The MIB report: what insurers know about your history

The MIB (originally the Medical Information Bureau) is a database that member life, health and disability insurers use to check what you told them against earlier applications. It holds coded entries about conditions and test results reported during past underwriting, not your full medical records. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you can request your MIB Consumer File free once a year, and you may dispute anything inaccurate.

You only have a file if you applied for individually underwritten coverage with an MIB member in the past seven years and the insurer found something of underwriting significance. If you never applied, or only had group coverage, there is probably nothing to see.

What MIB is for

MIB describes its purpose as helping member companies identify potential errors, omissions or misrepresentations on insurance applications. It is a cross-check. If you mention high blood pressure on one application and leave it off the next, the second insurer can see a code from the first. Insurers pay to join and report to the database, and their access is limited to underwriting and claims purposes.

This ties directly to fairness for other policyholders. Without a check, people could shop applications until one insurer missed a condition, which pushes up costs for everyone (adverse selection).

What is in the file

According to MIB's description of the consumer file, the file may include:

• Medical and personal information that member companies reported, stored as codes (for example, a code indicating an elevated blood pressure reading or a particular test result).
• The names of MIB member companies that received a copy of that information.
• Inquiry records showing other carriers that checked your file.
• Disability insurance information, if applicable.

MIB translates the codes when it sends you the file.

What the file does not contain, according to MIB's FAQ: it does not record how an individual applicant was rated or whether an application was accepted or declined. MIB says its member companies cannot make an adverse decision based solely on MIB data without further investigation. MIB retains information for seven years from the application date.

How insurers use it

When you apply, the insurer asks for your authorization and queries MIB. The result is compared with your application and exam. A mismatch does not mean an automatic decline. It usually prompts the underwriter to ask questions or request doctors' records. A clean report can even speed approval in accelerated programs (see accelerated underwriting: approval without an exam).

Insurers also report to MIB after underwriting. If information has underwriting significance, a code is added, which will be visible to the next insurer that checks.

How to get your free copy

Under the FCRA, consumers are entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months from nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies, and MIB is one of them. Per MIB's request page:

1. Request your file online through MIB's disclosure service, by phone, or by mailing a written request. MIB lists the current methods and hours on its site.
2. Provide identifying information so MIB can find your record.
3. Receive your file, with the codes translated.
4. Additional copies within a year are free if you receive an adverse underwriting decision, such as a rating or decline, that was influenced by an MIB record.

You can also find MIB on the CFPB's published list of consumer reporting companies. Check mib.com for current contact details rather than relying on third-party sites that may charge fees.

How to dispute an error

If a code or entry looks wrong, MIB has a dispute process described on its site. In general:

1. Identify the entry and what is inaccurate.
2. Submit the dispute to MIB in writing or through its portal.
3. MIB investigates, which can involve contacting the insurer that reported the entry.
4. If the information cannot be verified or is found incorrect, it is corrected or deleted.
5. If you disagree with the result, the FCRA lets you add a short statement of dispute to your file.

If the error originated in a doctor's record, ask the doctor to correct it, and consider asking the insurer to request an updated record.

A hypothetical example

Say a 38-year-old applied three years ago and mentioned a one-time high blood pressure reading. The insurer coded it and reported it. Now, applying elsewhere, the applicant omits it, assuming it is irrelevant because it resolved. The new insurer sees the code and asks why it was not disclosed. Because the reading was a single episode, a doctor's note clears it up, but the omission slows the file. Listing it upfront would have saved the delay. In a worse case, repeated omissions look like misrepresentation (see what happens if you lie on a life insurance application).

What to do before you apply

• Request your MIB file a few weeks before applying if you have applied for coverage in the last seven years.
• Correct any errors before the insurer sees them.
• Answer application questions fully, including past findings that appear in the file. Application guidance is in the questions on a life insurance application.
• Check your prescription report too; it is a separate database (see how insurers check your prescription history).
• If you are declined or rated and think an MIB entry was responsible, ask the insurer for the reason and get your additional free copy (see Declined for life insurance? What to do next).

Key takeaways

• MIB is a coded database that member insurers use to cross-check applications; it does not hold full medical records or underwriting decisions.
• You have a file only if you applied for individually underwritten coverage within the past seven years and something of underwriting significance was found.
• Under the FCRA, you can request one free copy per year, plus another if an adverse decision involved an MIB record.
• You can dispute inaccurate entries through MIB's process.
• Check your file before applying and answer your application consistently with it.