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Chapt 13 1-11 The Application and Underwriting Process
Chapt 13 1-11 The Application and Underwriting Process
Chapter
13 The Application and
Underwriting Process
I f you and your Objective Financial Advisor and the LTC Planning
expert they recommend determine that LTC insurance is the
best planning option for you, the next step is to apply for coverage.
The following information explains the process for applying for cov-
erage and what to expect in the underwriting process:
• Complete the application. The application includes personal
information such as your name, date of birth, height, and
weight. But more importantly, the application includes a series
of health-related questions. The answers to these questions
and the remainder of the process explained below will deter-
mine whether or not you will be issued coverage, and if so, the
exact premium rate you will pay.
The application and a refundable deposit (usually one month’s
premium) are submitted to the insurance company’s under-
writing department. The underwriting department reviews the
information on the application.
• Wait for the decision. The insurance company may simply issue
or decline the policy based on the information on the appli-
cation. Although it was common for underwriting to be this
simple in the past, the underwriting process today is generally
more complex and requires additional steps.
• Verification of information on your application. A common
step is a telephone conversation between a member of the com
pany’s underwriting department and the applicant to verify the
information on the application. The second purpose of the call
is to confirm that the applicant understands the type of cover-
age and benefit amounts for which he or she has applied.
152 Chapter 13: The Application and Underwriting Process
The Application
key and Underwriting
points Process
➤ The underwriting process may involve simply
completing an application, but it is more likely
that additional steps will be taken prior to
issuance or denial of the policy.
➤ The underwriting process must be completed
in order to determine the exact final premium
rate.
➤ The “free-look period” gives you 30 days to
decide whether or not to accept the policy
once it is approved and received.
➤ Generally, discounts are available for selecting
longer durations between premium payments.