Term Life Insurance Underwriting
If you have already requested a term life insurance quote online, determined how much term life insurance to buy, submitted your application and completed your term life insurance medical exam, congratulations! You are well on your way to securing your family's financial future with a term life insurance policy!
The term life insurance underwriting process begins
It is important to understand what happens from the time you submit your term life insurance application and complete the medical exam, to the time you receive your actual term life insurance policy.
Once your term life insurance application form is signed and returned to the issuing life insurance company, and your medical exam has been completed, the insurance company will begin to evaluate your case. This evaluation is called term life insurance underwriting.
The answers to the questions on your application, along with the results of your term life insurance medical exam, are initially reviewed by a life insurance underwriter who will determine whether or not you qualify for life insurance as well as establish your term life insurance rate.
The term life insurance underwriting process takes approximately 3-8 weeks, depending on the amount of information the life insurance company has to gather in order to make their decision. If information is missing, or difficult to obtain (such as doctor's records), the process may take longer. There are no short-cuts in this process, but you can help expedite it by providing complete and accurate information on your term life insurance application.
Because the term life insurance underwriting process can take a long time, you may want to consider binding your term life insurance policy to provide you with temporary life insurance coverage during the term life insurance underwriting process. To bind your coverage, all you have to do is submit the first month's premium with your application. This will protect your beneficiaries should you die during this time.
Delays that can occur in the term life insurance underwriting process
At AccuQuote, we attempt to gather all of the pertinent information before the term life insurance underwriting process begins. However, we, or the life insurance company, may need to verify or collect additional or missing information during the process. Such information may typically include a copy of any medical records from your doctor(s), a motor vehicle report, additional financial/employment verification, etc. During the underwriting process, we will call you to keep you updated on the status of your term life insurance application.
Once all required information has been received, the insurance company will make their decision regarding whether or not you qualify for a term life insurance policy. If you qualify, your term life insurance rate will be determined at this time.
Remember that the research and evaluation which makes up the underwriting process allows the life insurance companies to make the best decision for your case. So be patient because ultimately, the time spent in the term life insurance underwriting process can mean the difference between an affordable term life insurance rate and one that is more costly.


