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Medical exams are among the top reasons people hesitate to buy life insurance. You imagine sitting in a doctor's waiting room, doing blood draws, standing on a scale, and many other things that make us uncomfortable. But it's easy to understand why life insurance medical exams remain an industry stap — an insurer must gauge its risk before it grants you a policy. Ironically, medical exams lower insurance premiums for the average life insurance customer.

Of course, medical exams may sound overwhelming, especially if you've abandoned a life insurance application or been denied. This is where no medical test life insurance comes in. The stereotypical no medical test policy includes no medical data of any kind. Many buyers also expect coverage in days, or at least that's the idea. Despite what you might hear, it isn't quite that simple.

Who should buy a no medical test life insurance policy?

Many shoppers are misinformed about the target audience for no medical test life insurance. "Who should buy a no medical test life insurance" should be rephrased as "who will qualify for no medical test life insurance coverage?" These policies eliminate the inconvenience of a medical test for healthy buyers who don't use tobacco in most cases. However, it comes with higher premiums, and underwriting can be extended as insurers gather medical data from other sources.

Some small funeral cost policies are more flexible, especially if you invest in workplace life insurance. However, more sizable policies not connected to your workplace can only accept limited risk. Seniors, buyers with preexisting health conditions, tobacco users, and other high-risk buyers may not qualify.

How do insurance companies know who presents a more considerable risk? First, no medical test doesn't mean medical records-free. Applications still include basic medical questions, and companies can rescind life insurance policies if you get caught lying on your application. More importantly, life insurance companies may still order a copy of your medical records. So, companies would go off your last blood tests or appointment notes if you have a history of high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, etc.

College students and young working adults with no significant medical issues may be ideal candidates for a no medical test life insurance policy. Another thing to note is companies will only issue small life insurance policies without an exam, and premiums are higher. So if you're looking for a $1 million policy or retirement planning options, you should make time for a short medical exam.

What if I don't qualify for a no medical test life insurance policy?

Some companies only offer small life insurance policies with no medical test required. However, most insurers offer a range of permanent and term life insurance policies. If you don't qualify for a no medical test policy, licensed insurance agents can help you apply for a medical test life insurance policy.

While many companies are going online, we recommend working with a licensed insurance agent, especially for no medical test policies. Any time your application is denied, it creates an alert for other life insurance companies you might try to buy from, reducing your chance of getting a policy elsewhere. An agent can help you avoid this by stopping short of denial if you need to switch to a medical test plan.

Types of no medical test life insurance

Life insurance companies sell four life insurance policies without a medical exam. Coverage, pricing, and the application process are a few of the things that vary widely. So what are your no medical test life insurance options?

Simplified issue life insurance

Simplified issue life insurance looks to streamline the approval process. No blood tests or medical exams are required, but applicants answer basic health questions. If the answers given meet underwriting guidelines (the company uses electronic medical records to verify), you may qualify for a policy. Generally, these policies cover non-smokers with minimal known risk factors. However, premiums are higher, and benefits tend to be lower to account for the elevated risk.

Guaranteed issue life insurance

Guaranteed issue is also commonly referred to as guaranteed acceptance. These whole life insurance plans require no medical test or health surveys. Age limits are imposed, with most policies issued to seniors. But if you're within the stated age range, you are guaranteed a life insurance policy. Guaranteed issue life insurance offers death benefit policies topping out around $20,000 to $30,000, depending on the company. The company does not ensure the death benefit or premiums, only the policy. So the same policy may or may not be budget-friendly.

The company may also utilize a waiting period, during which beneficiaries would get a refund of premiums. However, the full benefit would only apply once the waiting period passes.

Accelerated underwriting life insurance

Accelerated underwriting uses everything except the medical exam. Underwriters access applicants' public medical records and credit data. Typically, companies take applicants between the ages of 18 and 60. Regular life insurance underwriting could take weeks or even months. Simplified underwriting life insurance policies can be issued the same day with some online insurance providers. It is not guaranteed issuance, and licensed agents may refer some customers for a medical test life insurance policy. However, death benefits could be higher than other no-medical test policies.

