Attending physician statement (APS)

An attending physician statement, or APS, is a report from an applicant's doctor — usually copies of office notes, test results and diagnoses — that an insurer requests to verify what the applicant disclosed. The applicant authorizes the release when signing the application, and the insurer or a vendor it hires contacts the doctor's office and pays any copying fee.

Underwriters typically order an APS when the application reveals a condition worth a closer look (diabetes, heart problems, a cancer history or a recent hospital stay), when the coverage amount or the applicant's age passes the company's thresholds, or when exam or lab results raise questions. The records help place the applicant in the right rate class, and they can improve an offer when they show a condition is well controlled.

The APS is often the slowest part of underwriting because it depends on a busy medical office, and waits of several weeks are common. Hypothetical example: an applicant who lists every doctor seen in the past five years with correct addresses, then calls each office to confirm the request arrived, can cut days or weeks from the process. See the life insurance application process and timeline and how long it takes to get life insurance.