Guide
No-exam life insurance
Who can qualify for instant or accelerated underwriting without a paramedical visit, how it actually works, and what happens if you don't qualify.
Many carriers now offer accelerated underwriting: they use your application, prescription records, driving record and databases instead of sending a paramedical examiner. Some issue a decision the same day. Every quote lists whether an exam is required, might be required, or isn't required for that product.
What it changes
Accelerated doesn't skip underwriting—your answers get checked against records and databases. A policy based on false information can be challenged in the first two years. If the carrier finds questions after checking, they might ask for an exam; you can decide then whether to go forward.
Who tends to qualify
Usually people under about 60 applying for amounts within the carrier's accelerated limit, with no serious medical history and no tobacco use over the past year or two. Some carriers will review recent lab work from your doctor instead of requiring a new exam.
If you do need an exam, a paramedical examiner typically comes to your home or workplace in the Bakersfield area, spending 20 to 30 minutes and charging nothing. For healthy people the exam often raises your rating, making it a possible advantage rather than purely a burden.