In two short years the process of purchasing Arizona term life insurance has changed dramatically. Gone are the days of an insurance agent sitting at your kitchen table explaining the policy benefits and premium in detail. Also gone are the days of a paper application and medical exam for many applicants. One silver lining of the COVID pandemic is that it forced life insurance companies to speed up their plans to join the digital marketplace.
In early 2020 life insurance companies began to have trouble obtaining paramedical exams for applicants. To keep business flowing something had to be done, especially with an increased interest in life insurance becoming apparent. Actuaries, medical directors, underwriters, marketing and IT departments across the country had to come up with a way to change their respective business models in a very short period of time.
Several life insurance companies have accelerated term life policy issuance to those 60 years old and under who have no chronic health issues. This is done by relying on varying forms of Electronic Health Records (EHR,) instead of requiring a medical exam. Real-time medical data such as prescription history, medical claims, and clinical lab data offered through a variety of companies to life insurance companies has resulted in near instantaneous approval or declination of online term life insurance policies.
This is not to say that paramedical exams are a thing of the past when it comes to other types of life insurance products. Paramedical exams help keep the cost of life insurance down. The exam and labs help to predict risk, and the level of risk in each case is reflected in the premium. There is a positive side to these exams and lab work as well. What better way to become more aware of our present health status than a comprehensive blood and urine panel that will show markers for possible kidney or liver disease, diabetes, or lipid control. With the lab results will come tools to help improve the health of the applicant based on the results.