5 - Life Insurance Underwriting and Policy Issue
An incomplete life insurance application submitted to an insurer will result in which of these actions?
Application will be returned to the writing agent If the company discovers a mistake or incompletion, it usually returns the application to the producer.
Which Federal law allows an insurer to obtain an inspection report on a potential insured?
Fair Credit Reporting Act The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, or FCRA, established procedures for the collection and disclosure of information obtained on consumers through investigation and credit reports.
From what authority derives the requirement that an insurance application contains a disclosure stating that an investigative consumer report may be obtained on an applicant?
Fair Credit Reporting Act The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that an insurance application state that an investigative consumer report may be obtained on an applicant.
What would the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) identify?
The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) report will identify marijuana use determined by a previous screening.
On delivery of a policy, a signed statement of good health is typically requested if
The application was submitted without the initial premium
Which parts of a life insurance policy are guaranteed to be true?
Warranty Warranties are statements that are considered literally true. A warranty that is not literally true in every detail, even if made in error, is sufficient to render a policy void.
At what time must a policyowner have insurable interest on the insured in order for the life policy to be valid?
At the time of application With life insurance, insurable interest must exist only at the policy inception.
Which of these factors do NOT play a role in the underwriting of a life insurance policy?
Marital status. Marital status does not affect the underwriting of a life insurance policy.
Which factors are taken into consideration when an insurance company determines the premium rate for a Whole Life policy on an applicant?
Risk classification To determine the premium rate on a Whole Life policy, an insurance company will consider the risk classification of the applicant.
The USA Patriot Act was enacted in
The USA Patriot Act was enacted in 2001 to detect and deter terrorism.
Information obtained from a phone conversation to the proposed insured can be found in which of these reports?
The correct answer is "Inspection report". An inspection report may include information obtained by a telephone call to the proposed insured.
What is the purpose of the U.S.A. Patriot Act?
detect and deter terrorism
Which of the following correctly explains the actions an agent should take if a customer wants to apply for an insurance policy?
Complete the application and review the information with the customer prior to obtaining the customer's signature, then send the application off to the insurance company
An insurance company may NOT reject a prospective insured's life application on the basis of which of the following factors?
Gender
Which of these actions should a producer take when submitting an insurance application to an insurer?
One of the actions a producer should take when submitting an application is to advise the insurer of any other relevant information not contained in the application.
Which of the following statements is CORRECT about an agent who is taking an insurance application?
The agent should have the applicant initial any changes made on the application
What is being delivered during a policy delivery?
The correct answer is "Insurance contract to the proposed insured". Policy delivery refers to the delivery of the insurance contract to the applicant.
Before a life insurance policy is issued, which of these components of the contract is required?
Applicant's signature on application signature on an application is required before a life policy will be issued.
T applies for a life insurance policy and is told by the producer that the insurer is bound to the coverage as of the date of the application or medical examination, whichever is later. Assuming that T is an acceptable risk, what item is given to T?
The correct answer is "Conditional receipt". A conditional receipt binds the insurer to coverage as of the date of the application or medical exam, provided the proposed insured is determined to be an acceptable risk.
Upon delivery of a rated life insurance policy, the Producer must obtain each of the following EXCEPT Signed HIPAA disclosure Signed amendment Signed statement of Good Health The required premium
Signed HIPAA disclosure The HIPAA disclosure should be taken at the time of sale with the application.
An agent gives a conditional receipt to a client for an insurance policy after collecting the initial premium. When will the policy become effective?
When the conditions of the receipt are met A conditional receipt indicates that certain conditions must be met in order for the insurance coverage to go into effect.
A statement made by an insured in an insurance application that must be true to the best of one's knowledge and which becomes a part of the contract is known as
a representation A representation is a statement made by an insured in an insurance application that must be true to the best of one's knowledge and which becomes a part of the contract.
When does a life insurance contract become effective if the initial premium is not collected during the application process?
When producer delivers policy and collects initial premium Insurance becomes effective on delivery of the policy to the insured and payment of the initial premium to the producer.
Which of these do NOT constitute policy delivery?
Policy issued with a rating
An applicant's medical information received from the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) may be furnished to the
The correct answer is "applicant's physician". Information received from the Medical Information Bureau about a proposed insured may be released to the proposed insured's physician.
Q applied for life insurance and submitted the initial premium on January 1. The policy was issued February 1, but it was not delivered by the agent until February 7. Q is dissatisfied and returns the policy February 13. How will the insurer handle this situation?
Policy was returned within the free-look period, premium will be fully refunded. The free-look period begins when the policy is delivered to policyowner.
ABC Insurance Company has accepted a life insurance application which contains unanswered questions. The company then makes the application part of the life contract. In this situation, the insurer has
The correct answer is "waived one of its legal rights". If an insurer accepts an application that contains unanswered questions and makes the application part of the life contract, the company has waived one of its legal rights.
