Impaired Risk Life Underwriting: Evolving With The Process
When asked to write on advances in impaired risk underwriting, I began to question the term “advances.”
When asked to write on advances in impaired risk underwriting, I began to question the term “advances.”
Simply stated, the law of large numbers in probability and statistics states that as a sample size grows, its mean gets closer to the average of the entire population.
Many applications have APS trails that read like a suspense novel. There is a medical condition, oftentimes a serious one, that has an intervention, and the trail ends. Perhaps it is a chronic condition, with unknown degree of control or stability that leaves no clue as to the present status.
Hypothyroidism is estimated to be present in over one percent of the population and up to five percent over the age of 60. While hypothyroidism is easily diagnosable through laboratory testing, most lab panels do not include it as a routine test.
Carotid artery stenosis is a narrowing or constriction of any part of the carotid arteries, generally caused by atherosclerosis.
Aortic aneurysms are usually silent killers in that most (almost all that involve the abdominal part of the aorta and half that involve the upper or thoracic part) are generally asymptomatic.
Less than a year ago it would have been excessive, if not redundant, to issue a 90-day impaired risk underwriting update. Not so in 2020.
We’re used to seeing hypercholesterolemia as a known risk factor, but high triglycerides are also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Most cases of bronchial asthma are not an underwriting worry. It is a common disease, affecting between five to 10 percent of the population. But asthma is also becoming more concerning than it was ten or twenty years ago. Prevalence, hospitalizations, and fatal asthma cases have all increased, and there were close to 4,000 asthma deaths in the United States last year. Knowing which cases are the most concerning is the key to successful underwriting and case placement.
Life insurers were prepared to embrace the COVID-19 challenge. Most carriers had pre-planned models and analytics ready for such an eventuality. The companies immediately calibrated their responses to the pandemic and responded with their own versions of shutdowns through product withdrawals, price increases in some cases, age limitations, offer restrictions, and postpones for clients with pre-existing conditions.