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What many people don’t realize that the single greatest impact on the price of a life insurance policy is professional management of the medical underwriting process.
Whether your client is seeking a second opinion or investigating new insurance, Burns Lowry uses our knowledge of how carrier underwriters, medical directors, and actuaries make decisions to proactively position your client’s life insurance application it its most favorable light.
What makes Burns Lowry stand apart in the high-net-worth life insurance market is that we use a private medical exam and process (the PUREä process) where we complete 90% of the underwriting BEFORE an application is submitted to an insurance company.
This preliminary process enables us to pre-qualify underwriting offers from insurance companies, while protecting your client’s Personal Health Information from the Medical Information Bureau so that their insurability remains unchanged.
As a result, we are able to deliver the best possible underwriting offers to your clients. Once received, the top offers from various companies are analyzed by our team. We match the best underwriting results to the appropriate product and optimized solution. We then discuss all this information with you and your client so that you can make an informed decision.
All of these steps are professionally executed and managed by one of the most distinguished teams of private underwriting professionals in the industry. The team includes several former insurance company underwriters, a licensed physician, and an experienced staff of case management, business processing, and policy service specialists.
When contrasted with most firms that typically have one or two underwriting professionals on staff, Burns Lowry’s capabilities can have a significant impact on your clients’ access to insurance carriers as well as policy pricing, design, and ongoing service. This is particularly important when policies involve large face amounts and complicated medical histories.
Clarification of medical details results in a favorable rating
SITUATION: A couple in their early 70s needed $30 million of coverage for their estate plan. The husband was uninsurable due to multiple heart attacks. The wife was also considered uninsurable due to obesity with a history of multiple “mini-strokes”, high blood pressure, asthma, and sleep apnea.
APPROACH: After reviewing the case, our Underwriting Advocacy Team determined that the wife might be insurable. They worked extensively with the wife’s physician to demonstrate that the “mini-strokes” were, instead, migraines. They showed that the wife’s high blood pressure was well controlled, and the asthma and sleep apnea were mild.
RESULT: $30 million of coverage was issued at standard (vs. rated) rates.
A strategic approach to securing underwriting through multiple companies results in a more efficient insurance portfolio
SITUATION: A couple in their early 60s with a net worth in excess of $100 million needed $50 million of coverage at a more efficient price. They had $30 million of coverage in force.
APPROACH: Coordinating the applications for coverage with multiple companies was essential in this case. Our Underwriting Advocacy Team first used a private inquiry process to secure initial offers from the companies. Secondly, they coordinated three applications in phases to avoid exceeding carrier capacity limits. Lastly, they arranged to have the clients examined only once for all three applications.
RESULT: $50 million of joint coverage at preferred rates which increased the overall efficiency of the couple’s insurance portfolio.
The addition of contextual medical information clarifies medical history and results in a favorable rating
SITUATION: A 60-year-old male diabetic needed $2 million of coverage. He had a history of burst vessel in his eye and also an abnormal amount of protein in his urine (an indication of a possible kidney problem)..
APPROACH: Our Underwriting Advocacy Team reviewed the client’s medical records and highlighted the client’s excellent history of diabetic control and normal urine findings. They also provided a detailed summary of the client’s medical records, which reduced the amount of assessment time required by the insurance company underwriters.
RESULT: A standard offer was received for the entire $2 million of coverage. Our Underwriting Advocacy Team’s knowledge of which carriers viewed diabetics favorably as well as their ability to address the abnormal protein finding were critical in securing coverage at standard (vs. rated) rates.
Before submitting an application, we collect all of the evidence required to render an underwriting decision so we can ensure your client’s information is accurate. Any gaps can be clarified with your client’s physicians before any evidence is submitted to the insurers. Also, contextual information can be added to help insurance company underwriters understand the big picture – why your client is seeking insurance coverage, what they are doing to address any health issues, etc.
Most surprises in an underwriting evaluation come from the medical exam and lab work in connection with the life insurance application. Our confidential, private evaluation allows our team to review your client’s exam and laboratory results prior to them being submitted to a carrier. These results, combined with a HIPAA-compliant confidential review of your client’s medical records, allows us to assess your client’s life insurance risk, address any abnormalities which may be present in the exam or lab results, and determine which carriers will have the most favorable evaluation of the application.
By proactively providing the home office underwriter with a clarified and coordinated presentation of your client’s medical information, we remove as many surprises as possible and can usually help positively affect the evaluation of your risk.
Next, we submit your client’s case to multiple insurance carriers using a carefully-structured methodology. This is where Underwriting Advocacy can be especially impactful in addressing the complexities of coordinating large amounts of coverage with multiple carriers.
Each carrier has a limited amount of risk it is willing to accept on a particular life. One large case submitted inappropriately to too many carriers at once, can flood the market. This can essentially block your client from gaining access to higher amounts of coverage.
MEDICAL EXAMS: Although several companies may be selected at the beginning of the underwriting process, the Underwriting Advocacy process enables your client to use one medical exam for all companies, avoiding the inconvenience of unnecessary or duplicate tests. The medical information can be shared with all companies in a format designed to present your case in its most favorable light.
UNDERWRITING INTERVIEWS: During the home office underwriting evaluation process, we conduct phone conferences, as needed, between your client’s physicians and carrier underwriters so that the proper information and positioning is provided to obtain the most favorable offers possible.
After underwriting offers have been received, we consult with you and your client to select the best products and offers from the most appropriate insurance company or companies.
Key to the success of this proactive approach is expert implementation by a world-class underwriting team made available through our relationship with the Valmark Companies. Our consulting team includes several former insurance company Underwriting Vice Presidents and Medical Directors, a licensed physician, and a senior staff of case management, business processing and policy service specialists. Together, they confidentially represent, clarify and coordinate the details of your client’s application with multiple insurance companies throughout the underwriting process.
