Life insurance is one of the most important investments that you’ll ever make for your family. It’s the best safety net that you can buy, and one of the only ways that you can ensure that your loved ones will have the protection that they need, regardless of what happens to you.
If you’re shopping for a term life insurance policy, you may be wondering about policies that are considered No Medical Exam Life Insurance Policies.
Are there disadvantages to getting a policy that doesn’t require an exam, how much coverage can I get, and how much do these policies cost are all questions you may be asking.
In this article, I’ll cover the good and bad of getting a life insurance policy that doesn’t require an exam and give you my recommendation based on some specific situations.
Age Limit And Coverage Amounts For No Exam Life Insurance
Most companies that offer no medical exam life insurance offer it to those that are between ages 18 to 65. Sagicor Life offers up to $399,999 of coverage, while companies like Fidelity Life and American National offer up to $250,000 of coverage.
Transamerica also offers up to $250,000 of coverage up to age 60, and up to $50,000 for those between age 60 to 70. There are some companies that offer no exam whole life insurance up until age 80 for smaller policy amounts.
And then there are companies who offer one million dollar life insurance policies. Let us help you in deciding the amount that best suits your needs.
Differences Between Life Insurance Companies
Which company should you apply with? Here are some of the differences between providers that offer policies without a physical exam. When you’re looking for a life insurance plan, there are several different factors that you should consider.
It’s vital that you make the best decision for you and your family. It’s important that you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each plan in light of your situation.
Sagicor Life – One advantage with Sagicor is that they offer coverage up to $399,999. In addition, approval can sometimes be within 15 minutes of completing your application, and at most up to 48 hours. Unlike other providers, Sagicor offers both Preferred, Standard, and Rated policies – that means if you are in excellent health you will get better pricing, and if you have some minor health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, you can still get approved.
Fidelity Life – Fidelity Life offers coverage starting at just $25,000 up to $250,000. Fidelity has a very easy application process and makes a decision within 24 hours. While Fidelity isn’t always the cheapest option for coverage, if you need a policy quickly and are in good health, Fidelity’s application and approval process are a good choice.
American National – Some of the most competitive pricing comes from the no exam life insurance policies for ANICO. While they don’t require a physical exam, they typically will request your doctor’s records before they make a decision on your application. Because of this, it will usually take about a month to get approved with them. If you aren’t in a hurry and want competitive pricing, American National is a good choice.
Transamerica – Transamerica is one of few companies that offers life insurance starting at $25,000. Unlike Fidelity Life, however, Transamerica will order your medical records before they approve you. Transamerica also has very competitive pricing – typically better than Fidelity Life, and will take about 3-5 weeks to approve your application. Another benefit to Transamerica is that if you have a pre-existing medical condition it is possible to get approved without an exam – more likely than with any other company.
If you find yourself in a high risk category, they may be a very good company to consider.
Types of No Medical Exam Life Insurance
No exam life insurance may be an ideal option for you depending on your health condition. If you are leaning towards a no exam policy, you need to be aware of the options available to you, which are outlined below.
Simplified Issue Life Insurance
With a simplified issue policy, you will typically be asked health-related questions in order to determine your insurability, as well as an appropriate policy premium. For example, common questions that you may be asked could include:
- Do you smoke?
- Have you been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS?
- Do you currently reside in a long-term care facility?
- Do you suffer from any health-related conditions, such as diabetes?
With these types of policies, coverage can usually be issued within just a few days, as compared to weeks – or even months – with traditionally underwritten life insurance. The full amount of the death benefit would be available to the policy beneficiary upon the death of the insured.
Because there is no medical exam, however, the premium that is charged for these policies is generally higher than that of a regular life insurance policy that does have an exam.
The plus here is that it could be an avenue for life insurance protection for those who would need a policy quickly, or who don’t want to have an exam done.
Fidelity Life, Sagicor Life, and a few other companies offer simplified issue life insurance options. These policies do not have an initial waiting period before coverage is in effect and work just like other term life policies.
Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance
Similar to with simplified issue policies, guaranteed issue life insurance also does not require a medical exam. However, with these policies, there are also not any health-related questions to answer either.
In this case, provided that the applicant pays the premium, he or she is guaranteed to be approved for coverage.
While this provides a key benefit to the insured, the full amount of the death benefit is not available to the beneficiary until the plan has been in force for a certain amount of time. This time frame is typically two years.
With guaranteed issue policies if the insured dies within the first 2 years that the policy is in force, the beneficiary will receive only a refund of the paid-in premiums (and sometimes a certain amount of interest in addition to that).
Gerber Life offers a guaranteed issue life policy for individuals who are between the ages of 50 and 80. This whole life insurance plan provides a death benefit, along with the ability to build up a cash value that can be accessed through a loan or withdrawal if needed.
