Is No-Exam Life Insurance Right for You?

What are the pros and cons of no-exam life insurance?

Pros Worth Considering

Just as it says, you don’t need a medical exam to get this kind of life insurance. If you are underinsured, have no insurance and/or have an underlying medical condition, or you only need a little life insurance, no-exam life insurance may be the best option for you.

Approval for this type of life insurance is also typically faster as there is less for an underwriter to review. And of course, there is no physical exam or blood draw. There are typically medical and health questions as part of the application process, however.

Cons You Need to Be Aware Of

Per dollar of coverage, no-exam life insurance is typically more expensive, and will likely not offer any other perks like cash value or critical illness riders. You may not be able to get even no-exam life insurance after a certain age, if you have certain health conditions, or if you already have too much insurance.

Some policies will end at a certain age (80 is common), or have fairly short terms like 5 or 10 years, at which time you must purchase again at your current age. The death benefit (amount your beneficiaries would receive upon your death) is likely to be much lower than a conventional policy as well.

Insurance companies are in the business of risk assessment. If someone is seeking out no-exam life insurance, that’s a signal to the insurer that that person is a potential risk. This is why the premiums are higher per dollar of coverage, the benefits are lower, and the policies are shorter. Essentially, you are paying more for being a perceived higher risk.

How to Know If a No-Exam Life Insurance Is Right for You

If your sole objection to getting life insurance is the exam itself, it might be worth your time and effort to go ahead and endure the exam of a traditional policy.

If you worry about an underlying health concern like weight, smoking, or high blood pressure, you can actually shop for life insurance companies and policies. Every life insurance company assesses risk in their own way: some focus more on the weight of an applicant, or even mental health concerns. It might be a good expense of your time and effort to shop around a bit.

If your concern is that you are otherwise uninsurable, you can still shop around for no-exam life insurance companies and policies. If you have a health condition that can be controlled or reversed and you’re under a doctor’s care, you can always shop for insurance now and then shop again when your health condition resolves or is maintained. This, of course, does not apply to every health condition.

What Does Uninsurable Mean?

It’s worth mentioning that “uninsurable” may mean different things to different companies. During my time in financial services, I ran myself through several companies’ application processes and due to a history of anxiety and depression the premiums varied wildly, with one company putting me in the smoker classification, which is one step up from “uninsurable.”

There are several reputable online brokers that can help you shop for many kinds of life insurance, including no-exam.

How Can You Increase the Likelihood of Approval for a No-Exam Life Insurance Policy?

The likelihood of getting life insurance that doesn’t require a medical examination is pretty high for almost all applicants. Unless you are actively in the hospital or over a certain age (varies by insurer), or have certain health conditions, you will likely be approved.

In Conclusion:

If you’re only thinking about the no-exam possibility because of the medical exam, you may consider just putting up with the exam for the possibility of lower premiums and higher coverage.

Consider reading DO YOU STILL NEED LIFE INSURANCE OVER 60?

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Are you looking for life insurance at this stage of life? Which type are you looking into? Have you been looking into no-exam life insurance? What are your reasons and concerns?