Underwriting is a term used by financial service providers, including insurance companies that assess the eligibility of a customer to obtain products. In the case of life insurance underwriting describes a company’s process for reviewing, approving, modifying, and perhaps rejecting a life insurance application.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the life insurance underwriting process, explaining how different risk factors such as age, occupation, and personal habits affect the selection and classification of risks. The course takes a detailed look at each stage of the underwriting process, from taking the application to delivering the policy, and concludes with a review of the very important role the producer serves as a field underwriter. 

Upon conclusion of this course, students will be able to:

• explain the underwriting factors that affect life insurance premiums
• cite the most commonly used risk classifications for life insurance
• understand the concept of risk
• describe the steps in the underwriting process
• explain the medical and non-medical criteria that underwriters use
• understand the role of automated underwriting and when the expertise of an actual person is needed
• explain the valuable role that field producers play in the underwriting process