Hartford Cuts Medical Eams For Many Applicants

In some instances, too, an APS might be replaced by a telephone interview with the applicant by company representatives.

In addition, applicants ages 61 to 75 who apply for policies of up to $2.5 million and those 76 to 85 who apply for policies up to $1 million may qualify for insurance without undergoing a physical exam or blood, urine and EKG tests if they had a physical exam from their regular doctor within the past six months and make the results available.

Hartford says it will even offer several of its variable universal life, universal life and whole life policies to older applicants who have had certain health problems.

Under its so-called enhanced standard program, applicants who failed to qualify for standard rates in the past now may be able to do so. It is offering the program to applicants up to age 70 who apply for $10 million in coverage or less and those 71 to 80 who apply for up to $5 million in coverage.

Until Dec. 31, applicants who have purchased a life policy from the Hartford or another approved carrier can apply for coverage up to $1 from the Hartford without the need for a medical exam or tests. Instead, the company says, its representatives would conduct a medical interview with the applicant by phone.

The new policy is the second recent move by the Hartford to make it easier for applicants to obtain coverage.

In October, the company reduced life insurance pricing for more than 100,000 women who have overcome relatively mild cases of breast cancer.

Breast cancer survivors now can qualify for standard rates if results of common tests show that they have a strong prognosis for survival, Hartford says.

Under certain conditions, company underwriters will rely on applicants' histories of treatments with prescription drugs