Traditional life insurance often requires a medical exam, which can add weeks of time and plenty of inconvenience to the application process. Plus, you might not prefer to have anyone except your doctor performs a medical exam and learn private medical information about yourself.
Fortunately, plenty of no-exam alternatives offer a range of premiums, death benefits, and other features. That means you can find the coverage you need without the long waits and invasiveness of a life insurance medical exam. With that said, this article will explain five exam-free alternatives to traditional life insurance policies.
1. Term life insurance with no medical exam
Term life insurance lasts for 10 to 30 years, depending on your chosen policy term. Coverage can expire if you outlive the policy, so you’ll have to renew or get a new policy to continue coverage.
However, term life insurance premiums are often lower. As a result, no-exam term life insurance may be the best budget-friendly choice if you need a lot of coverage and are concerned about how to pass the life insurance medical exam.
2. Whole life insurance with no medical exam
Whole life insurance comes with higher premiums than term life policies but covers you throughout your life. It also comes with a cash value growth component useful for building wealth. A portion of your premiums goes into this component, growing tax-deferred at a fixed rate. When the cash value grows, you can withdraw or borrow from it with great loan terms. The insurer will pay you the cash value minus surrender charges if you surrender the policy.
3. Final expense insurance
Final expense insurance helps your loved ones cover end-of-life costs, such as burial and funeral expenses. These are small, no-exam, whole-life policies. They have low premiums, small death benefits, and cash value. As a result, final expense insurance can work well for someone who primarily wants to help loved ones with end-of-life costs and build some savings.
4. Simplified issue life insurance
Simplified issue life insurance is a small whole-life policy with a shorter application and higher approval rate. It has no medical exam, but the application may ask a few basic medical questions.
Like final expense insurance, simplified issue life insurance offers inexpensive premiums, a smaller death benefit, and a cash value for building wealth. This policy can benefit those who need more affordable coverage fast.
5. Guaranteed issue life insurance
Guaranteed issue life insurance has an even shorter application with no medical questions and guarantees your approval. These are the smallest no-exam policies, usually maxing out around $25,000 or a bit more. Guaranteed issue life insurance often comes with a one to two-year lockout period. If you pass away during this period, your beneficiaries will only get a refund of the premiums you paid. However, these policies have cash value and affordable premiums. So overall, they can be great if you don’t need a lot of coverage but need it immediately.
The bottom line
Whether you need coverage fast or find medical exams invasive, you’ve got plenty of no-exam options. Term life insurance with no medical exam offers the most coverage for your premiums, but coverage expires, so it might be best if you need a lot of coverage on a budget. If you need the maximum coverage for a lifetime and an additional wealth-building vehicle, whole life insurance with no medical exam might be the better option.
However, smaller whole-life policies are available if you need less coverage for life. Final expense helps loved ones cover end-of-life costs, whereas a simplified issue is a more general no-exam policy with a quicker application process. Meanwhile, guaranteed issue life insurance offers the smallest amount, but the application is short and guarantees approval. Once you’ve settled on a policy type, shop with multiple insurers to lock in the best rates on your coverage.
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