Life Insurance Underwriting

In the Life Insurance Underwriting Process many applicants get very frustrated over the fact that it can take months to get a decision from the carrier. The reason for this is primarily it can take a while to obtain the medical records from your Doctor or Health Care provider. It has even got worse with the new HIPPA laws protecting insured's privacy, so many Doctors now require their own HIPPA form signed by the insured along with the carriers HIPPA or Authorization form and then sometimes the General Agent's own HIPPA form.

Doctors offices and health clinics usually use a copy service to come in on a designated day or time of the month and copy their patients records. This is the big holdup in most cases in the Life Insurance Underwriting process.

The Process:

The Life Insurance Companies Underwriters when they receive and application will review the information noted on the application while reviewing the results from the blood and urine that was taken at the time of the exam. This is why it is very important to always prepare for the exam in the correct manner and make sure you are ready, rested and relaxed. You usually want to fast before your exam, no caffeine and do not exercise as these factors can throw off some of the readings and results from the exam.

Once the underwriters note that they will need to see your Doctors records that is when they get ordered, sometimes a good Life Insurance General Agent "if your broker uses one" will note any records on the application that are anticipated needed by the underwriters and they will order then to speed up the process. If the underwriters do not feel they need any medical records they will not request any, although this is typically only the case in younger very healthy applicants.

Do not become discouraged in this process, sometimes your Doctors office just is not co-operating with the copy service so it could take longer. You can if needed call your Doctors office and let them know that you are applying for insurance and request a copy of the records yourself. Depending on your Doctor they may give them to you or charge you a nominal fee for the copying of the records.

Factors that affect life insurance underwriting:

Your current health and your lifestyle can affect your premiums health factors such as: cholesterol, blood pressure, build (height and weight), family history of cancer and heart disease, and driving record.

Other factors, such as hazardous occupations and hobbies, citizenship, and international travel, are also important issues that the underwriters most likely will consider.

One of the most important issues in Life Insurance Underwriting is working with an excellent advisor that can help you in this process. You most likely will want to work with a Life Insurance specialist, they focus primarily on life insurance products and should have the knowledge to help the process go smoothly as possible.