Why Would Someone Be Denied Life Insurance? 
Assuming that all the cards are on the table and the agent really knows what they are doing , declines should not happen too often . But even in that case , here are some reasons people can be denied life insurance . 1 -RRB- Medical reasons that even they may not realize or think about when they talk to their agent . E.g. . The applicant takes two medications for depression , which is insurable . But when the underwriter looks at the medical records , they find that the patient has recently expressed suicidal thoughts to their psychiatrist , and the policy is denied . 2 -RRB- Insufficient medical information . E.g. . The underwriter wants to see the results of an MRI and no one can find it . 3 -RRB- Tobacco with a serious health condition that is impacted by smoking . E.g. Someone says they quit smoking when they had a heart attack a year ago , but then tobacco is found in lab results . 4 -RRB- Financial reasons . E.g. . The applicant is in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings , has a very poor credit rating , and owes back taxes . Rather than calling this a decline , it is often called a postponement . 5 -RRB- Wrong product . This is the most common reason for decline I hear about when people come to us after being declined elsewhere . They were just told to apply with a product that clearly does not work with their health and personal details . That is a completely avoidable reason for being denied . As you can see by the examples above , some people would be better off going with a No Exam policy to lessen their chances of being denied . Others are better off using medically underwritten coverage . Using an agency that specializes in taking cases declined by others can help you get an approval the first time . 