The Underwriting Process


The Disability Insurance underwriting process is comprehensive, often lengthy and underlines just how important and valuable the product is. Carriers are mostly concerned with two main aspects of an applicant's present condition, those being their medical and financial histories.

 

Some applications may take months to underwrite, depending on the amount and nature of additional requirements the underwriter may request. While that is certainly not the norm, it should be noted that at times it can be a very lengthy process to complete. However, there are some things the applicant and agent can do on the front end to help speed the process along.

 
Medical Underwriting

Depending on the size of the policy, age and occupation of the applicant, the extent of medical underwriting requirements will vary. What is a constant is the carrier's concern regarding pre-existing conditions. To that end, Disability carriers will ask a significant amount of medical questions in order to determine overall eligibility and what kind of offer they might be able to make to an applicant.
 
It is important when applying for disability insurance to be prepared to share on the application as much information regarding your current and past medical conditions as possible. Be prepared to have Doctor contact info and dates of treatment, as that will speed up the underwriting process considerably. The most common delays in the underwriting process occur when carriers are forced to procure medical records from doctor's offices. 

In addition to disclosing medical history on the application, the applicant may also be subject to medical exams, blood and urine testing or additional screening. While the process may seem extremely invasive at times, it is important to remember the value of the coverage you are seeking. 


Financial Underwriting

Your policy will carry with it a monthly benefit amount determined by your current and past income levels. As you prepare for the underwriting process, make sure to have ready at least two years of tax returns for submission, as well as additional financial documents that may be requested. 

If you are a business owner, both personal and company returns will be needed. The more financial documentation, the better. Having this information available to submit with the application dramatically decreases the underwriting time as well. 



"Policies may be rated or have exclusions placed on them for certain existing medical conditions. These policies still have considerable value to them, considering all the medical conditions they still provide coverage for."



"For business owners, if you have a CPA or bookkeeper, take advantage of their expertise and ask them to help compile your personal and company's financial statements in preparation for submission to the carrier."



"If the collection of medical records is taking longer than expected, a friendly call to your doctor's office can often help speed up the process."