How Do I Apply For Life Insurance?
Life insurance provides financial protection to your loved one’s when they need it the most.We all understand the importance of coverage, but shopping for life insurance can be overwhelming.
Selecting the right amount of coverage and company to apply with, is not as easy as it sounds, especially with all of the life insurance options that are available.
Making a decision about coverage can be overwhelming and confusing and many people give up or call us to ask, “How do I apply for life insurance?” Well ladies and gents, that's what we're here to explain today.
Here’s what we'll cover in this post:Quick Article Guide
According to various studies, consumers are becoming savvier and researching life insurance products online before they actually start applying for coverage. In fact, the majority of people actually start the process of purchasing life insurance online, which is great!
Purchasing life insurance from a knowledgeable and independent agent will always save you money. However, it’s easy to get confused by all of the options available especially with all of the information on the internet. People often call us because they find themselves suffering from information overload.
While we understand that being educated is a great tool to protect yourself from dishonest salespeople, sometimes it’s best to go back to the basics and let a licensed agent guide you through the application process.
Here’s How Life Insurance Works
Life insurance in it's purest form can be broken into two categories. The first and most popular is term life insurance. Term life insurance provides affordable coverage for a set period of time, usually for 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years.
Term life insurance policies are a great fit for young families or individuals with significant debt.The death benefit from these policies can be used by their loved ones to replace lost income, or to pay off any outstanding debts, if the insured were to pass away.
The second category is permanent life insurance, which provides life insurance coverage for your entire life. Universal life policies and whole life policies are the most popular forms of coverage that fall under this category.
These policies are the most beneficial for those who want to purchase life insurance for estate planning purposes, to leave an inheritance, or as a pension maximization strategy.
Permanent life insurance policies tend to be much more expensive than term life insurance policies because they are more likely to provide your loved ones with a death benefit. Permanent policies usually extend guaranteed rates and coverage until the age of 90 or later, while the vast majority of term insurance policies expire before age 80.
Once you decide to move forward with applying for a life insurance policy, you will need to figure out how much coverage your loved ones will need, as well as, who you want to name as your beneficiary or beneficiaries.
If you are having trouble calculating how much life insurance you need, we recommend trying out our FREE Life Insurance Calculator or talking with a licensed agent. We work with 63 companiesand we provide a free service of shopping the market to save you money.
I Know How Much Coverage I Need, How Do I Get A Quote?
In order to get an accurate quote, you will need to provide your agent with some basic information about your health. Some of the factors that life insurance companies consider include your height/weight, health history, family history, lifestyle habits, and financial information.
The life insurance company that you apply with will review your medical records before approving your coverage. Being upfront with your agent will help to speed up the approval of your policy and allow your agent to determine the best life insurance company available to you. In addition, this will also prevent any hiccups that might occur during the approval process.
Most term life insurance policies and guaranteed universal life insurance policies are fully underwritten and require medical exam in order to get approved. The medical exam is paid for by the life insurance company, and there are no costs or fees to apply.
You will not need to pay anything until the policy is approved and most life insurance policies will provide you with immediate coverage once your first payment is received.
In addition, you don't have to worry about deciding exactly how much coverage you need before you apply. We recommend applying for the highest amount of coverage you think you may need because you can always adjust your policy after approval if need be.
If you are hesitant about medical exams, make sure you look into our insiders guide on life insurance without medical exams.After your application is complete, we will contact you to set up an appointment for your life insurance exam and we will email a copy of your application to you so that you can review it to ensure that everything is correct.
For your convenience, you can usually have your free exam completed at your home or office. The nurses or phlebotomists that complete these exams are mobile, and they are usually available from 7am to 5pm Monday-Saturday.
The free mini-medical exam typically takes about 30 minutes to complete, and your examiners will normally call 24 hours in advance to confirm the appointment.
What Should I Expect During My Medical Exam?
During your free medical exam, a licensed nurse or phlebotomist will perform a short physical exam to assess your health.Here is what you can expect:
Height and Weight Measurements – The life insurance companies will look at your weight compared to your height in order to assess your build or body mass.Your height and weight measurements will be used to compare against the life insurance company’s build guidelines. Every company has slightly different build charts and some companies are more lenient than others.
Blood Pressure Reading – The examiner will measure your blood pressure up to 3 times. If you have what’s known as “White Coat Syndrome,” don’t worry, the insurance company will average your results, or use the lowest reading.
Blood and Urine Sample –The blood and urine samples obtained by the examiner are used to evaluate your A1c levels, cholesterol, liver function, and kidney enzyme levels. Once the lab results are compiled, the insurance company you apply with typically mails a copy of your lab results free of charge.
Questions about your Medical History and Lifestyle Habits –You will be asked to explain any previous medical conditions, surgeries, and prescriptions. They will ask you about your immediate family’s medical history as well, this will include your mother, father, and any siblings.
You will also need to provide them with information about your lifestyle such as if you smoke, drink, take illicit drugs, workout, have any dangerous hobbies, or if you travel frequently. To learn more about the free mini-medical exam, please read these expert tips for acing the exam.
After your life insurance exam is complete, you will be able to review your application before it is submitted to the company you are applying with. Once your application and lab results are submitted, an underwriter will review your application and medical exam results to assess your “risk” to the insurance company.
This “risk” determines how much your cost for the life insurance will be. If the insurance company has additional concerns, they will order medical records from your physician(s) to learn about any previous medical treatments that you may have received.
We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to be honest on your application. Life insurance companies are very diligent with underwriting their applications before approving them. If you have a health condition, we will find the company that has the best options for you.
If you apply with the wrong company, your application may get denied and this could limit your options for coverage in the future.
I Finished My Medical Exam, When Will I Find Out if I’m Approved?
After you complete your exam it typically takes the insurer four to eight weeks to approve your application. The approval process is often delayed by the amount of time it takes for the insurance company to receive your doctor's records.If the underwriter has a hard time retrieving your medical records, your agents will contact you to assist you with locating the records that are delaying your approval. If you need your policy approved in a hurry, let your agent know when you apply, and we'll do everything we can to expedite the process.
Once your application is approved, you'll receive a copy of your policy to review and sign. At this time, you usually have 30 days to accept the coverage by making your first payment. You will also have the option to adjust your policy’s death benefit or term length if your needs have changed.
Purchasing life insurance doesn’t need to be a hassle, our licensed agents have helped thousands of clients like you. JRC Insurance Group works with dozens of top-rated carriers which allows us to shop the marketplace for you.
We offer more than 100 years of collective experience and we are here to help you throughout every step of the process. Call us today and one of our agents will be happy to answer any questions you have. Toll-Free: 855-247-9555, or you can request a free online quote below to instantly compare rates from dozens of providers in less than a minute.
Clifford Pendell
Managing Partner and Co-founder
Cliff is a licensed life insurance agent and one of the owners of JRC Insurance Group. He has helped thousands of families of businesses with their life insurance needs since 2012 and specializes with applicants who are less than perfect health. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and the great outdoors.
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