Group life insurance

Group life insurance is part of many employer benefit packages. No medical test is required, and death benefits are typically small. More importantly, it's tied to your employment. So if you separate from your employer, the policy will lapse. You can invest in higher death benefits by increasing your monthly deductions, but this is not required.

Pros and cons of no medical test life insurance

Pros:

• No blood tests or other medical exams required
• Quick approval, sometimes even the same day
• Guaranteed issue available within set age limits

Cons:

• More expensive than a medical exam-based life insurance policy
• Death benefits are lower, and waiting periods may apply
• Insurance companies may base your approval on health questionnaires and medical records
• Underwriting may be less tolerant of prior health issues, including things that would otherwise be non-problematic

No medical test life insurance is sometimes mistaken for a fast and easy solution for older adults or those with preexisting health conditions. In reality, it's just the opposite in many cases. Guaranteed issue policies may only be sold through life insurance companies for seniors. You also pay more to get less coverage across the board.

Life insurance companies can still access medical records. So applicants aren't hiding a history of heart disease, diabetes, or other chronic conditions. The only difference is you don't have to meet with a medical professional for a formal exam. If in doubt, non-guaranteed policies may be harder to get.

How to shop for a no medical test life insurance policy

A workplace policy will be issued based on your employment and yearly benefit elections. If you want the best life insurance companies for no medical life insurance that's all yours, remember a few key things:

• Work with a qualified life insurance agent
• Choose a company or brokerage with medical test options
• Compare quotes and coverage to ensure you understand what you're getting
• Be prepared for higher prices with limited death benefits
• Be honest on any health questionnaires

A no medical test life insurance policy's simplicity may be deceiving. It takes one element out of the application process, but underwriters may pull medical records and be stricter about smoking, preexisting conditions, age, and other common risk factors. Unfortunately, being denied by a life insurance company could make it harder to get life insurance coverage in the future.

Your agent can get a soft underwrite if you're working with a broker or company offering medical test policies. If it looks like your application can be denied, your agent could run a medical test life insurance application instead. A great thing about no medical test policies is that many companies offer online estimates. So you can compare pricing based on age, smoking status, desired coverage amount, etc., before you start the application process.

The most important thing to remember is underwriters still consider medical history. So if answering medical questions, answer honestly. If discrepancies come up later, leaving out details about your health may cause significant problems.

FAQs

General Information

The session examination schedules are announced in three steps:

1. Issue of the written session examination plan (with dates, without locations);
   
2. Issue of the oral examination plan (with dates, with provisional times);
   
3. After the deregistration deadline expires, examination schedules are fine-tuned for examiners to fill any gaps left by oral test deregistrations.
   Before the examination session begins, personal examination schedules with test dates, rooms and exact times are issued.
   

Experience has shown that roughly 20% of students deregister from individual examinations, generating numerous gaps in the oral examination plan.
The students’ final deregistration date is seven days before the examination session begins. The remaining week can be used to optimise examination schedules by filling gaps.

Participation in the optimization process

When the personal examination schedule is published you may indicate in eDoz whether you would like it to be adjusted.

Rules

Final adjustment is subject to the following rules:

• An examination subject will only be optimized if at least one examiner wants it to be optimized and no examiner explicitly rejects an optimization.
  
• The date of the oral examination will NOT be changed.
  
• The time during the day can be changed for individual students. Normally examinations scheduled for later in the day will be conducted earlier to fill gaps.
  
• Any changes (individually arranged dates, etc.) must be communicated, as previously.
  
• In order that we may conduct these changes you may not fill those gaps which appear with other duties.
  
• Please note that despite adjustment small gaps may remain, e.g. where there are changes of subject and co-examiner on the same day.
  

The type of pet you insure is only one factor in determining your pet insurance costs. For example, the average cost of pet insurance for a dog is $44 per month and $30 per month for a cat, according to Forbes Advisor’s analysis. That’s based on a policy with $5,000 of annual coverage, a $250 deductible and an 80% reimbursement level.

Here are some other common factors that determine pet insurance costs.

Annual Maximum, Deductible and Reimbursement Level

These are the three main variables that determine how much reimbursement you’ll get if you file a pet insurance claim: annual maximum, deductible amount and reimbursement percentage. Pet insurance will cost more if you choose a high annual maximum, low deductible and/or high reimbursement level.

