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The Term Life Insurance Underwriting Process

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already requested a term life insurance quote online, determined how much term life insurance to buy, submitted your application and took your medical exam. Congratulations! You’re well on your way to securing your family’s financial future with a term life insurance policy!

The term life insurance underwriting process begins
Many people do not understand what happens between the time they submit their term life insurance application and complete the medical exam, to the time when they receive their term life insurance policy.

Once your term life insurance application form is signed and returned, and your medical exam has been completed, the insurance company will begin to evaluate your case. This evaluation is called "underwriting." The answers to the questions on your application, along with the results of your life insurance medical exam, are initially reviewed by an "insurance underwriter" who will determine whether or not you qualify for life insurance as well as establish your term life insurance rate.

The whole process generally 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 can take even longer. There are no short-cuts in this process, but you can help expedite it by providing complete information on your term life insurance application.

Because the 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 underwriting process.

Delays that can occur in the term life insurance underwriting process
At AccuQuote, we attempt to gather all of the pertinent information before the life insurance underwriting process begins. However, we, or the 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, telephone interviews with a 3rd-party verification service, 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 on your case. So be patient because ultimately, the time spent in the underwriting process can mean the difference between affordable term life insurance rate and one that’s not so affordable.