A medical exam may be required before you can be insured. Here's what to expect when applying for life insurance.
Article: 3 minutes
Updated: September 14, 2026 Published: June 20, 2023
By: USAA Reviewed by: Editorial contributors
USAA Life Insurance Company and USAA Life Insurance Company of New York.
Life insurance providers use medical exams to get a snapshot of your health. They use that information to assess their risk in insuring you and to determine your premiums.
When you're in the market for life insurance and the time comes to make a purchase, you'll sometimes have to undergo a medical exam. This step gives life insurance companies a clearer picture of your health and helps determine your rate.
The medical exam process may be less stressful when you understand why it's required and what you can expect.
Many insurance companies require a medical evaluation as part of their application for life insurance. The exam gives a snapshot of your health and helps providers determine whether to approve your life insurance policy and the rate.
Medical exams for life insurance purposes are not typically conducted by a doctor. Instead, insurers contract with paramedical companies who send a representative to your home or another location of your preference to conduct your exam. You can let them know where you'd like to meet, as well as what day and time works best for you. The life insurance company usually covers the cost of the evaluation as part of its underwriting process.
A life insurance medical exam may include, but is not limited to:
Life insurance companies also ask questions about your medical history and any health conditions you may have. Sometimes this is done by the examiner, and sometimes it's done in the application process.
These questions and tests are necessary to discover things like:
Lifestyle questions on topics like your occupation, driving record and dangerous hobbies also help underwriters understand the risks involved in insuring you.
Insurance underwriters will review your medical exam and use the information to assess your health risks and their risk of insuring you. They'll check for underlying conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure, and determine your genetic risk for conditions like heart disease and cancer. The medical exam also helps them determine if you have other risk factors, like your location or any dangerous hobbies.
Based on their findings, they'll assign you a risk classification, which is used to set your insurance premiums.
Generally, the healthier you are, the lower your premiums, so high-risk findings could lead to higher costs for you, or the insurer could deny you coverage.
On the other hand, if your medical exam shows you are in better health than anticipated, you may be eligible for a lower premium.
To get the best results, it's important to be well-rested and hydrated. Consider these tips:
These days, there are more and more life insurance companies offering policies that don't require a medical exam. While accelerated underwriting has historically been a drawback due to higher rates and coverage limits, that may no longer be the case.
In fact, many insurers are using advancements in technology and underwriting procedures to provide competitive rates and ample coverage options without a medical exam.
One example is instant issue life insurance, which often relies on a review of your electronic health records to quickly approve or deny a policy.
If you’d like a simplified buying process along with a potentially instant approval decision, a policy with accelerated underwriting may be a valid option. If it doesn’t work out, the medical exam route could be a second option.
There are times you can skip the exam by taking advantage of features on a policy you already own. With the following policy types or features, you may be able to obtain, add or change coverage without an exam:
There can also be situations where an insurance company may waive the medical exam requirement, such as when a service member is deploying. It's important to note that the life insurance underwriting industry is continuing to evolve, making the application process more efficient.
When it comes to buying life insurance, medical exams are sometimes a necessary step in the process. The key is to not delay. The one thing unavoidable with life insurance underwriting is that you get older by the day. As the years go by, the cost will get higher.
Explore your coverage options to find a fast, easy way to protect your loved ones.