Pet’s Age

Younger pets are typically cheaper to insure than older pets. That’s because older pets are more likely to have injuries and illnesses, which means higher vet bills. Those higher insurance claims are passed on to policyholders in the form of higher pet insurance premiums. We found the best prices for pet insurance are after a pet’s first birthday until around age six.

Pet’s Breed

Certain breeds are predisposed to hereditary problems and illnesses, which could result in more vet visits and higher medical costs.

For example, a small mixed breed dog costs $33 per month to insure compared to $76 per month for a French bulldog, according to a Forbes Advisor analysis of the most expensive dogs to insure.

Pet’s Gender

Pet insurance companies have found that female pets usually have fewer claims compared to males, so some insurers use pet gender in pricing. Male pets cost about 5% more than females for pet insurance, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Your Location

The average cost for a veterinarian visit is about $61, based on Forbes Advisor’s analysis. Since average vet costs vary around the country, insurers account for that when setting rates.

Mark Twain is said to have described the obelisk honoring George Washington in the nation’s capital as a “memorial chimney.” Some leading Parisian critics judged the Eiffel Tower as “useless and monstrous” in 1887. We’re going to guess that quite a few Baltimoreans were less than enchanted when the Bromo Seltzer Tower became the city’s tallest building in 1911 — especially when a 51-foot illuminated bottle of the headache and indigestion remedy was added to the top a quarter-century later. All still stand, although the blue bottle is thankfully gone. The lesson? It takes some time, and some careful examination, to judge the worth of architecture and design. That was true a century ago, and it holds true today.

We mention this not to invalidate any early reviews of the much-anticipated Harborplace redesign recently unveiled by MCB Real Estate and developer P. David Bramble. Rather, to underscore the importance of doing more than a cursory glance. It was Bramble who, in a meeting with The Baltimore Sun Editorial Board last month, labeled this project — and the Inner Harbor generally — as too important to fail. We agree. And so what’s needed now is a deep dive and cautious review. The appropriate forum would seem to be the Baltimore City Council, which must now approve all sorts of special exceptions and zoning changes to allow the project to move forward including lifting height restrictions.

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It is unsurprising that some people are stunned by the scale of the project, particularly the residential towers on the Light Street side that are proposed at 25 and 32 stories tall so close to the water. Can affordable housing be added to the mix? Will the Inner Harbor still be a welcoming place to all or Harbor East West? What changes are needed to keep the project (and its $500 million in private investment) commercially viable? To make it safe? And how will the re-imagined Harborplace relate to the rest of downtown? Many of the artist renderings make the waterfront look, well, a bit boring. Small wonder so many of the imaginary kids who show up in these sketches seem underwhelmed.

More encouraging is the Pratt Street side with a sail-like tiered commercial building — called “The Sail” — and broad archway. This would surely become the city’s signature look, its proverbial “front porch.” How do Baltimoreans feel about that? And what will be the impact if Pratt is narrowed to vehicular traffic? We imagine a balance must be struck between what is best for Baltimore and what is commercially viable. How disappointing that so many public officials, Mayor Brandon Scott included, appear to have already signed off on the project. Are they not interested in the general public’s concerns?

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Make no mistake, the proposal overall represents good news for this city. A few years ago, as the neglected Harborplace pavilions continued to decay and public antipathy toward Baltimore and downtown grew (one may recall a certain U.S. president’s verminous pronouncements on Charm City), it would have been hard to believe a big league developer with local roots would be willing to invest so much. Should he succeed, the impact could be enormous. But that’s not a reason to deliver this civic-minded individual (or anyone else) a proverbial blank check. Just as voters must hear political candidates debate the issues, we need a robust public discussion now — and perhaps some open minds to consider the pros and cons of this or any other approach.

Finally, we would just point out that strong public reaction to what is proposed — whether by old-timers who prefer James Rouse’s vision of 43 years ago, youngsters who fear further gentrification of the waterfront or anyone who likes or dislikes the specifics — is a very good sign. It means Harborplace still matters. It means downtown Baltimore matters. And it means we all share something important. Now, we can talk about it and make some choices together. That’s how communities flourish.

Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom.