Guide
No-exam life insurance
Fast-track underwriting is available to applicants who meet the carrier's standards. This typically involves an optional call to your doctor and a review of medical information. Not all applicants qualify.
Many insurance companies now offer accelerated underwriting: for applicants within certain age and amount limits, they decide using the application, prescription history, motor-vehicle records and other data instead of a paramedical exam. Some decisions come back the same day. Each quote on this site says whether an exam is required, possibly required, or not required for that product.
What it changes
An exam-free application still requires underwriting—your information is verified, and approval is only for qualified applicants.
Who tends to qualify
Typically applicants under roughly 60 applying for amounts up to the carrier's accelerated limit, with no major health history and no tobacco use in the last year or more. If you have had a recent doctor visit with blood work, some insurance companies accept those results in place of an exam.
When an exam is required, it's usually a 20 to 30 minute appointment conducted by a paramedical professional at a place of your choosing. The carrier covers the exam cost.