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No Exam Life Insurance Online underwriting, read

Reasons people look for no-exam cover

Policies that skip the medical exam

Coverage with a health condition

A decline from one carrier tells you nothing about the next one.

Underwriters don't agree with each other. The same A1c reading that ends an application at one carrier is a standard rate at another, because each one writes its own manual. This site reads those manuals and publishes what they say.

Start with your condition How underwriting works

Independent researchNo sign-up to read anythingSources cited on every page

Where a condition landsrate class ladder
PREF PLUSPreferred plusbase rate
PREFPreferred+15%
STDStandard+40%
TABLE BTable B← controlled type 2+90%
TABLE DTable D+140%
GRADEDGraded benefitno payout yr 1–2
Every carrier draws these lines in a different place. Illustrative structure — each condition page carries the real bands, cited to the carrier's published guide.

Reasons

Start with the thing that got you here

Most people arrive after a diagnosis or a decline. Each page below covers what underwriters ask, which numbers move the decision, and which carriers stay open.

Diabetes

A1c, years since diagnosis, and whether you're on insulin decide almost everything.

Often standard

Heart and stroke

Time since the event matters more than the event. Two years is the usual threshold.

Usually rated

Cancer history

Stage at diagnosis and years in remission. Many carriers reopen after five.

Case by case

COPD and respiratory

Severity, oxygen use, and smoking status. Mild cases are more insurable than people expect.

Limited ceiling

HIV

Suppressed viral load and treatment adherence now open doors that were shut a decade ago.

Improving fast

High cholesterol

The ratio, not the raw number. Treated cholesterol often rates better than untreated.

Often standard

Declined before

A decline is one carrier's opinion recorded in one database. Here's what to do with it.

Depends on why

No time for an exam

Healthy but busy? Accelerated underwriting gets you full cover at full rates, without labs.

Best rates available

Products

Four ways to buy cover without a medical exam

They are not interchangeable. The one that fits depends on your health, how fast you need the policy, and how much cover you're after.

Accelerated underwriting

Full term cover · no labs

The carrier checks prescription and motor vehicle records instead of drawing blood. If nothing flags, you get the same rate a medical exam would have earned you.

Typical ceiling
$2M–$5M
Decision
often same day
Best for
good health, no time

Simplified issue

Health questions · no labs

A short questionnaire replaces the exam. Answers are verified against records, so accuracy matters more than optimism. Cover starts immediately once approved.

Typical ceiling
$50k–$500k
Decision
same day to 2 weeks
Best for
managed conditions

Guaranteed issue

No questions · graded benefit

Acceptance is certain, which is why it costs the most and why the full death benefit usually doesn't apply for the first two or three years. Premiums are returned if you die inside that window.

Typical ceiling
$25k
Decision
immediate
Best for
after other declines

Final expense

Small whole life · fixed premium

Built to cover a funeral and outstanding medical bills rather than replace an income. Premiums never rise and the policy doesn't expire while you keep paying.

Typical ceiling
$50k
Decision
days
Best for
age 50 and over

The sequence

What actually happens after you apply

Three stages, in this order. Knowing what each one looks at is how you avoid the surprises.

You answer questions

Age, height and weight, tobacco use, medications, and the conditions you've been treated for. Understating anything here is the most common reason a claim gets contested later.

The carrier checks records

Prescription history, the MIB database, motor vehicle records, and sometimes a phone interview. This is the step the exam used to replace, and it's why no-exam no longer means no-scrutiny.

An underwriter assigns a class

Your file lands somewhere on the ladder, from preferred plus down to a table rating or a flat extra. That class, not the condition itself, sets your premium.

Questions

What people ask before they apply

Short answers here, worked examples on the linked pages.

Is no-exam life insurance more expensive?
Usually, but less than it used to be. Accelerated underwriting can price identically to a fully underwritten policy when your records are clean, because the carrier has replaced the lab work with data rather than removed the scrutiny. Simplified and guaranteed issue do cost more, since the carrier is pricing in what it chose not to find out.
Can I be turned down for a no-exam policy?
Yes, for every type except guaranteed issue. No exam means no blood draw, not no underwriting — carriers still pull prescription history and the MIB database, and a decline can follow from what those show. If you have already been declined, the reason code matters more than the decline itself.
How much coverage can I get without an exam?
The range runs from around $25,000 on guaranteed issue up to $5 million on accelerated underwriting at the most generous carriers, with $2 to $3 million more common. Most impaired-risk applicants land between $50,000 and $500,000. The ceiling is set by the product, not by your condition — but your condition decides which products stay open.
Will the carrier find out about a condition I did not mention?
Almost certainly. Prescription databases show what you have filled and when, which reveals conditions by inference even when nothing is stated. Omissions found during the contestability period — typically the first two years — can void a claim, which is the outcome the policy exists to prevent.
Does a rating ever come off?
It can. Most carriers allow a reconsideration request after a period of improved readings, and a rating assigned for a controllable condition is often reduced or removed. It does not happen automatically — you have to ask, with current records.
Do I need a Social Security number to get a quote?
Not to compare rates. A carrier needs one to run records at the application stage, but nothing on this site asks for it, and any quote tool that demands it before showing a number is collecting data rather than pricing a policy.

Glossary

The words on your decision letter

Underwriting has its own vocabulary, and carriers use it without explaining it. These are the terms that change what you pay.

Table rating
A step above standard, usually lettered A to J or numbered 1 to 10. Each step adds roughly 25% to the standard premium.
Flat extra
A fixed dollar charge per thousand of coverage, added for a defined period. Used for risks that fade, like a recent surgery.
Graded benefit
A death benefit that doesn't pay in full for the first two or three years. Premiums are usually returned if death occurs inside that window.
Contestability period
The first two years, during which a carrier can investigate and deny a claim based on errors or omissions in the application.
MIB
A shared industry database recording prior applications and their coded reasons. Carriers check it; you can request your own file.
Rate class
The bucket your file lands in — preferred plus through substandard. It, rather than the diagnosis, is what sets the premium.
See the full glossary

How this site is researched

Every condition page is built from carriers' own published underwriting guides and from state insurance department filings. Where a guide is public, we link to it. Where a carrier keeps its manual private, we say so rather than guess, and we mark the figure as an estimate.

No Exam Life Insurance Online is an independent publisher. It is not a carrier, not an agency, and it does not sell policies or take commissions on them. Nothing here is licensed advice about your individual situation — for that you need an agent licensed in your state, and every page says so where it matters.

Edited by Thomas Bellamy · last site-wide review September 2026 · editorial policy

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