K is an agent who takes an application for individual life insurance and accepts a check from the client. He submits the application and check to the insurance company, however the check was never signed by the applicant. If the application is approved, when will coverage be effective?
The date the agent delivered the policy, collected the initial premium, and obtained a good health statement from the insured
In order for coverage on a non-medical insurance application to take effect the same day, the producer must collect a signed application and
the initial premium Coverage begins on the day in which the producer collects the initial premium and has the applicant sign the life insurance contract.
A Medical Information Report (MIB) report may disclose which of the following
Prior use of marjuana A Medical Information Report (MIB) may disclose lifestyle habits such as drugs, drinking, overeating and smoking.
Who is NOT required to sign a life insurance application?
Beneficiary
A student pilot can pay regular premium costs for her life insurance policy with the addition of which of the following?
Aviation exclusion A student pilot can pay standard premium costs for her life insurance policy with the addition of an aviation exclusion.
Agent J takes an application and initial premium from an applicant and sends the application and premium check to the insurance company. The insurance company returns the check back to J because the check is made out to J instead of the insurance company. What action should J take?
Return to the customer, collect a new check made out to the insurance company, and send the new check out to the insurance company
Which of these terms accurately defines an underwriter's assessment of information on a life insurance application?
Risk classification Underwriting, another term for risk selection, is the process of reviewing the many characteristics that make up the risk profile of an applicant to determine if the applicant is insurable and, if so, at standard or substandard rates.
What action should a producer take if the initial premium is NOT submitted with the application?
The correct answer is "Forward the application to the insurer without the initial premium". In this situation, the producer should submit the application to the insurance company without the premium. However, if a premium is not paid with the application, the policy will not become valid until the initial premium is collected.
When a policyowner cash surrenders a Universal Life insurance policy in it's early years, this may be considered a red flag for a(n)
Anti-Money Laundering violation When a policyowner cash surrenders a Universal Life insurance policy in it's early years, this may be considered a red flag for an Anti-Money Laundering violation.
When an insurance application is taken by a producer, which of these statements is true?
Any changes made on the application require the applicant's initials
Any changes made on an insurance application requires the initials of whom?
Applicant When an applicant makes a mistake in the information given to an agent in completing the application, the applicant can have the agent correct the information, but the applicant must initial the correction.
On August 6, D submitted an application for a $50,000 Life Insurance policy and did not pay the initial premium. On August 18, D went to his doctor complaining of chest pains and some tests were given by the doctor. The life policy was delivered by the producer on August 20 and D explains what had recently taken place with the doctor. What action should the producer then take?
Collect initial premium along with a signed health statement
What is the purpose of a Policy Summary?
It highlights the critical parts of the policy issued A Policy Summary highlights the critical parts of the policy issued and describes the coverages, riders, and exclusions.
On January 8, an applicant filled out an application for a life insurance policy but did not include the initial premium. The insurance company approved the application on January 14 and issued the policy January 15. The producer delivered the policy on January 26 and collected the first premium. When did the coverage become effective?
January 26 In this situation, coverage became effective on the date the policy was delivered and first premium collected.
P completes an application for a $10,000 life policy, but does not give the producer the initial premium. P's coverage becomes effective when
P receives the policy and pays the premium
The underwriting process involves all of these EXCEPT for
Policy loan
All of these are considered sources of underwriting information about an applicant EXCEPT
Rating Services All of these are valid sources to obtain underwriting information about an applicant EXCEPT for a rating service (A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's).
P is a producer who notices 5 questions on a life application were not answered. What actions should P take?
Set up a meeting with the applicant to answer the remaining questions
K applies for a life insurance policy on herself and submits the initial premium with the application. She is given a receipt by the agent stating that coverage begins immediately if the application is approved. What kind of receipt was used?
The correct answer is "Conditional". A conditional receipt indicates that certain conditions must be met in order for the insurance coverage to go into effect.
Why is an applicant's signature required on a life insurance application?
To attest that the statements on the application are accurate to the best of the applicant's knowledge
A life insurance application must be signed by all of these EXCEPT
beneficiary
An underwriter determines that an applicant's risk should be recategorized due to a health issue. This policy may be issued with a(n)
exclusion for the medical condition In this situation, the policy may be issued with an exclusion for the medical problem.
M completes an application for life insurance but does not pay the initial premium. All of these actions must occur before M's policy goes into effect EXCEPT
free-look period has expired
Consumer reports requested by an underwriter during the application process of a life insurance policy can be used to determine
probability of making timely premium payments The purpose of these reports is to provide a picture of an applicant's general character and reputation, mode of living, finances, and any exposure to abnormal hazards.
