Founder, Abrams Insurance Solutions, Inc., San Diego, CA
On average, it takes 5-6 weeks for a life insurance policy to go from application to delivered. The exam can usually be scheduled within 72 hours of taking an application. The part of the process that can take the longest is waiting for medical records to arrive. Some doctors will send them out immediately, but others may take weeks or months to send the records. Sometimes the application can be pushed through faster, especially if records are not required. Taking all of this into consideration, 5-6 weeks is the norm.
Agent Owner, Gilmore Insurance Services, Marysville, Washington State
How long does it take for life insurance to be in underwriting? Forever it seems. Depending on the individual it can take anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks or more. Why? The life insurance underwriting process is really a hurry up and wait process. That is underwriting can be very busy for a day with questions and requests being sent out and then it becomes a wait for the requests to return to the underwriter. The waiting is what adds time to underwriting.
It really depends on several factors. There are simplified issue life insurance policies that can be issued on the spot. There are fully underwritten plans that can take weeks or even months. I will say the hold up in most cases is not the life insurance company underwriters. It boils down to two factors.
First, when you start your application process, set up and finish your paramed exam as soon as possible. Until the exam is complete the underwriter will do very little on your case.
The second aspect that can slow down the underwriting process is ordering APS or your medical records. Most doctor's offices and hospitals are painfully slow to submit your medical files to an insurance company. It typically takes the longest in the entire process. Be sure and call your doctor's office and ask them to please return your records in a timely manner. That will help more than any other single thing you can do to speed up the processing time.
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First, when you start your application process, set up and finish your paramed exam as soon as possible. Until the exam is complete the underwriter will do very little on your case.
The second aspect that can slow down the underwriting process is ordering APS or your medical records. Most doctor's offices and hospitals are painfully slow to submit your medical files to an insurance company. It typically takes the longest in the entire process. Be sure and call your doctor's office and ask them to please return your records in a timely manner. That will help more than any other single thing you can do to speed up the processing time.