Life Insurance Application: What You Need to Know

If you’ve been shopping for life insurance and chosen a company, you’re ready for the life insurance application. The application process varies depending on the type of life insurance policy you want, but you can expect to answer questions about your health and lifestyle.

Traditionally underwritten policies have more in-depth applications and often involve a medical exam. Some life insurance companies offer accelerated applications, which use technology to pull and analyze data and shorten the process.

Looking for details on what’s on your life insurance application? Jump to what information you’ll need to provide on these topics:

• Family health history

• Medical history

• Lifestyle

• Non-medical questions

» MORE: How does life insurance underwriting work?

Life insurance companies want to know how likely it is that you will die while you’re covered. To figure out that risk, applications include a series of questions about your health, lifestyle and activities. Some insurers also ask about the health of close family members, such as parents and siblings.

» MORE: Life insurance policies

Your family’s health history

Since some genetic conditions can affect life expectancy, the life insurance company will want to know whether your parents or siblings have been diagnosed with or treated for major health conditions. This list includes:

• Cancer.

• Diabetes.

• Heart disease.

• Kidney disease.

• Stroke.

If they have, know their age at the onset of the condition. If they’re deceased, you’ll be asked their age at death. Insurers are mainly looking for early onset of health problems., So if your parents died at an older age, this family medical history might not matter. For instance, an insurer may ask if family members had heart disease or cancer before age 60 or 65.

Your medical history

Although you gave basic information about your health to get a life insurance quote, you’ll need to provide it again for the application. The insurer will use your medical records and information from a company called MIB Group (formerly the Medical Information Bureau) to verify everything.

Have the name, address and phone number of your primary physician and any specialists, along with the date of your most recent doctor’s visit.

It’s important to be truthful. MIB has a database of health conditions from applications made in the last seven years for individual life, health, long-term care and other insurance, and insurers cross-check your application with these records.

Say you previously applied for a life insurance policy and stated you had been treated for cancer and your new application doesn’t mention the cancer treatment. In that case, MIB will raise a red flag and the life insurer will investigate further.

» MORE: How to get life insurance if you have a pre-existing condition

Your lifestyle

Insurers will want to learn more about your lifestyle, daily habits and if you participate in high-risk activities. Be prepared to answer questions about:

For an idea of what to expect from the life insurance application process, here are a few sample questions.

• Have you seen a doctor, been hospitalized, had an illness or needed surgery within the past five years? Whether you’re completing a medical exam or not, most insurers want a full picture of your health history, so having your medical records handy can help you complete the application.

• Do you or have you used tobacco or products containing nicotine? You’ll be asked a series of lifestyle questions about tobacco, alcohol and drug use.

• Have you ever been declined for life, health or disability insurance? Insurance companies use a database to confirm the information you’ve shared and see if you’ve ever been denied coverage by another carrier. You may still be eligible, even if you’ve been turned down for a policy from another insurer.

• How will you pay for your policy? You’ll be asked how you plan to pay your annual or monthly life insurance premiums, whether from your personal income, assets or with a family member's help.

The life insurance company also needs to know some practical information when you apply for a policy.

Who do you want to be your life insurance beneficiary?

When you buy a policy, you’ll name life insurance beneficiaries on the application. Beneficiaries are the people who receive the payout from your policy if you die while it’s in force. You can assign different percentages of the benefit to different beneficiaries. For instance, you could assign 70% to your spouse and 30% to your brother.

Be sure to have each beneficiary’s:

• Full legal name.

• Social Security number.

• Date of birth.

You should also be prepared to designate a secondary beneficiary (known as a “contingent beneficiary”). This is the person who receives the benefit if the primary beneficiary dies before you do.

How and when do you want to pay your premiums?

The application will likely ask how often you want to be billed. Common choices are:

• Single payment (one large lump sum).

• Annually.

• Twice a year.

• Quarterly.

• Monthly. 

Keep in mind the insurer might have service charges that cover administrative costs if you choose more frequent payments.

Do you have any other life insurance policies?

The company will want to know if you have other active life insurance policies or applications pending, and for how much coverage. If you seem to be applying for more life insurance than your situation calls for, the company will want to know why.

What’s your financial situation?

The insurer may ask questions about your income, net worth and assets. This is to make sure you can afford to pay the premiums, and that the amount of coverage you’re applying for makes sense.

Sign your name

Why does signing your name deserve special attention? Because the life insurance application is a legal document. It can be used against you if you have intentionally misreported anything, which the insurer would consider life insurance fraud.

The insurance company will verify everything through other sources, which could include pulling your:

• Medical records.

• Prescription drug record.

• DMV report.

• MIB report.

• Credit history (to look for bankruptcy).

» MORE: Compare life insurance quotes

After your application is submitted, you may need a life insurance medical exam to qualify for coverage or to get the best rates. The exam is paid for by the insurance company.

You’ll be contacted to schedule an exam if your policy application requires it. You can choose a convenient time and place for the exam — for example, at home in the morning.

The exam will include a review of all the medical conditions and prescriptions you mentioned in the application. The technician will also record your height and weight, take your blood pressure and collect blood or urine samples. In some cases, you might also need to do an electrocardiogram or treadmill stress test.

Not all life insurance requires a medical exam. Simplified issue and guaranteed issue life insurance both skip the exam by using more health data or by charging higher premiums.

How long it takes to issue your policy will depend on how quickly the insurer can get your medical records and verify your application information. If the insurer has any follow-up questions, that will extend the process.

Typically, it takes four to eight weeks for traditionally underwritten policies to be approved and issued. For instant life insurance policies that use accelerated underwriting, it’s possible for coverage to go into effect on the same day.