6 Reasons No-Medical Life Insurance Is Important in the US

Simplified life insurance does not require a medical exam and offers fast approval times, so you can get coverage quickly. Although you won’t have to complete a medical exam, you may have to fill out a family health questionnaire so the company knows how to set your premiums and death benefits. 

Guaranteed life insurance is just that: You fill out an application and get guaranteed coverage without taking a medical exam or filling out a health questionnaire. Insurance companies cannot deny you guaranteed life coverage.

Guaranteed life insurance policies are usually more expensive than other types of policies because of the increased risk, and death benefits are lower (around $25,000). However, they can still be a good idea if you are older, in poor health, and need coverage for your final expenses.

Final expense insurance helps pay for end-of-life expenses, such as funeral costs and outstanding medical bills. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the average funeral cost in the US is nearly $8,000, and final expense insurance can help you and your family manage those costs.  

Group life insurance is a type of employer-sponsored coverage that workplaces offer as part of their benefits packages. Since the employer technically holds the policy and employees can opt into it, you usually do not have to take a medical exam to get coverage.

Note that group life insurance benefits are usually lower than other types of insurance. However, you often have the option to purchase additional coverage and riders if you wish. Many people purchase a separate life insurance plan to fill gaps in group plan coverage.

It can feel unfair to get denied insurance coverage because of your health or a pre-existing condition. Life insurance without medical tests removes one of the largest obstacles to receiving coverage, ensuring you and your family can still have financial protection and security. 

Another hurdle that no-medical coverage removes is waiting periods. A typical term policy, for example, may have a one- or two-year period where the policy won’t cover death. No-medical policies usually provide instant coverage with no waiting periods, so there are no hurdles to getting full coverage. 

In many cases, flexible no-medical coverage comes with better policy rates. For instance, say you get accepted for term life insurance coverage but have a pre-existing condition that causes your premiums to be very high. In that case, you may get a better deal on rates if you opt for no-medical coverage and get a lower premium, even if the death benefit is lower than the term policy.

One of the best features of no-medical life insurance is the simple and straightforward application process. All you have to do is fill out an application form and send it in. In some cases, you may also have to complete a simple health questionnaire. Once you send in the application, you get coverage.

Compare this to traditional insurance. With traditional insurance, you must fill out an application and health questionnaire and complete a medical exam. You then have to coordinate with the doctor to send the exam results to the insurance company. Scheduling a separate medical exam can easily extend the application process by a week or two.

The main reason health assessment-free life insurance exists is to give coverage to people with illnesses and pre-existing conditions that would disqualify them from other insurance plans. The following are some of the most common pre-existing conditions that can disqualify you from traditional life insurance:

• Cancer
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease
• Heart attack/stroke
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)
• HIV/AIDS

Note that you will not necessarily be denied coverage from traditional life insurance if you have one of these conditions; it just makes denial more likely. With no health check life coverage, you don’t have to worry about coverage denial even if you have a pre-existing condition. 

Most no-medical life insurance policies can get you approved quickly, if not instantly. Additionally, most policies do not have a waiting period, so there is no interim during which the policy won’t pay death benefits if you die. The fast approval is invaluable if you need coverage quickly and can’t afford to wait through traditional waiting periods.

Generally, you must wait about 48 hours to hear back about your approval. However, your insurance application approval may be delayed if the insurance company requests additional information.

No-medical policies have several variations. You can find term and permanent versions of no-medical insurance, and most give you the option to pay for premiums monthly or annually. If you choose a term no-medical exam policy, you can choose the length of the term and the death benefit, just as you would with traditional insurance.

In some cases, your policy might be convertible. That means you might be able to convert an existing no-physical exam life policy into a permanent life insurance policy after a certain period without having to take a medical exam.

One final benefit of no-medical life insurance is the amount of personalization and customization on offer. You can choose your death benefit and whether you have a term or permanent policy. You can also customize your policy with various add-ons and riders to expand coverage, such as:

• Accelerated death benefits allow you to tap into your death benefit while living to cover certain end-of-life costs, such as medical care for a terminal illness. 
• Spouse and child riders can add a spouse or child to a policy and provide a smaller death benefit if they pass away while the policy is active. 
• Cost-of-living riders increase the maximum death benefit of the policy over time to reflect rising living costs. 
• Family income riders pay out a percentage of death benefits monthly to ensure your surviving family has a steady income.
• Premium return riders will return a portion of your premium payments if your term policy expires and you are still alive. 

You can pick and choose riders and add-ons to create a custom policy that fits your needs.