Guide
No-exam life insurance
Who gets approved for fast underwriting, what the process looks like, and what happens if you do not.
A lot of carriers now have rapid underwriting: within certain age bands and limits, they say yes or no based on your application, what is in your prescription and driving records, and similar sources—no paramedic visit to your home. A few give you an answer the same day. Each rate shown here tells you if that carrier needs an exam, might request one, or skips it.
What it changes
No exam is not the same as no underwriting. The carriers verify your answers; if a policy is issued based on false information, they can challenge it in the first two years. If what the carrier learns about you raises red flags, they may request an exam or bloodwork anyway, and you can back out then.
Who tends to qualify
In general, applicants younger than around 60 asking for amounts within the carrier's rapid-underwriting cap, with a clean health background and no tobacco use for the past year or longer. A few carriers will use recent bloodwork from your doctor's office instead of a new exam.
When an exam is needed, it is typically a 20 to 30-minute appointment with a paramedic at your home or workplace in the California region, paid for by the carrier. For healthy people, the exam results often move you up to a better rate class, so it is not always a setback.