Life Insurance What is “simplified issue” life insurance? By Barbara Marquand | Updated on December 23, 2020 Why you should trust Insure.com Quality Verified At Insure.com, we are committed to providing honest and reliable information so that you can make the best financial decisions for you and your family. All of our content is written and reviewed by industry professionals and insurance experts. We maintain strict editorial independence from insurance companies to maintain editorial integrity, so our recommendations are unbiased and are based on a comprehensive list of criteria. “Simplified issue” means you answer a few questions about your medical history for the life insurance application, rather than undergoing a medical exam. “Guaranteed issue” means you don’t have to answer any medical questions or go through a medical exam. You qualify for coverage, regardless of your health. Simplified issue and guaranteed issue life insurance make applying quick and easy. But if you’re reasonably healthy, you’ll get a much better rate by going through a standard application process that includes a life insurance medical exam. A life insurance medical exam is fairly straightforward. Generally, a medical technician records your height, weight, blood pressure and collects a blood, urine or saliva sample. The results are combined with your age and health history to calculate the rate you pay for coverage. You can increase your odds for getting better rates by improving blood pressure, losing weight if you’re overweight and kicking the habit if you smoke. Besides applying for individual life insurance, you can obtain coverage through a group policy, which typically doesn’t require you to supply any health information. You simply sign up during your employer’s annual open enrollment period. Many employers offer group life insurance benefits at no cost to the employee. However, the coverage ends when you leave the company, and it’s usually not enough for most people who have financial dependents. Most financial advisers recommend additional coverage through an individual life insurance policy if you’re supporting a family. For more, see these common questions about life insurance. Related Articles Can I take out a life insurance policy on my spouse? By Penny Gusner What happens to the cash value of my whole life insurance policy when I die? By Nupur Gambhir What is guaranteed cash value in a life insurance policy? By Laine Adley Can I withdraw money from my term life insurance? By Nupur Gambhir Do life insurance policies pay out if a person dies of old age? By Les Masterson Can you cash in a paid up life insurance policy? By Les Masterson