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EPICC Underwriting

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Obesity + Lap Band Surgery = Standard

Obesity in the United States has been increasingly cited as a major health issue in recent decades. While many industrialized countries have experienced similar increases, obesity rates in the United States are among the highest in the world.
 
There are several types of surgeries that fall under the group of “bariatric surgery” designed for people that are obese. Lap band surgery (laparoscopic adjustable gastric band), is an inflatable silicone device placed around the top portion of the stomach to treat obesity, intended to slow consumption of food and thus the amount of food consumed.

One of our Strategic Carrier Providers look favorably upon this type of surgery and with applicable credits, will make a favorable offer.

Let’s take a look…
A female client, aged 32 years, is seeking $500,000 of 10-year Term Life Insurance, history includes:
 
  • Build of 5’6 and 212 pounds
  • Blood pressure 120/76Lap band procedure 2 years ago
The initial underwriting work up – Table 2.
 
Then, the following underwriting credits were applied:
  • Optimal blood pressure
  • Lifetime nonsmoker
  • Regular preventative care
  • A1c Test < 5.7
  • Preferred driving record
Final Offer – Standard!
 
Our Underwriting Team is here to help with all of your impaired risk cases. Please contact us today – we will help you make the sales!
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Executive Underwriting – No Exams, No Labs

Many executives and professionals undergo executive physicals each year. These types of exams include a comprehensive health review, complete lab panels and cardiovascular testing.
 
These may be conducted at the individual’s personal physician’s office or through a formal program at major health care facilities, such as Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic.
 
If your professional client has completed a comprehensive executive physical within the past 12 months, they may be eligible for permanent or term coverage through a streamlined underwriting process, without the need for an insurance paramedical exam and labs.
  • Ages 25-65
  • Up to $40 million of coverage
  • Medical records are required and must include the Executive Physical Exam meeting a minimum criteria of physical measurements with vitals (height, weight, blood pressure reading, pulse), medical history review, full panel blood and urine tests, and cardiovascular testing
  • Term, Indexed UL and Variable UL plans, including Survivorship (spouse must also have had an eligible physical in the past 12 months)
  • Preferred and Standard classes
  • Executive/Professional occupations; Minimum annual income $100k
Contact our Underwriting Team for assistance or more information.
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Adventures In Underwriting

Mountain climbing, scuba diving, auto racing, aviation… Adventure enthusiasts may find themselves faced with an extra rating and increased premiums if they participate in any of these types of higher risk activities.
 
But a recent Upgrade Program may help to remove an extra rating of up to $2.50 per $1000 of coverage for certain avocation scenarios. This program is available for both permanent and term plans.
 
For example:
  • 37 year old male, non-smoker
  • Seeking $1 million of Term coverage
  • Healthy with normal build, blood pressure and cholesterol
  • No adverse family history
  • 12 years of experience in trail, rock and mountain climbing – participates only in groups, never alone
  • 4-5 climbs annually in the Pacific Northwest
  • Highest elevation 13,000 ft
  • YDS (Yosemite Decimal System) class 5.0 to 5.4
Initial underwriting assessment included a $2.00 per $1000 permanent flat extra rating.
 
Under the program, this case was eligible for an upgrade to Standard NT without a flat extra rating.
 
Contact the Underwriting Team for help in finding the best possible underwriting outcomes on your avocation cases.
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Some Breathing Room For Your Clients With Asthma

Asthma is a disease that affects the lungs and results in temporary narrowing of the airways.  Symptoms include difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing and tightness in the chest.  It affects over 8% of adults in the United States.
 
Diagnosis and severity of asthma is determined by lung function testing known as Spirometry.  Results are measured in percentages and values of 80% or greater are generally considered normal.

Individuals with this impairment may represent a significant underwriting challenge. However, PREFERRED may be possible for your asthmatic clients!

