Today’s No Medical Life Insurance
A Life Insurance Revolution (or evolution?)
I recently helped a client, with whom I had only spoken by phone, buy life insurance for the first time in less than half an hour. We did a needs analysis and determined that she needed enough life insurance to pay for a modest funeral. I logged in to my advisor portal and started a new insurance application. The basic information, name, address, age, citizenship, gender, smoking status and how much life insurance she needed were entered. The client could answer “NO” to the qualifying questions. The banking information was entered and payment date was determined. The client received an email with a link to her application on the insurance company’s secure website. She reviewed the document and signed electronically. The application was submitted. Within 24 hours the application was reviewed and accepted by the insurance company.
The client had done, in less than half an hour, something that she had put off doing for years, mostly because she thought it would be complicated.
Only five years ago that same purchase would have gone like this. The phone call would lead to a face to face appointment, at a mutually convenient time. The client resided 45 minutes away. After arriving we would do the needs analysis, calculate the cost, begin the paper application and collect a VOID cheque, or a cheque for the first month’s premium. Back at the office the application would be reviewed for accuracy and couriered to the insurance company (in fairness, some companies would accept the application by fax). In a few days to a week I would get notification of approval by email.
The competition for “No Medical” insurance is heating up. Making the process simpler and faster is the objective of the insurance companies. The two life insurance companies doing the best job at this are Assumption Life and Canada Protection Plan. Both are highly competitive. Having slightly different qualifying questions allows a choice between companies, based on individual circumstances.