Tidbits #104: Digital Underwriting

April 15, 2020
Tidbits #104: Digital Underwriting

Nonprofit Tidbits...
for nonprofit organizations and those who support them.

April 2020

I apologize for the unusual length of today’s Tidbits. The life, disability and long term care insurance industry is changing too quickly and too dramatically, to limit this a sound bite. In fact, by the time you read this, it will have changed again.

Bob Cohen

Through these unimaginable circumstances and in the most unpredictable way possible, this period may be among the most customer friendly and customer focused times to buy life, disability and/or long term care insurance, that I have seen in my 26 year career.

In response to COVID-19 and the possible concern over completing in home
insurance exams, several carriers have transitioned to a “Digital Only/No Exam” life insurance approval process. No stranger in your home, no bodily fluids taken, no anxiety over the transmission of COVID-19 and/or other contaminates.

In all transparency and disclosure, there are criteria and parameters to qualify for the program. Carriers are making this HUGE concession, in order to bring in premiums from the most healthy applicants (Standard, Preferred and/or Preferred Best risk classes). If through the online application process, a health concern is presented, the carrier has the option to require traditional, formal underwriting...exam and all. If traditional underwriting is determined to be required, full market exposure and negotiating between carriers for best available pricing, will continue to be conducted on your client’s behalf, no differently than has always been the case when working with our firm.

How long these programs will be available, I do not know. I do know however, that this is about as much that a life insurance company can do to make securing a life insurance policy more accommodating, more efficient and more private.

Additionally, several long term disability insurance carriers have also gone to a “Digital/No Exam” as well and one long term care insurance carrier has waived the need to retrieve and review medical records. There will be others. These concessions are significant and are designed to make the process of securing insurance easier, faster and safer.

Let me know if I can help.