Criteria that could help applicants qualify for Preferred include:
 
  • No tobacco use
  • No hospitalization for asthma in the last 5 years; no other ailments
  • Spirometry showing normal results of FVC (Forced Vital Capacity) and FEV1 (Forced Expiratory Volume in one second)
  • Treatment may include intermittent (as needed) use of inhaled bronchodilators, brief courses of corticosteroids or low dose medication
  • No time off of work or school due to asthma symptoms
  • No underwater or high altitude avocations, whether ratable or non-ratable
  • Must meet all other regular, published Preferred criteria
So, breathe easier for your clients with an asthma history.
 
Call the Underwriting Team today for more information on this carrier and to see how we can help get the underwriting offers you need to make the sale!
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LTC Underwriting V.S. Life Underwriting

Long-Term Care and the cost of care can be overwhelming for most. In the past, traditional stand-alone LTC policies were the only way to insure long-term care expenses.

These days, there are more ways to obtain this valuable coverage – including LTC riders on Life Insurance policies.

Underwriting long-term care risks can be very different than underwriting for life insurance. LTCi underwriting takes into account medical impairments that impact ability to perform daily living activities. Whereas, life underwriting is more concerned about impairments that affect mortality, or life expectancy.
 
In some cases, your client may be eligible for life insurance at a favorable rate class, but may be rated or declined for long-term care.
 
This recent case study shows how different underwriting mortality vs. morbidity can be:
  • 62 year old female
  • Seeking $1 million of UL coverage with a Long-Term Care rider
  • Non smoker; normal build
  • Hypothyroidism diagnosed in 1980; well controlled on medication
  • Was seen once by a chiropractor for back pain with improvement
  • Diagnosed with scoliosis
Final underwriting decision: Super Preferred for life coverage; Standard for the LTC rider due to scoliosis and back pain history
 
Non-traditional long-term care insurance and chronic illness riders are the perfect solution for those impairments that would be declined for traditional LTC riders. These alternative riders are automatically available on eligible permanent products with little to no additional underwriting.
 
Whatever the case may be, there is a product we can pivot to, to cover long-term care needs. Contact your Underwriting Specialist, we’re here to help you sort through the different options and pre-qualify your client for this much needed coverage.
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A Healthy Lifestyle Will Give You Wellness Credits!

Wellness crediting programs can help give clients who maintain a healthy lifestyle the potential to be upgraded to a better underwriting offer and price.

For example, one program is open to:
  • All Ages
  • All Face Amounts
  • Most of their product line (some product exceptions apply)

An insured may be credited up to two classifications, including from Preferred to Preferred Plus. This crediting program can improve substandard ratings, too.

Some of the criteria includes:
  • BMI range of 22-29 (ages 18 and older)
  • Untreated blood pressure < 120/80
  • No incidents of CAD, diabetes or cancer in parents or siblings prior to age 60 years, or both parents live to age 75 or older
  • Normal routine colonoscopies, mammograms, pap smears, CBCs, skin checks in the last 3 years
  • Hemoglobin AIC readings 5.0 – 5.5 range in the last 12 months

Call the Underwriting Department to discuss your client’s health history and this program for the best possible outcome!

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Can You Get A Sweet Deal For Challenging Cases?

Diabetes, there’s no way to candy-coat it – this all too common yet serious disease can present some challenges in life underwriting.

An estimated 1.7 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes each year. Complications can include heart attack, stroke, cardiovascular and kidney diseases.

The good news is diabetes can be well managed with proper diet, exercise and medication and in turn helps to reduce the chances of developing complications.
 
There are several factors that underwriters look at when reviewing diabetes cases.
 
These include the type of diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2), the current age of the client, age at time of diagnosis, A1c levels (average blood sugar), treatment and any diabetic complications. Type 2 diabetes is the more common form in which the body is resistant to insulin. Ratings are generally more favorable for Type 2 than they are for Type 1.
 
Some top carriers have programs that could be the icing on the cake to getting the best possible offers for your diabetic clients.
 
