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By Jake Safane
Edited By Matt Richardson
/ CBS News
Life can be full of surprises — and unfortunately, not all of them are good. While it's nice to dream of positive surprises, the reality is that securing your family's financial future means also thinking about the opposite side of the coin, like you or your spouse's eventual death. And, to prepare for that, many people buy life insurance. With life insurance, your family or other beneficiaries can receive a designated amount of money if you die while covered by the policy.
But there's more than one type of life insurance to consider.
Term life insurance, for example, provides coverage for a certain number of years, often 10-30. If you pass away during that term, your beneficiaries receive a payout. Whole life insurance provides coverage for the rest of your life, and it typically has much higher premiums than comparable term life insurance.
You can also get no-exam life insurance, which does not require a medical examto obtain coverage. These policies can be either forms of term life insurance or whole life insurance. By not having to get a medical exam, and instead answering a few questions about your health, you can often obtain a policy within minutes — and typically at a great rate.
Let's take a closer look at some of the best no-exam life insurance companies. Keep in mind, though, that even if a provider offers no-exam policies, that doesn't necessarily mean all applicants will be able to skip the medical exam.
Get a free life insurance quote here now to see what it could cost you.
Best no-exam life insurance companies 2023
Here are five of the best no-exam life insurance companies broken down into five categories.
- Best for quick approval: Haven Life
- Best for high coverage amounts: Ladder
- Best overall: Ethos
- Best for cost: Transamerica
- Best for seniors: StateFarm
Best for quick approval: Haven Life
Haven Life, backed by MassMutual, offers an easy way to get life insurance through its Haven Simple offering. This fully digital application process can provide a quick way for you to get a quote and approval for term life insurance without needing a medical exam. As the company states, you can apply, get approved, and start coverage over lunch.
Haven Simple is available to those between the ages of 20-55. Policies can range from $25,000-$1 million, with terms of 5, 10, 15, or 20 years, depending on your age. Get a quote from Haven Life here now.
Best for high coverage amounts: Ladder
If you have high expenses, like a large mortgage and future college tuition payments for several kids, then traditionalcoverage amountsmight not cut it. So, you might turn to a company likeLadder, one of the best insurers that offers no-exam term life insurance policies with limits up to $3 million.
Ladder also offers a streamlined, 100% digital application for coverage up to that $3 million limit, and you can get approved in around five minutes in some cases. The company does offer even higher limits — up to $8 million — but coverage past $3 million would require a medical exam.
Get a free price estimate from Ladder today.
Best overall: Ethos
If you're looking for a great all-around no-exam life insurance provider, consider Ethos.
The company technically sells policies from its insurance partners, but everything is streamlined within Ethos, so it's not as if you're sorting through an insurance marketplace to find coverage.
One perk of Ethos is that it offers a fully digital application. You don't have to talk to an agent if you don't want to, and the company says you can get insured in as few as five minutes, although some applicants might need to answer follow-up questions that could take longer.
Ethos also offers relatively high limits for no-exam term life insurance policies, ranging from $100,000 to $2 million. Seniors might also find Ethos' guaranteed whole life insurance to be helpful. These policies do not require a medical exam, with guaranteed approval for those 65-85 looking for coverage between $10,000-$25,000, which can help with things like burial expenses.
As a bonus, Ethos policies come with free estate planning tools, which can be helpful at a time when you're already thinking about what would happen when you pass.
Explore your no-exam options with Ethos today!
Best for cost: Transamerica
If you're primarily focused on getting a good deal on a no-exam life insurance policy, then Transamerica could be the way to go.
In general, the company offers some of the most competitive rates for no-exam term life insurance. Note, however, that the provider with the best rates can vary based on your situation, so it's good to comparison shop.
Transamerica offers term life insurance policies starting at $25,000. You could even get coverage for up to $10 million, although amounts above $2 million would require an exam. While you can get an online quote for term life with Transamerica, you'll need to talk to an agent to complete your application, so it could take a few days or weeks to get coverage.
The company also offers policies like final expense life insurance, which is a type of whole life insurance to cover things like burial expenses. For that, Transamerica offers a fully digital application with no medical exam required.
Start comparison shopping here or via the below table now.
Best for seniors: State Farm
As you age, life insurance typically gets more expensive to buy, and your options might start to dwindle. Some insurers do not offer coverage for seniors at all, particularly when it comes to term life insurance. But one option could be to choose a State Farm policy.
The insurer has a few different no-medical-exam insurance options for seniors, such as permanent life insurance policies with limits below $100,000 up to age 80, although some applicants might still need an exam. Another option is guaranteed issue final expense insurance with limits between $10,000-$15,000 for those up to age 80.
If you want a term life policy during your golden years, consider planning ahead. You can potentially get a no-medical-exam term policy up to age 60 that then comes with a guaranteed annual renewal option up until age 95. Premiums would rise as you age, but this provides a route to maintain term life insurance without needing a medical exam.
The bottom line
These no-exam life insurance options can help you quickly protect your loved ones financially. In many cases, you can complete these no-exam life insurance applications online for maximum convenience, but even if you talk to an agent, that can still be more efficient than going to the doctor for a medical exam.
That said, some policies with medical exams end up costing less, or you might find that the policies you want require medical exams regardless. So, it's good to shop around for different types of insurance from different providers to see what works best for you and your family. You might find that a no-exam life insurance policy is the way to go, or you might find that it's worth it to take the extra step of seeing a doctor first.
