What is accelerated underwriting?

Accelerated underwriting, also known as express underwriting, makes it faster and simpler for people in good health and with good credit to get life insurance. With accelerated underwriting, you can get a fully underwritten, regularly priced term life policy up to $1 million without having to have a life insurance medical exam. If you hate needles or are too busy to schedule a medical exam, you can use accelerated underwriting to get the life insurance you need to protect your family’s needs.

How does accelerated underwriting work?

Accelerated underwriting isn’t offered by every insurance company. However, there are a growing number of insurers who are adopting it. It is not a different type of life insurance. It is an expedited process for issuing a life insurance policy. With accelerated underwriting, the applicant doesn’t need to submit blood, urine, or have their vitals measured. They do not need a physician to submit a written statement about their health history or provide copies of your medical records. By eliminating these steps, an applicant can speed up their approval process significantly.

Unlike guaranteed issue life insurance, accelerated underwriting does not come with higher premiums, limited death benefits, or a death benefit waiting period. It is also different from simplified issue life insurance, which waives the physical exam but charges higher premiums.

On the other hand, accelerated underwriting policies will have a minimum and maximum death benefit. You may have a minimum death benefit between $50k and $100k and a maximum of $500k to $1 million. Depending on the insurance company, your age may impact your maximum policy amount. If you want more or less coverage, accelerated underwriting may not be for you.

Getting an accelerated underwriting policy shouldn’t exclude you from other benefits that come with a traditional life insurance policy like level premiums, term-to-perm conversions, riders for accelerated benefits, a waiver of premium, or continued coverage at higher rates after the term expires.

Is accelerated underwriting right for you?

If you are in the right age range and looking for a policy amount within the limits set by your insurer, you want to skip the medical exam and don’t want to share your medical records, then accelerated underwriting could be the right choice for you. Ideal applicants should not have major medical conditions like cancer, hypertension, or diabetes. You should have healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Some insurers will also ask whether you have a parent or sibling who died from heart disease or cancer before the age of 60.

Other non-health factors will be taken into consideration as well. To assess risk for the insurance company, the underwriter will look at other indicators like your driving history and financial history. You should have no bankruptcies in the past five to ten years. You should not have a history of driving recklessly or under the influence within five years and no more than two moving violations in the past three years. You should also have no felony charges or convictions. These requirements vary from insurance company to company.

How much faster is accelerated underwriting?

According to life insurance experts, the typical underwriting process can take anywhere from two to twelve weeks. On the other hand, accelerated underwriting can take less than 24 hours, depending on the insurance company. Many insurers offer a 48-hour turnaround time. Another benefit to accelerated underwriting is that you can complete the application online or by phone without having complete any paperwork or mail anything in.

Will be premiums be higher?

A person who qualifies for accelerated underwriting will typically pay the same premiums as a person who submits to full underwriting. The insurance company does have the option to request full underwriting if they find something in the detailed personal history interview. Check with the insurance company to see if they offer standard rating to accelerated underwriting applicants. If that is the case, you may save money by going through the full underwriting process if you fall under a lower insurance risk class.