Guide
No-exam life insurance
The right applicants for accelerated underwriting, how the faster track works, and what happens if you aren't eligible.
Many modern carriers provide accelerated underwriting: using your application data, prescription records, driving history, and other available information rather than a medical exam, they determine approval for applicants meeting certain age and amount thresholds. Approvals sometimes come within a day. Each listing on this site notes whether the insurer requires an exam, may require one, or doesn't need one.
What it changes
Choosing to skip an exam doesn't skip the underwriting process itself. The facts you provide are checked, and a policy based on inaccurate information is subject to being challenged in its first two years. If the carrier's own research uncovers issues, they may require an exam or tests; that point is when you can choose to go forward.
Who tends to qualify
Candidates are generally under age 60 who apply for amounts within the carrier's accelerated program threshold, have no serious health concerns, and have not used tobacco in the last year or so. When medical records from a recent doctor visit and labs are available, certain insurers will use those instead of requiring a new exam.
When an exam is required, a paramedical specialist typically comes to your Santa Barbara-area residence or workplace for a thirty-minute appointment at no expense to you. For applicants in good health, exam results frequently result in a more favorable rate classification, so this step is not necessarily unfavorable.