Term life insurance where no medical is required

Term life insurance providers set differing medical requirements for applying for cover, most often based on age and sum assured.  For example a 25 year old male applying for £500,000 of life insurance may only need to complete a medical questionnaire, whereas a 55 year old male applying for the same amount could be required to undergo some form of medical examination.

The common types of medical disclosure are:

• Medical questionnaire
• Usually forming part of the application, this will be a requirement for all applicants
• General Practitioners Report (GP report or GPR)
• Often required where medical disclosures have been made in the application
• Can be a requirement due to the age of the applicant and the amount they wish to be covered for
• Cost is usually met by the insurance company
• Note – and access to medical records consent form must be signed to allow the insurance company to request this
• Nurse Screening (NSE)
• Usually a requirement driven by age and sum assured
• A nurse will usually attend at a time and place convenient to the customer
• Usual format is height an weight verification
• Depending on age and  sum assured the insurer may request blood tests           
• Cotinine test to verify non smoker status – this is commonly done via a cheek swab or urine test
• Medical Examination Report (MER)
• Usually a requirement driven by age and sum assured
• A Doctor will be appointed by the insurance company, a convenient appointment will be made and various tests undertaken which could involve:
• Height & Weight verification
• Blood tests – HIV, Fasting blood profile (FBP)
• ECG  - resting and/or exercise

Once an application has been made the insurance company will inform the customer of the medical requirements – it is worth noting though that an insurer will where possible within their risk profiles avoid additional medical underwriting as this adds substantial operating costs.

50+ plans

Most 50+ life insurance plans will not require any form of medical disclosure and are underwritten purely on the age of the customer.  This type of plan often has quite low maximum sum assured, and often does not pay out the sum assured during the first 2 years – although premiums paid are returned during this time if death occurs.

How much is term insurance likely to cost?

This very much depends on age, state of health, smoker status, pastimes, height/weights ratio and the type and amount of cover you want.  You can use our online life insurance quote system to run as many different quotes as you need.

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