Life Insurance 101

or
Everything You Wanted
to Know About Life
Insurance*
 Contents
Pre-Existing Conditions and Life Insurance 3

How Long Does It Take to Get a Term Life

Insurance Policy 5

Insurance Medical Exam 8

Life Insurance Blood Test and Urine Test 11

Life Insurance Underwriting 13

Life Insurance 101

 Chapter 1

Pre-Existing Conditions and Life

Insurance
Many of us have medical
conditions that will be
considered pre-existing
when we apply for life
insurance. Clients always
want to know how these
conditions will affect
underwriting.
An underwriter will consider your overall health, medical
treatment, health history and family history before determining
your rating category.

Underwriters take many things into consideration when

evaluating your pre-existing conditions.

1. Probably most important….can your health condition

affect your life span?
2. Is your health condition in remission or under control?
3. Do you regularly see a doctor to treat your condition?
4. Do you follow your Doctor’s orders?
5. How long have you had it?
6. Do you have any associated conditions from the primary
health condition?

Once again, this is where an independent life insurance agent

can be very helpful. Your agent should know which companies
will underwrite your condition most favorably.
Life Insurance 101 3
We use an independent underwriter to give us assistance with
which carrier(s) will view your health picture in the best light.
Additionally, they can directly contact the underwriter evaluating
your application if needed, while an agent cannot.

Certain pre existing conditions may require a waiting period

before you can qualify for insurance.
Certainly no company is going to insure you if you had a heart
attack last month. After a period of time, with no further
incidents and regular medical care, you may qualify, and very
possibly at reasonable rates. (Every case is looked at individually
and all factors are taken into account).

Diabetic pre-existing conditions can usually qualify for life

insurance. Your rating will be directly affected by how well you
are controlling your diabetes. Uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to
associated conditions that can certainly affect your life span and
this would affect your ability to obtain life insurance.

Cancer is another common pre-existing condition. Underwriting

will depend on the type of cancer, the stage at diagnosis, the
pathology report, when the cancer occurred, your treatment and
if there have been repeat occurrences, etc.

The Bottom Line

Possible pre-existing conditions are too numerous to mention.
Suffice it to say, your independent life insurance agent will be
able to find out how your pre-existing condition(s) will likely
affect your insurance underwriting.
Life Insurance 101 4
 Chapter 2

How Long Does It Take to Get

a Term Life Insurance Policy?
How long does it take to get a term life insurance policy in
force? For now, I will assume that you are applying for
coverage that requires a medical exam. The quick answer is
that you can have coverage in place as quickly as 2 weeks, or
it could take six months or more. However, most cases are
between one and two months.

You and your agent are the most important factors in the
timetable. Your agent is responsible for getting you the
application, setting up your exam, sending that exam to the
carrier, and getting any other requirements the insurance
company wants.

The more organized your agent is regarding follow up, the

faster requirements get completed. If you want a speedy
turnaround time, you have to respond to your agent’s
inquiries promptly! In our office, we communicate with our
clients at least weekly to inform them of any outstanding
requirements and/or keep them apprised of where they are
in the underwriting process.

Life Insurance 101

5
Your time frame in returning the application to your agent is
the first step. Well, actually, how fast do they get the
application to you? Next is how quickly can you have your
paramedic exam? After that, the ball is in the insurance
company’s court. Life insurance underwriting is the next
step!

Once the insurance carrier has your application and

paramedic exam, your lab results will be ordered. This will go
to an underwriter for an initial review. If no other information
is needed, your application can be approved with this
information. Usually these are policies where the insured gets
a super-preferred or preferred rating (the two best
underwriting classes).

Based on your medical history and your lab results, the

underwriter may want to review your doctor records. This is
where things can bog down! The records get ordered and... I
have seen records come in the next day, and I have seen
records take 2 months or more to be released.

If your records are at the VA Hospital, or Kaiser Permanente

or another large HMO or hospital, they may require a special
authorization as well (and it may take 1-2 weeks to find this
out). A good agent calls the doctor’s office to see if a special
authorization is required- sometimes we can save 2 weeks
with just one call!

Life Insurance 101 6

Then your agent should follow up regularly with the copy
service to move this process along and, if necessary, have you
call the doctor directly to assist.

So all in all, you and your agent are the most important
factors in keeping your application moving through the
process. In general, without medical records being ordered
we have policies in place usually within two to four weeks.
With ordering records we average about one and a half to
two months. We try to make the process painless for you by
keeping on top of things!

Life Insurance 101 7

 Chapter 3

Insurance Medical Exam

Most insurance companies require all applicants to have an

insurance medical exam, also called a paramedic
examination. Many clients want to know if they can use
results from a recent doctor visit so they do not need to do
the blood and urine portion of the exam. Unfortunately the
answer is they cannot. The insurance company needs
independent results for two reasons:

• Chain of custody. The insurance companies want

to be certain that they are looking at your results.
• The insurance company will test for things your
doctor won’t such as nicotine, drugs, certain liver
and kidney functions. If they want more tests, the
samples will be available to them.

The insurance medical exam performed by a paramedic does

not require disrobing. The amount of coverage you are
applying for and your age will determine the specific
requirements.
8
Life Insurance 101
Most exams will include height and weight, blood pressure,
pulse rate, and blood and urine samples. They may also include
any or all of the following:

• Complete medical history

• Resting EKG
• Mature Age Supplement
• M.D. Evaluation

To prepare for your exam you should be fasting for eight hours.
Drink water before the exam as this will help you provide a urine
sample and will make drawing your blood easier for both you
and the examiner. Also, refrain from stress or exercise before
your exam as they will impact your blood pressure and EKG
results.

