A life insurance application can feel like a lot of personal questions. Knowing what's coming makes it faster and less stressful. Most applications follow the same pattern, and many final expense applications take 10 to 20 minutes by phone.
1. About you
- Name, date of birth and address. Your age on the application sets your price.
- Phone and email, so the company can reach you about the policy.
- Social Security number and a driver's license or ID number. Companies use these to confirm who you are and to run the record checks described below. Only enter them on the insurance company's own application.
2. Your beneficiary and coverage
- Beneficiary: who receives the money, their relationship to you, and what share each person gets. You can name more than one, plus a backup. A minor child usually needs an adult custodian or a trust.
- Coverage: the amount, the type of policy, the term length if it's term, and any riders you want.
- Other policies: life insurance you already have, and whether this new policy will replace any of it. Replacing a policy comes with extra forms, and it's worth a careful look before you cancel anything.
3. Health questions
This is the part most people worry about. On many applications, especially final expense and simplified issue, the health questions are yes or no.
| What they ask about | Examples |
|---|---|
| Serious conditions | Heart attack, stents or heart failure, stroke, cancer, COPD, kidney disease or dialysis, liver disease |
| Diabetes | Pills or insulin, and any complications |
| Recent care | Hospital stays, surgery, or tests your doctor ordered that you are waiting on |
| Daily living | Needing help with bathing, dressing or eating, nursing home or hospice care, oxygen at home |
| Medications | What you take, the dose and what it is for |
| Height and weight | Compared to the company's build chart |
Lookback periods matter. Many questions only ask about a set window, such as the last 2, 5 or 10 years. Something from 15 years ago may not count. Read the time frame on every question.
Fully underwritten term policies, usually for larger amounts, can go deeper: your doctors' names, dates of visits, recent lab results, and sometimes family history, such as a parent or sibling with heart disease or cancer before age 60.
4. Tobacco and lifestyle
- Tobacco and nicotine: cigarettes, vaping, cigars, chew, gum or patches, usually in the last 12 months. What counts as tobacco.
- Driving record: DUIs, license suspensions or several moving violations in recent years.
- Activities: things like flying a private plane, racing, scuba diving or skydiving.
- Travel: long stays outside the U.S., or plans to move abroad.
- Legal history: some applications ask about felony convictions, probation or pending charges.
5. Income, for larger policies
For bigger term or permanent policies, the company may ask about your income or net worth. That's to confirm the coverage amount makes sense for your situation, not to judge your finances.
6. Payment
Most people pay monthly by bank draft. You'll pick a draft date. Many people match it to the day Social Security or a paycheck arrives.
What the company checks
When you sign, you give the company permission to check a few records. That's how many policies get approved without a medical exam.
Prescription history
A database of the medications you have filled, usually going back several years.
Medical Information Bureau (MIB)
Coded information from past life and health insurance applications. It is not your full medical record.
Driving record
For many term and some final expense plans.
Phone interview or exam
Some companies call to confirm your answers, especially at older ages or larger amounts. Larger policies may need a short exam with blood and urine.
How to get through it smoothly
Have your list ready
Medications with doses, doctors' names, and rough dates of any diagnoses, surgeries or hospital stays.
Read the time frame on each question
Answer for the window it asks about, not your whole life.
If you are not sure, ask
Don't guess. A licensed agent can help you read a question, but you answer it yourself.
Answer honestly
If the application isn't accurate, the company may have grounds to deny the claim later, which is the one thing your family can't afford.
Don't stop at the first no
One company's decline or graded offer can be another company's full coverage. That's the main reason to work with an independent agent who checks several companies at once.
Almost every policy has a two-year contestable period. If the application was accurate, the claim is paid. If it wasn't, the company may have grounds to deny it. Honest answers protect your family.
Want to see which questions you would answer yes to?
On a free call I'll walk through the health questions with you and match your answers to the companies most likely to say yes. Licensed in Arizona. By phone or video, no obligation.
Common questions
What questions are on a life insurance application?
Your personal details, beneficiary and coverage, other policies you have, health questions with set lookback periods, height and weight, tobacco use, driving record and activities, and for larger policies, income.
Do I need a medical exam?
Often not. Many final expense and term plans decide using your answers plus prescription and insurance records. Larger policies may need an exam.
Why do they need my Social Security number?
To confirm your identity and run the record checks you authorize, like prescription history and MIB. Only enter it on the insurance company's own application.
How far back do the health questions go?
It depends on the question and the company. Many ask about the last 2, 5 or 10 years. Some ask whether you have ever had certain conditions.
What happens if I answer something wrong by mistake?
Tell your agent or the company as soon as you notice. Inaccurate answers can give the company grounds to deny a claim during the two-year contestable period.
How long does the application take?
Many final expense applications take 10 to 20 minutes by phone. Fully underwritten term takes longer and can include an exam.
What if I don't live in Arizona?
I'm licensed in Arizona today and adding more states soon. Send a quote request anyway and I'll let you know as soon as I can help in your state. In the meantime, the free guide walks you through how much coverage you need.
Nick Brown is an independent life insurance agent with NJN Insurance, licensed in Arizona (License 19720244). He compares plans from several companies and explains them clearly. NJN stands for Not Just a Number.