This financially strong, A rated company (by A.M. Best) has been providing life insurance to consumers for more than 40 years.
Fidelity Life offers a policy available to Individuals between the ages of 50 and 70, and coverage can be obtained with face amounts up to $150,000.
This policy has a few limited health questions, and most people even with adverse health conditions can quality, but there is an initial 3 year waiting period before 100% of the death benefit is in effect.
Perhaps you smoke and you’re wanting the best life insurance rates for smokers; we can help.
Pros And Cons Of No Medical Exam Life Insurance
So should you buy a no exam life insurance policy? What are the Pros and Cons? Let’s talk about the Pros first.
Advantages of No Medical Exam Life Insurance
If you are looking to get a life insurance policy quickly, without dealing with a blood test, and needles, a no exam policy can make a lot of sense.
With some companies, you can get a policy in under 48 hours, compared to a traditional life insurance policy that can take months to purchase. Especially if you require a policy as part of a loan agreement, or planning to travel overseas and want to secure life insurance before you travel.
In addition, if you aren’t buying a large policy and are young, the pricing difference between a medical and non-medical policy may be minimal.
Disadvantages of No Medical Exam Life Insurance
What’s the downside? The downside is that there is a limit to the amount of life insurance you can get without an exam.
If you’re looking to get a large policy, you probably will have to go with something other than a no medical exam life insurance policy. Additionally, if you are in very good health, you will most likely get better rates with an exam.
If you are older and also looking for a larger policy, let’s say $250,000 then there will be a bigger price difference between an exam and no exam policy and you could save money over the long term by purchasing life insurance that does require an exam.
Also, in some cases, if you have a pre-existing health condition, you will have a better chance at getting approved if you do have a medical exam done.
The obvious disadvantage is that these plans are going to be much more expensive than a plan that requires a medical exam. Because the life insurance plan doesn’t require a medical exam, the insurance company doesn’t get a clear idea on your health or know how much of a risk you are to insure through a life insurance plan.
The insurance company is going to offset the risk by charging you more in monthly premiums. You can’t put a price tag on the peace of mind knowing that your loved ones are going to have the resources that they need if anything were to happen to you.
If you aren’t in perfect health, it still might be worth it to apply for a traditional policy with a medical exam. If you aren’t in any hurry, it could be worth the wait to save money every month in monthly premiums.
How Big Of A Policy Do You Need?
Regardless of which type of policy you decide to get, it’s important to decide how large of a policy you need to purchase. While there is no perfect number for everyone, there are a few factors that you can consider to help determine how much you need.
The biggest factor is how much debt would you leave behind? Do you still have a mortgage, car payment, and credit card bills? Be sure that your life insurance policy will be enough funds to cover any unpaid expenses as well as funeral expenses.
Don’t leave your loved ones with thousands of dollars of debt if something tragic were to happen to you. The other factor to consider is your salary and how many people rely on it. If your spouse and children still count on your annual income, would they be able to survive without it?
Make sure that your life insurance policy is large enough to give them enough resources to get through a difficult time and find a way to replace the income.
While there is no set number, most financial experts suggest getting at least ten times your annual salary. This is one area where a policy without a physical exam can fall short for one people.
Even if you have a large salary, most companies that offer no exam policies will only allow for a maximum death benefit of $250,000. If you need more than that then you are probably looking at getting a traditionally underwritten policy.
Getting The Most Affordable No Exam Life Insurance
One of the most common reasons that people don’t get life insurance is because they assume that it’s too expensive to fit into their budget, especially if they are in poor health or have any pre-existing conditions, such as seeking life insurance with cancer, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
There are plenty of affordable options for life insurance, regardless of what your health is. There are several ways that you can get lower insurance premiums.
With most insurance policies, your health is going to impact your insurance premiums, but with a no exam plan, the insurance company doesn’t know what kind of health you’re in, but there are still several ways that you can get lower rates.
The best way that you can get the lowest rates on your life insurance company is to compare the quotes from dozens of the best life insurance companies before you find the one that works for you.
Instead of calling all of the companies yourself, let us do all the work for you and bring all of the lowest rates directly to you.
You can use our quote tool on this page to compare rates – if you want to look at no exam options choose “regular” as the health rating and you will see companies like Transamerica, American National, Fidelity Life, and Sagicor which all offer no exam options.
You can also call us at 1-888-552-6159 and we can help you decide what type of life insurance best fits your needs.
eric van haaften says
Helpful highlights of no exam life insurance. Banner Life also offers between $100,000 to $500,000 of term life insurance to applicants between the ages of 20 to 50 without any medical examination. Banner Life offers an automated underwriting program is called Appcelerate. This is a form of “no exam life insurance” which offers simplified underwriting for people who are in relatively good health. Good luck in 2017!