If you take medications always take them at your regular time

and alert the examiner to include that in the paperwork. If you
forget to fast, and eat before the exam, the best thing to do is to
reschedule the blood and urine, but complete the rest of the
exam. Many of the lab results can be affected negatively by
eating.

You will need to show your driver’s license to the examiner for
identification purposes. Have your doctor’s address and phone
number ready for the examiner, as well as the last time you saw
the doctor, the reason for the visit and the recommended
treatment. If you take any medications, have them available for
the examiner.

Life Insurance 101 9

Generally the exam takes between 20 to 40 minutes
depending on the requirements and amount of medical
history. You can request a copy of your lab work through your
agent.

While there are companies that offer life insurance without a

medical exam, we find using a top rated carrier that requires
an exam will usually save you money on your premium. An
insurance medical exam and blood test can lower your
premium and the savings can add up to thousands of dollars
over the life of your policy. It’s well worth your time!

Life Insurance 101 10

 Chapter 4

Life Insurance Blood Test and

Urine Test
When you apply for life insurance most policies require that
you have a paramedic exam. Part of that exam is collecting
blood and urine samples for testing.

Clients often ask if they can go to their doctor to do the

test. Sometimes the client has recently visited the doctor and
had labs completed. They want to know if those results are
acceptable to the insurance company. The short answer is
no, you are required to have this independent exam including
blood and urine collection and here’s why!

Life Insurance 101 11

What’s different about the Life Insurance Blood Test and
Urine Test?

1. Your blood and urine specimens go in a direct line

from the examiner to the laboratory and the
laboratory to the insurance company. The sample
vials are marked in your presence and the numbers
match your paperwork. The insurance company can
be sure these are your blood and urine samples.
2. The insurance company does several different tests
than your doctor will perform at a routine
checkup. These tests may include additional liver
enzyme levels and/or A1C testing (long term blood
sugar measure). Insurers will also check your blood
and urine for signs of nicotine and drug use.
3. When the insurance company receives your lab
results, they may decide that further testing is
indicated to either re-check a result or do a more
detailed study. If so, your blood is available at the
laboratory for a period of time.

If you apply for coverage and complete the life insurance

blood test and urine test, rest assured that you will pay less
for this policy than for a comparable policy (if one is)
available without medical testing. The lower premium is due
to the additional information the insurance company will
have from your exam and lab results during underwriting.

Life Insurance 101 12

 Chapter 5

Life Insurance Underwriting

When you apply for a life insurance policy your file will be
reviewed by an underwriter at the insurance company. All
insurers have life insurance underwriting guidelines to follow.
Each company has slightly different standards. An
independent life insurance agent should be generally aware
of how each company treats the main underwriting concerns
outlined below.

During the first review, the underwriter will evaluate your

medical history, family medical history, paramedic exam and
lab results.

Life Insurance 101 13

Here are some important factors that can affect your rating:

• Height and weight

• Your medical conditions
• Your medications
• How compliant you are with Doctor orders
• Parents or siblings who were diagnosed or died
of cancer, heart disease, or with some carriers
diabetes before the age of 60
• Your lifestyle- do you participate in extreme
sports? How is your driving record? Do you have a
history of alcohol or drug abuse?

If the insurance company feels that more information is

needed for a decision, they will order records from your
physician and/or hospital records.

Additionally, you may have to complete a questionnaire, or an

interview. It is very important to be honest on your
application and any follow up questioning. If the insured dies
during the first two years of a policy, the carrier can deny a
death claim for fraud found in the application.

Life Insurance 101 14

When the additional information is received, your file will go
back to the same underwriter for review. Hopefully the
questions are answered fully and underwriting can be
completed. Life insurance underwriting can be very
complicated. Multiple medical issues can be more difficult to
underwrite.

What happens if the outcome is not favorable? This is where

using an independent life insurance agent can be especially
beneficial. As they represent many carriers, they can
approach other insurance companies for quotes. In addition,
some agents have access to an in-house underwriter who can
review the file and assist in placing the case at the proper
insurer. The same exam can be used; all that is required is a
new application!

Important Point: Every company has different underwriting

guidelines and an independent agent can get you to the right
carrier for the best value.

Life Insurance 101 15

 Let Us Know How We Can
Help!
For more than 20 years, LifeNet Insurance Solutions has
helped those in need of life insurance protection to obtain
affordable coverage. As agents for most major national
insurance companies, our aim is to provide you with the best
possible experience. We do this by providing you with
• Outstanding service
• Clearly helping to define your objective
• Suggesting ways to lower your premium
• Providing you with the knowledge to make an
informed purchase

We’re easy to find

Our website: www.lifenetinsurance.com

Our phone: 800-698-7033

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Life Insurance 101
 Life Insurance 101

Copyright Notice & Legal Notice

©2018 LifeNet Insurance Solutions
11505 Eastridge Drive NE
Suite 420
Redmond, WA 98053-5758
800-698-7033

Feel free to share this eBook (FOR FREE) with anyone

you want to. All rights reserved. While attempts have
been made to verify information provided in this
publication, neither the author nor the publisher
assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or
contradictory information contained in this document.
This document is not intended as legal, accounting or
investment advice. The reader of this document assumes
all responsibility for the use of these materials and
information.

For more information call

Lenny Robbins
800.698.7033

Life Insurance 101 17