The Best No-Exam Life Insurance Companies (2024)

Ethos is our pick for the best no-exam life insurance because it provides a streamlined, all-online application you can complete from the convenience of your home. The company is an independent broker that partners with life insurance carriers such as TruStage, Mutual of Omaha and Ameritas to offer term and whole life policies.

When you apply for a term policy through Ethos, the company begins the underwriting process by requesting a report from MIB, formerly known as the Medical Information Bureau, instead of requiring a medical exam. You can choose between, 10-, 15-, 20- and 30-year terms and get anywhere from $20,000 to $2 million in coverage.

Ethos also offers guaranteed-issue whole life insurance without a medical exam to applicants between 66 and 88 years old. The company’s maximum whole life death benefit of $30,000 is lower than some competitors, but its application process is quick and offers coverage in minutes.

Cost

To estimate Ethos’s life insurance pricing, we based the below rates on a 20-year, $250,000 term policy for a tobacco-free applicant who qualifies for the preferred health rate class. We averaged the rates of female and male applicants to arrive at the following:

• 35-year-old: $17
• 45-year-old: $32
• 55-year-old: $75

Available Coverage Options

Ethos offers the following no-exam coverage options:

Founded in 1935, TruStage provides a variety of no-exam life insurance options, with a focus on simplified quotes and online applications. TruStage offers both term and whole life insurance policies, including guaranteed issue whole life coverage. While prices for TruStage term life insurance policies are higher than some competing online options, no medical exam is required for any policy.

There are some areas where TruStage falls short compared to other life insurers, based on our review. It limits its simplified issue term life policies to five years, and rates will increase with every renewal as the policyholder enters a new age bracket. On the plus side, term policies are renewable up to age 80, which is a higher maximum age than some competitors.

Guaranteed whole life coverage also comes with strings attached — your beneficiaries may not receive the full death benefit if you die within two years of your first premium payment. Regardless, we found that TruStage is a reliable and reputable no-exam life insurance provider that may suit tech-forward individuals.

Cost

To estimate TruStage’s life insurance pricing, we requested quotes directly from the company’s website and received the following rates for a five-year, $250,000 term policy. We averaged the rates of female and male applicants. As a note, unlike competitors we reviewed that provide 20-year term options, TruStage only offers term policies in five-year increments.

• 35-year-old: $75
• 45-year-old: $129
• 55-year-old: $269

Available Coverage Options

TruStage offers the following no-exam coverage options:

Bestow is a modern insurtech provider that offers no-exam term life insurance through a completely digital application that takes only minutes and often provides instant decisions. The company scored highly in our review for offering five different term period options: 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30 years. Bestow offers no-exam plans to those between 18 and 60 years old with coverage amounts between $100,000 and $1.5 million.

The provider’s online application process is informative and intuitive, based on our experience, allowing you to easily see how factors such as term length and coverage amount impact premiums. If you get stuck, customer care agents are available via phone and live chat and were very responsive and helpful in our experience.

However, if you’re looking for a convertible policy or permanent coverage, Bestow is not the best-suited provider for you. Bestow does not offer whole life insurance or term policies that you can convert into permanent coverage.

Cost

We estimated Bestow life insurance pricing by basing the below rates on a 20-year, $250,000 term policy for a tobacco-free applicant who qualifies for the preferred health rate class. We averaged the rates of female and male applicants.

• 35-year-old: $17
• 45-year-old: $31
• 55-year-old: $68

Available Coverage Options

Bestow offers the following no-exam coverage options:

• Coverage: 4.1/5
• Riders: 4.4/5
• Availability and Ease of Use: 4.7/5
• Brand Trust: 3.9/5

Fidelity Life offers several options for permanent no-exam coverage, including whole life, final expense and accidental death benefit policies. The provider could be a good fit if you are older, have serious health issues or have been denied coverage in the past. We conducted a Pollfish survey of 1,000 life insurance customers in February 2024, and 32% of Fidelity policyholders said they had no-exam coverage. The company’s no-exam RAPIDecision term life policy offers coverage between 10 and 30 years with amounts between $50,000 and $2 million for applicants aged 18 to 65.

A RAPIDecision Senior Term Life policy is also available to people aged 50 to 70 in terms of 10, 20 or 30 years with $10,000 to $150,000 in coverage. If you’re between 50 and 85 years old, you can apply for its no-exam Senior Whole Life plan, which offers coverage amounts between $10,000 and $150,000. If you need peace of mind to cover your funeral expenses, the company offers final expense plans with up to $40,000 in coverage.

Fidelity Life holds an A- rating with AM Best, indicating “excellent” financial strength according to the credit rating agency. However, the company has a complaint index of 2.45 from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), indicating a higher concentration of complaints from state insurance departments than other providers of its size. For reference, NAIC uses 1.0 as the baseline when determining complaint indexes, with anything above that number indicating a higher amount than expected.

Cost

To estimate Fidelity Life’s life insurance pricing, we based the below rates on a 20-year, $250,000 term policy for a tobacco-free applicant who qualifies for the preferred health rate class. We averaged the rates of female and male applicants.

• 35-year-old: $22
• 45-year-old: $37
• 55-year-old: $80

Available Coverage Options

Fidelity Life offers the following no-exam coverage options:

We selected Nationwide because it allows policyholders to bundle no-exam life insurance policies with auto and life insurance. Applicants between ages 21 and 55 can apply for the company’s Nationwide Life Essentials no-exam policies, choosing term lengths of 10 or 20 years with up to $1.5 million in coverage. The company also offers no-exam simplified issue whole life policies with between $10,000 and $50,000 in coverage. However, these whole life policies are restricted to customers who have either auto or homeowners insurance with Nationwide.

Founded as an auto insurer in 1926, Nationwide offers a variety of insurance, investment and banking services. The company backs its policies with 90 years of experience, a “superior” A+ financial strength rating from AM Best and a complaint index of 0.11 from the NAIC, lower than expected for a company of its size.

Cost

To estimate Nationwide’s life insurance pricing, we obtained rates based on a 20-year, $250,000 term policy for a tobacco-free applicant who qualifies for the preferred health rate class. We averaged the rates of female and male applicants.

• 35-year-old: $19
• 45-year-old: $33
• 55-year-old: $69

Available Coverage Options

Nationwide offers the following no-exam coverage options: