Key takeaways

• • Short application and no medical exam make simplified life insurance a fast way to get coverage.
  • Simplified issue life insurance usually offers higher coverage amounts than final expense insurance.
  • A short health questionnaire, instead of an exam, allows insurance companies to set a premium and death benefit based on a modified risk assessment.

What is simplified issue insurance?

Simplified issue insurance is a life insurance policy you can be approved for with minimal health questions. This type of insurance is typically geared towards people who need to obtain life insurance right away and/or those who don’t wish to submit to a medical exam.

What is simplified issue insurance for?

Simplified issue life insurance is designed to provide a limited amount of life insurance quickly, without the 4-8 week wait typical for conventionally underwritten policies that require a medical exam. With a simplified issue policy, there’s no requirement for a full medical exam, so you can have coverage in days – not weeks or months.

The death benefit payout can range from $5,000 to more than $100,000. The premiums may be higher than a typical term life or even whole life policy. Foregoing a medical exam means underlying health issues can’t be factored in. Since risk is considered higher, the premium will be higher as well.

How does simplified issue insurance work?

A simplified issue insurance policy is geared towards providing life insurance quickly. Most people who apply for a simplified issue policy can expect to have insurance in force upon acceptance of their application.

Instead of a medical examination, a short health questionnaire must be answered, allowing the insurance company to complete a modified risk assessment and set a premium and death benefit.

Some insurance carriers provide simplified issue life as either a term life or a permanent life policy. You may or may not be allowed to add riders to your policy to expand or enhance coverage or death benefits.

When to buy a simplified issue policy?

If you need life insurance but don’t want to have a medical exam, or require life insurance as quickly as possible without a waiting period, a simplified issue life insurance policy may be the solution. Here’s some circumstances when a simplified issue policy could be a good choice:

• You’ve been court mandated to get life insurance immediately with your children named as beneficiaries.
• You need collateral for a loan – in some cases, a financial institution will accept a life insurance policy as collateral.
• Your term life insurance has matured, and you need to retain life insurance while you decide what to do next.
• You need life insurance, but you aren’t sure you’d qualify for more traditional policy types.
• You need life insurance, but you simply don’t want to undergo a medical examination.

RAPID ecision® Final Expense is a simplified issue policy available from Fidelity Life.

Advantages of simplified issue life insurance

The main benefits of simplified issue insurance policies are:

• These types of policies don’t require a medical exam.
• Coverage starts as soon as your application is accepted and a premium set.
• Policies typically offer a higher maximum than is usually available for guaranteed issue policies.