How Long Does Life Insurance Take To Get? 
There are life insurance policies that can take a very long time to get , and there are policies that can take a very short time to get . The difference is how much is required during underwriting and how fast or slow the people working on your application are moving . While rare , No Exam life insurance exists that can literally be applied for , approved and issued within an hour . Most No Exam life insurance policies take a few days or more , depending on whether they also order medical records , and depending on how fast that particular life insurance company processes their No Exam policies . If the agent or agency you used is nonresponsive , this can also hold things up . Policies that require medical underwriting can take much longer . If you are in good health and utilize a `` quick '' app like many carriers offer , you will often need to do a long phone interview , but this can cut down your chances of the life insurance company ordering medical records . Having to wait on doctor 's offices providing medical records to the insurance carrier is the major cause of extended time during underwriting , so if that step is avoided , the process will go much faster . If your policy does require medical records to be approved -LRB- most policies requiring an exam do require medical records if a health condition exists -RRB- , you can help speed it up by calling your doctor 's office or perhaps even obtaining your medical records yourself . Also , be sure to list on your application ALL the doctors you have seen in the past 5 years , or any physicians that were involved in your diagnosis . Being able to order those from the start , rather than having the underwriter find out about them through reading one set of records and THEN having to order those additional records , can shave weeks to months off of the time it takes to put your policy in effect . Finally , if you are need to take a medical exam , take it as soon as possible . Much of the rest of the process revolves around that , so getting that out of the way quickly could help you have a policy in your hands within one month . 