Yes, It’s Possible to Underwrite Life Insurance Policies Remotely
The coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures have changed how we do business across industries — and insurance underwriting is no exception. Typically, life insurance underwriting requires a thorough medical examination (as anyone who has ever applied for a policy will know well). This involves an in-person visit, allowing the medical examiner to conduct a blood pressure reading, weight check, blood draw, and more.
But as we shelter in place and limit contact with others, clients don’t need to head into a lab or invite examiners into their homes. It is now possible to underwrite life insurance policies without in-depth, in-person exams. At the same time, the need for financial protection and guidance hasn’t gone away — so insurers have had to adapt to this new normal to ensure they are still able to help clients protect their families and take control of what they are able to, even amidst uncertainty.
The good news: Many tools already exist to help underwriters overcome these new challenges posed by social distancing. And people are looking for life insurance protection now, more than ever. In fact, at Equitable they received 6,000 applications in March and April alone. But without open labs, insurers need to adopt solutions to provide clients with the life insurance coverage they need, even when traditional underwriting processes can’t be met.
Enter claims data from medical insurance carriers.
Insurers can look through this data to see if clients applying have recently had blood drawn, what kinds of pre-existing conditions they have, and more, and use that as a substitution for a real-time, up-close-and-personal exam and lab draw. One thing is for sure: The tools we’re talking about using now — in the middle of a crisis — are not going to go away. They’re just going to get better and better. (Source: ThinkAdvisor.com)