Speak with an experienced advisor! Simplified issue life insurance policies differ from fully underwritten term life and whole life insurance policies. These insurance policies take much less time and effort to get qualified for than a fully underwritten life insurance plan.
Simplified issue life insurance plans work great for many people as long as you fully understand everything about them!
With a fully underwritten life insurance policy, you must take a paramedical exam. During this process, the insurance company will perform basic tests, like checking your pulse, verifying your height and weight, and taking your blood pressure. They will also take a blood sample and possibly a urine sample.
They are looking for evidence of any health problems, such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, glucose levels, and other medical conditions that could be warning signs of other potential health issues.
Insurance companies are all about understanding your health risks and how risky you are to insure. They want to understand how likely you are to die during the time they are issuing you life insurance. They do this, so they can accurately price your monthly premiums.
What Exactly Is Simplified Issue Life Insurance?
Simplified issue life insurance products are simply another name for a life insurance policy that requires no physical or medical exam. This makes these life insurance policies much more straightforward for the application process. Simplified issue policies do what their names imply – simplify the application process, so you can get life insurance without needing to get a paramedical exam (for both term and whole life insurance policies).
A simplified issue term life insurance application, simplified issue whole life insurance application, or simplified issue universal life insurance application will have a health questionnaire that only takes a few minutes to fill out. The questions will be different, based on insurance product and insurance company.
The life insurance application questionnaires will ask about your current prescription medicines and some other health questions. The insurance companies will often check your information against a prescription medicine and health database to verify the information you have supplied.
The result is you can get life insurance in a fraction of the time it takes to get protected with a fully underwritten medical exam insurance process (which can sometimes take months).
So What Is The Catch?
A paramedical exam is an important part of the life insurance process for an insurance company to understand your current and future health risks. The insurance company is trying to find out any physical or health problems before they issue you a life insurance policy.
The healthier you are and the younger you are, the better insurance rates you can get.
So, instead of doing a full paramedical health exam, you will only have to answer a few health questions on a life insurance application. You will be asked questions about your health, such as if you are a smoker, if you have a terminal illness, and have been diagnosed with any other illnesses. If you have AIDS or HIV, you likely cannot get any life insurance protection.
Different insurance companies have different underwriting requirements. Just because you have one physical condition that rules you out from one insurance company does not mean you will be ruled out by another insurance company for the same condition.
With access to the best life insurance companies, we can often get affordable life insurance, even with challenging physical or medical conditions going on within your body.
Simplified issue life insurance policies also protect you from things you may not know are going on within your body. At Life-Wealth-Win, we have seen many cases where people wanted to save a little money and went with a fully underwritten life insurance plan, and then a significant health issue was identified during the blood and urine test portion of their paramedical exam (making them ineligible for affordable life insurance).
So, in cases like these, a life insurance applicant thought they would save some money on their insurance by going with a fully underwritten life insurance policy, only to find out that getting life insurance is much more expensive than if they had gone with this plan.
So Why Should I Purchase A Simplified Issue Life Insurance Policy?
If you need to get life insurance coverage quickly or don’t like giving blood and urine samples, a simplified issue life insurance may be a great fit for you. It is also a quicker process, since you are skipping the paramedical exam, and the insurance company will only review prior medical and prescription records.
If you don’t want to wait for 3 to 8 weeks for a fully underwritten policy to go into effect, a simplified issue will offer some significant benefits for you.
If you are in poor health, it may also be in your best interest not to take a paramedical exam life insurance policy. Simplified issue life insurance policies are typically more expensive than a traditional life insurance policy. If your current health condition will cause a paramedical policy to raise your premiums higher than what a simplified issue life insurance plan would, then getting this plan would be a great choice.
If your current health condition will cause a paramedical policy to raise your premiums, then a simplified issue life insurance policy would be a big win for you and your budget.
How Do I Purchase A Simplified Issue Life Insurance Policy?
More life insurance companies are offering simplified issue life insurance plans. Some of the top insurance companies, such as Amica, Assurity, Nationwide, Sagicor, Banner Life, MetLife, and others, are offering simplified life insurance policies.
Sometimes, you will have to fill out a paper application. Often, an application can be completed online with the help of your insurance agent. Your best choice is to work with a qualified life insurance broker like Life-Wealth-Win.
Other Insurance Options
Please refer to this article we wrote on term life insurance versus whole life insurance. It will explain the benefits and differences between these two types of insurance policies.
Insurance companies are concerned about risk, so the more questions they get answered about your health the better they will understand your health risks.
So What Is The Good And Bad Of A Simplified Life Insurance Policy?
The Good:
- The best part about a simplified issue plan is you do not have to take a paramedical exam. It will save you the time and effort of having to meet with somebody to get your blood and urine samples, with other health checks. It can also work out for you if you think your current health may negatively affect your insurance rates under a paramedical exam fully underwritten life insurance plan.
- Because there are no lab results to negatively affect how the underwriters look at your future health, you can often get more coverage more quickly with the simplified life insurance plan. Often, you can have a life insurance plan in place within days, as opposed to weeks or months, with a standard insurance plan.
- If you do not want to take a paramedical exam, and you do not want to do a simplified issue plan, then your only other alternative is a guaranteed issue life insurance plan. This plan requires no paramedical exam and may be cheaper than going with a simplified issue plan if you have serious health issues.
The Bad:
- Simplified issue plans are often going to be more expensive than a standard fully underwritten plan. With a fully underwritten paramedical insurance plan, the insurance company will do their due diligence by getting a very comprehensive look at your current health and your past medical history.
- With a more limited health information gathering process with a simplified insurance policy, the insurance companies will always lean to the more cautious direction and charge just a little bit more in premiums.
- Coverage limits are also limited to smaller amounts with the simplified issue plan. With the more limited health information about your health, the insurance companies will often limit you to $250,000-$500,000 worth of coverage with simplified issue insurance. If you want $1 million or more in insurance coverage, you will need to go with the fully
- Many simplified issue plans also have “riders” and other policy options that can add a little cost, but they can also provide you other important benefits and protection. They offer customization options for your life insurance policy. You may also find your rider options are more limited with a simplified issue plan.
Is a Simplified Issue Life Insurance Right For Me And My Budget?
Under the right circumstances, absolutely!
If you need life insurance coverage quickly, a simplified issue insurance is the best way to go! Since you do not have to schedule a paramedical exam, wait for the diagnostic results, potentially require more information from your doctor, or require more tests, then a simplified issue life insurance policy makes sense in many cases.
You can usually get coverage within days after applying for simplified issue plan (a non-medical exam).
If you find the paramedical exam invasive or do not like getting your blood taken, then a simplified issue may be your best option. If you are worried that a current (or unknown) medical condition may be identified during a more extensive life insurance examination process, then a simplified issue policy is your best choice.
Overall, though, if you want the opportunity to get the best rates for your life insurance, a fully underwritten plan is a good choice.
It is always nice to have many life insurance options to select from, so speak with a qualified life insurance agent or broker to understand what life insurance options are available to you and your loved ones.
Conclusion
Contact us for all your simplified issue life insurance questions. We can help you with all the simplified issue life insurance companies to get you the best rates possible for your age and health. If you have questions about simplified issue life insurance underwriting or would like a free simplified life insurance quote, click on the free quote button at the bottom of this page.
Life-Wealth-Win Life Insurance and Wealth Services would love to help you get your loved ones, family, and business protected! Call us or get your free life insurance estimate by clicking the link below.