Take a look at these examples:
  • Type 2 Diabetes: 75 year old male non smoker, diagnosed with 10 years ago, A1c levels have averaged 7.0 or better, 5’10 207 lbs, blood pressure is 143/90 and cholesterol is 270 with a cholesterol ratio of 6.0 – PREFERRED rating!
  • Type 2 Diabetes: Age 50 and older with excellent diabetic control, treated with diet and oral medication only, no complications – STANDARD PLUS is possible!
  • Type 1 Diabetes: Over age 50 with excellent control and no complications – TABLE B is possible!
Our Underwriting Team is ready to help get you the sweet deals you need in order to get your impaired risk cases placed – contact us today.
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Credit Where Credit Is Due – Helping You Make The Sale!

Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which a person has high blood sugar either because the body does not produce enough insulin or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced.
 
The most well known types of diabetes are:
  • Type 1 (treated with insulin)
  • Type 2 (treated with a combination of diet, exercise and oral medications) and
  • Gestational diabetes (a type of diabetes which occurs during pregnancy.)
When diabetes is coupled with a client who is not an ideal weight, the underwriting class will increase.

Crediting programs can help give credit where credit is due – applying health and lifestyle credits to provide the best possible offer.

Let’s take a look at this case study:
  • 54-year-old female
  • Non-tobacco user
  • Applying for $1 million of Term Life
  • Has type 2 diabetes; treated with Metformin
  • Build is 5′ 3″, 220 lbs
Initial work-up – Table 4
 
The client received credits for:
  • Lifetime non-smoker
  • Income > $100,000
  • Preferred or better driving record
  • Negative cardiac testing
  • Controlled blood pressure
Once those positive credits were applied, this client went from Table 4 to an Underwriting Offer of Table 2.
 
Contact our Life Underwriting Team today – let’s work together to make your next sale!
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Key To Success: Answer Your Underwriter’s Questions Before They Ask

If you were an underwriter and received the following application on your desk, what questions would you have?
 
  • Female, age 35
  • Noted to be retired with no annual income; Net worth left blank on the app
  • Seeking $8 million of term coverage; Purpose of coverage left blank on the app
I know you’d be scratching your head wondering why is this woman retired at such a young age and why is she looking for $8 million of coverage?
 
What the producer forgot was a good cover letter explaining the purpose of the coverage. This client just inherited a very large estate and recently quit her job. Estate taxes were a concern. Based on the inheritance, the $8 million applied for was justified.
 
How can we help in this situation?
We are here to provide our expertise when it comes to writing good cover letters. We can even write them for you. We will help explain the purpose of your applications to our carrier underwriters.
 
However, the most important source of information about a proposed insured is you, so we’ll need your help to prove your applications are financially justified.
 
Key information we’ll need includes:
  • What is the purpose of the insurance?
  • How was the face amount determined?
  • Who will be the policyowner and premium payor?
  • What is the current amount of in-force and applied for insurance?
  • Do you have any other pertinent documentation you can provide to explain how the amount of insurance was determined?
Give us the opportunity to help you move your applications smoothly through underwriting. If we answer our underwriters questions before they ask them, who knows?
 
Quicker approvals leading to faster receipt of commissions – then we move on to your next big app waiting to happen.
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Great Underwriting News On A Weighty Issue!

Our Underwriting Department can help you make the sale for your clients whose weight is an issue.

One of our A+ carriers takes an aggressive approach to underwriting build cases.

Some case examples that may surprise you:
  • A man who is 6’ 0” and 300 pounds could possibly qualify for Standard rates with credits for favorable blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
  • A woman can be 5’ 4” and 235 pounds and possible Standard if there are no co-morbidities present.
Next time you have an applicant whose weight is an issue, think of us and you’ll find we don’t think it’s that big of an issue.
 
Contact our Underwriting Team to help uncover more ways to get better offers for your clients and increase your sales !

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