accept your life insurance offer or not

What, then, is no medical exam life insurance?

Strictly speaking, it isn't really a type of insurance so much as a feature of certain plans. When people talk about "no-exam life insurance," they're referring to policies that may not require a life insurance health exam as part of the application process for qualifying applicants.

Some types of life insurance policy without a medical exam are still medically underwritten, which means that your health is a factor that helps determine whether you’re approved for coverage and at what price. The big difference is that they may learn about your health from your medical records and from your answers on the application rather than through a health exam.

There are two main reasons people tend to seek out no-exam life insurance: convenience and poor health. When it comes to convenience, some types of policies ask detailed health questions and may offer rates similar to what you could find with policies that do have health exams. These policies use an approach called accelerated underwriting to streamline the application process. In order to be eligible, applicants may need to have a pretty clear health record, and the accelerated underwriting program may flag an application for additional review if there are health issues to consider.

Other no-exam life insurance policies are often marketed to people in poor health who might otherwise struggle to find coverage. For example, guaranteed issue life insurance policies might not even ask about your medical history at all. This category of no-exam life insurance tends to be more expensive and have lower coverage amounts than regular term life insurance. If you need a higher amount of coverage or your health is good enough to qualify for traditional term life, it may be worth reviewing all your options to find a policy that is convenient and cost-effective for your needs.

What Does a Life Insurance Medical Exam Entail?

The exact details can vary, but broadly speaking, a medical professional will come to a location of your choosing, such as your home or office.

These exams are nearly always free and provided to you by the insurance company. Similar to a standard physical, the exam might last roughly 30 to 60 minutes and include some or all of the following, depending on your age and health history:

• Ask you questions verbally about your health

• Take your height and weight

• Calculate your BMI

• Check your pulse and blood pressure

• Draw a blood sample

• Take a urine sample

• Conduct a brief physical exam

• Have you undergo an electrocardiogram (EKG)

• Ask you to do a treadmill stress test

• Conduct other health services, depending on your situation

Learn more about how life insurance health exams work.

Why Do Many Insurers Require Medical Exams?

When deciding whether to offer you coverage and at what price, insurers calculate your risk of, you know...dying. That obviously depends on many factors, but an important one is how healthy you are.

Underwriting is the process of crunching the numbers to determine your risk levels for insurance purposes. That involves looking at a lot of different data points. Historically, most insurers have asked for a health exam as part of the life insurance application so they can gather more information on your medical situation.

These screenings could reveal things like high cholesterol, tobacco use, diabetes and many other conditions.

Insurance companies have recently become more able to offer term life insurance online with no exam by using other data sources and high-tech algorithms to measure risk in alternative ways.

Why Get Life Insurance Without a Medical Exam?

Whether you’re anxious about getting blood drawn or just so busy it’s hard to carve out time for a health exam, life insurance sometimes becomes the task you know you should deal with, but can’t bring yourself to tackle. No-exam insurance can be a way to help you kick-start the application process, without the anxiety. It can help to find a life insurance option where you can apply online for extra convenience.

Another very different reason folks might choose alternative types of life insurance is if they would struggle to gain coverage through more traditional means. For example, being a smoker can deeply affect your life insurance rates. If you have a preexisting health condition or a risky occupation that would make it difficult to gain coverage through normal, medically underwritten insurance, you might explore guaranteed or simplified coverage, which don't have health exams. These options might be attractive if you need insurance immediately or if you only need a low coverage amount for something like final expenses.

That said, it’s important to remember that no-exam insurance isn’t just for people in poor health. Accelerated term life, in particular, can make a lot of sense for those in excellent health. Consider the pros and cons of no-exam life insurance before making your decision.

How Accelerated Term Life Insurance Works

More than ever, consumers have a greater ability to buy term life insurance without a medical exam.

Not all life insurance providers offer accelerated underwriting, but this express approach is gaining popularity in the industry. It's allowing providers to offer term life insurance with no medical exam required.

If You’re Approved Right Away

You submit detailed information about your health history, as well as financial and lifestyle information (e.g. bankruptcies, DUIs), and the insurance provider uses algorithms and predictive models to crunch the data you’ve provided. If your health and credit are in good shape, the insurance provider may be able to approve your application immediately, without a human underwriter going through it.

With medically underwritten term life insurance, this is as close to instant life insurance as it gets.

If You Aren't Approved Immediately

Even if these advanced algorithms can’t approve you for coverage right away, some companies will do their best to get you a final answer without that physical exam. For example, that might include asking for your doctor’s records or reviewing your prescription history, and asking you follow-up questions.

The result can be a fully underwritten term policy with a simpler application and faster approval time. With Fabric by Gerber Life, for example, it’s possible to skip a health exam if you’ve applied for less than $1.5 million in life insurance coverage and you meet all other qualifications.

One benefit, of course, is you don’t have to pee in a cup or get your arm poked! What’s more, coverage and costs are often competitive with policies that require health exams, unlike some of the other types of no-exam life insurance.

If You Aren't Able to Skip the Line

Accelerated underwriting isn’t its own kind of insurance. It’s just an express option for the application to an otherwise typical term life policy. The downside is that not everyone will qualify. Some insurance providers may not offer this option for smokers or people who have health conditions (or even a family history of serious issues like heart disease or cancer), or who meet other underwriting criteria.

Other Types of Life Insurance With No Medical Exam

While no-exam term life insurance with accelerated underwriting is largely targeted toward applicants who meet age or health criteria, other insurance types may be a potential fit for certain applicants who would struggle to get term life insurance with accelerated underwriting.

Simplified issue life insurance is still partially medically underwritten, but it is a more lenient option for people with health issues. Guaranteed issue life insurance accepts nearly everyone and doesn’t do medical underwriting; the downside is that it is typically more expensive and has lower coverage limits.

If you qualify for accelerated term life insurance, you can often get the best of both worlds: low prices and high coverage, and a convenient application process. A lot of healthy people who apply for insurance through Fabric by Gerber Life may be eligible to take advantage of this option.

Fabric exists to help young families master their money. Our articles abide by strict editorial standards.

Information provided is general and educational in nature, is not financial advice, and all products or services discussed may not be offered by Fabric by Gerber Life  (“the Company”). The information is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal or tax advice. The Company does not provide legal or tax advice. Consult an attorney or tax advisor regarding your specific legal or tax situation. Laws of a specific state or laws relevant to a particular situation may affect the applicability, accuracy, or completeness of this information. Federal and state laws and regulations are complex and are subject to change. The Company makes no warranties with regard to the information or results obtained by its use. The Company disclaims any liability arising out of your use of, or reliance on, the information. The views and opinions of third-party content providers are solely those of the author and not Fabric by Gerber Life.