Is No Exam Life Insurance Only for People with Serious Health Issues?

Can You Apply for No Exam Life Insurance if You’re Healthy?

Meta description: No exam life insurance has a reputation of being only for sick people, but is it true? Learn more about the types of no exam policies and who they’re best for.

No exam life insurance has a reputation of being only for sick people. You’ve probably seen it marketed toward people with serious medical conditions as a way of covering final expenses or ensuring that their loved ones are looked after. All of this is true — there are certain types of no exam life insurance that are designed for people in poor health. However, there are other types of policies that are geared toward anyone, regardless of health.

Read on to find out about the different types of no exam life insurance and which type is best for certain groups of people.

What is No Exam Life Insurance?

Traditional life insurance policies require applicants to complete a detailed application and undergo a medical exam. During the exam, a paramedical professional performs a blood test, takes a urine sample, and measures the applicant’s heart rate and blood pressure, among other things. This information is relayed to life insurance underwriters, who pore over every detail and determine what class the applicant should be put into.

Those in great health are put into the highest health class and get the lowest monthly premiums. Then there are those who have moderate health issues, and they are put into lower health classes. Smokers, for example, can never get the highest rating because smoking significantly impacts mortality rates. However, it’s not enough to render the applicants ineligible for coverage. People with major health issues, like cancer, Alzheimer’s, or AIDS/HIV may have trouble getting approved.

In these cases, no exam life insurance offers an alternative. It allows people with serious health issues to still get coverage, albeit limited coverage. In these cases, monthly premiums are usually quite high, but many people are willing to pay because it means having the peace of mind knowing their loved ones will have a small nest egg in case tragedy strikes. Click here to get a free quote and see what kind of premiums you can expect to pay.

Types of No Exam Life Insurance

There are two main types of no exam life insurance: guaranteed issue and simplified issue. As you’ll soon see, they’re as different as night and day.

Guaranteed Issue

When you hear about no exam life insurance that’s great for people in poor health, guaranteed issue is the type they’re talking about. No health questions are asked on the applications, and as long as you’re under the age limit, you’re approved. It’s the easiest to apply for and approval is granted on the spot.

Guaranteed issue is designed specifically for people who have serious medical conditions. Coverage goes up to $25,000 or $50,000 at the most, and in some cases, this type of insurance is used to cover final expenses.

Simplified Issue

Simplified issue is a broader type of no exam life insurance that anyone can apply for, whether you’re in great health or poor health. It’s a type of term life insurance, which means you only purchase it for a certain amount of time, i.e. 5, 10, 15 years or more. This automatically makes the monthly premiums less than guaranteed issue, a type of whole life insurance.

While simplified issue allows applicants to bypass the medical exam, it does require some health information. The application is much shorter than that of traditional policies, but applicants will need to answer several general health questions. As such, there is limited underwriting and applicants can be approved within days. It’s still much faster than any type of fully-underwritten policy.

However, approval in this case isn’t guaranteed. If the insurance company deems that you pose too much of a risk, it will not approve coverage. People who are young and in relatively good health can be approved with no problem, and in many cases can get monthly premiums that are fairly similar to those of fully-underwritten policies.

People who usually apply for simplified issue are those who:

• Need life insurance quickly (and don’t want to pay the rates of guaranteed issue)
• Are scared of needles
• Don’t have time to take a medical exam

Bottom Line

There are two different types of life insurance: guaranteed issue and simplified issue. The former is ideal for people who have serious health conditions, while the latter is ideal for those who need life insurance quickly, lead busy lives, or are scared of needles. Figuring out if guaranteed issue is right for you is quite easy — if you’ve been denied coverage for other types of policies, guaranteed issue is your last resort. Deciding whether simplified issue is right for you may be slightly more complicated. Which means it’s important to weigh the pros and cons and see if it’s the right choice for your situation.