# How does no medical check-up required life insurance work? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989 "2026-06-18T00:23:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/1 "2026-06-18T00:23:40Z")
Here’s another daytime TV ad I don’t get. There are numerous insurance companies that are happy to sell you a policy for only “pennies a day” and that require no medical check-up whatsoever. That means people can buy a policy while on their deathbed that the insurance company will surely lose money on. How can they afford to do this? I thought the idea of life insurance was that you paid into it for many years and that your premiums cover most of the payout when your finally die, or they invest your premiums and make enough to cover the payout. If I have terminal cancer, and I know I’m going to die soon, I could buy a $20,000 policy for a few dollars a month, pay on it for a few months, and my next-of-kin can cash out big. They must still somehow make money on these policies or they wouldn’t offer them. Do they simply figure you’re statistically likely to live to a ripe old age no matter what may be wrong with you?. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/2 "2026-06-18T00:32:34Z")
They require a release to access your medical records and prescription history. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/3 "2026-06-18T00:34:35Z")
Of course. I never thought of that. Sneaky devils. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/4 "2026-06-18T00:39:04Z")
Plus, the phrasing is usually “as little as pennies a day” - most people will end up paying much more than that. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/5 "2026-06-18T03:05:14Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > Plus, the phrasing is usually “as little as pennies a day” Plus any amount of money can be expressed in terms of hundreds or thousands of pennies per day. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/6 "2026-06-18T03:13:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > They require a release to access your medical records and prescription history. And generally if you have ever had Cancer, etc- you are not getting the coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Sooner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sooner/32/7875_2.png) [@Sooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sooner)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/7 "2026-06-18T03:19:35Z")
Pennies per day - per ‘unit’. The units can be very small, my mother in law paid decades in a JC Penny’s; life insurance policy- for $1000. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/8 "2026-06-18T04:07:05Z")
The Colonial Penn ads indicate you cannot be turned down for any medical reason, I believe. ETA (from their website)…Guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance is a type of whole life insurance in which applicants are issued a policy regardless of health. With this plan there’s no medical exam or health questions to answer so your acceptance is guaranteed. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/9 "2026-06-18T04:10:20Z")
Pennies a day: How many pennies, for how much insurance? There are nurses who do insurance physicals, usually when people are buying a policy for 6 figures or more of insurance. I can only think of one person I have known who did this, and that was when a co-worker and his wife purchased life insurance policies that were not through their jobs, and a nurse came to their house and did a cursory physical, IIRC mostly weight, blood pressure, and basic blood work. They had 3 kids, who are all grown by now. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/10 "2026-06-18T04:11:20Z")
I hear “Your rate never goes up” all the time…but never coupled with “and your coverage never goes down”. Fancy that. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/11 "2026-06-18T04:19:20Z")
They guarantee the coverage won’t change, it’s a whole life policy. Their website also calls out that their policies are attractive to those with pre-existing conditions. I think their model is to provide low face value, “cover your funeral expenses” policies for rates that sound low but that actually more than cover the shitty payouts. They target the elderly and accept the fact that some people will be applying from hospice. Enough “non-terminal” applicants will make up for it. These guys are constantly on during daytime TV. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/12 "2026-06-18T11:08:56Z")
I also think I’ve seen the tiny text say something like “reduced payouts the first 3 years” Brian ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/13 "2026-06-18T14:02:31Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > t’s a whole life policy Aren’t whole life policies more akin to an investment than a more typical insurance policy? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/14 "2026-06-18T14:05:02Z")
WTH is a “penny?” ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/15 "2026-06-18T15:44:39Z")
Yes, they accumulate a cash value, whereas a term policy does not. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/16 "2026-06-18T15:58:47Z")
Some (not all) of these policies are “accidental death,” and not true life insurance. In those cases, they don’t care about your health, because it doesn’t change your risk of dying in an accident. For the true “no medical exam required,” as others have said, they can review medical records, or they can just charge enough and offer shitty benefits that they’ll make money regardless. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/17 "2026-06-18T16:15:49Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Aren’t whole life policies more akin to an investment than a more typical insurance policy? they actually combine the worst qualities of both: low returns on the investment side, high rates for the insurance. Win-win for the insurance companies and brokers selling these ridiculous things ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/18 "2026-06-18T16:19:27Z")
To be honest, no one I know is so broke that paying the $5,000 or $10,000 for a basic funeral would be an issue, so I wonder if those for whom this is a major burden find the cost of these funeral coverage policies affordable. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/19 "2026-06-18T22:00:08Z")
One company that advertises a fixed premium, says in the small print/fast talking part of the commercial that the premium pays for a “unit” of coverage. How much is a unit worth? Might be a dollar, might be $10,000, and it’s a safe bet that the unit for you won’t be the same as a unit for me. > [@N9IWP](#): > > also think I’ve seen the tiny text say something like “reduced payouts the first 3 years” I’m pretty sure I saw that at least one state sued an insurance company because the policies stipulated NO payout for the first X months, not even the return of the premiums already paid. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > To be honest, no one I know is so broke that paying the $5,000 or $10,000 for a basic funeral would be an issue, so I wonder if those for whom this is a major burden find the cost of these funeral coverage policies affordable. [Only 47% of adults can cover an unexpected expense of $1,000](https://Only%2047%25%20of%20adults%20can%20cover%20an%20unexpected%20expense%20of%20$1,000%20without%20taking%20on%20deb) without taking on debt. If you’re already struggling with credit card debt and grandpa has heart trouble, $9.95 a month doesn’t sound bad in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989/20 "2026-06-19T08:35:27Z")
One thing I have read with these policies is that if you miss a single payment, the whole policy is cancelled. I guess that when you get near to collecting a payment, this is more likely to happen. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-no-medical-check-up-required-life-insurance-work/1030989.md?page=2)