The 90 days after a decline: a step-by-step plan

The letter says the insurer has declined your application. The next 90 days matter more than the decline itself, because what you do with them decides whether you end up with a better offer from someone else, a temporary stopgap, or a clearer plan for reapplying. This is a schedule you can follow, week by week, with what to ask for, what to send and what to expect.

A decline means one insurer decided it could not offer that policy at any price it was willing to charge. It does not close the market. The guide on Declined for life insurance? What to do next covers the general picture; this post is the plan.

Before day 1: three things not to do

Some mistakes are easy to make in the first hour, so start with the list of things to avoid.

• Do not cancel any coverage you already have. A decline is a reason to hold on to existing group or individual coverage, not to give it up.
• Do not reply to the decline with another application the same day. A fast second application to a different insurer can repeat the problem, because the facts that caused the first decline are still there.
• Do not answer the next application's "have you ever been declined?" with anything but the truth. Insurers can see earlier applications through shared databases, and a false answer creates a bigger problem than the decline did.

Days 1 to 7: find out exactly what happened

The first week is about information. You cannot fix what you cannot name.

1. Read the notice. Note the insurer, the date, the policy type and amount you applied for, and whether it says "declined", "postponed" or "unable to offer." A postponement is a different outcome with its own timeline.
2. Ask for the reasons in writing. Many states have laws modeled on the NAIC's Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Model Act that let an applicant ask for the specific reasons for an adverse underwriting decision and the sources of the information behind it. Rules vary, so if the insurer does not answer, your state insurance department can tell you what applies in your state. Send the request by a method that leaves a record, and keep a copy.
3. Ask your agent what they know. The agent often sees notes from the underwriter that never reach the applicant. Ask directly which finding drove the decision: a lab result, a record, a database entry or an answer on the form.
4. Start a folder. Put the notice, the application copy, the exam results if you were given them and every letter in one place, with dates.

By the end of the week you want a one-sentence answer to "why", even if it is rough. For example: "The insurer cited an elevated liver value and a pending referral," or "The record showed a hospital stay that I had listed on the form incorrectly."

Days 8 to 21: collect the records

Two sets of records matter, and you are entitled to both in some form.

Your MIB file. The MIB database holds coded entries from earlier applications with member insurers. According to MIB, you can request your consumer file free once a year, and an additional free copy if an insurer tells you an MIB record influenced a rating or decline. The file does not say how you were rated or whether you were declined, but it shows what a later insurer would see. The guide on the The MIB report: what insurers know about your history explains how to request it and how to dispute an entry.

Your medical and prescription records. Ask each doctor and facility you used in the last several years for your records. Federal rules give you a right to access your own medical records, and providers have a deadline for responding; ask the office what theirs is and how to submit the request, since procedures and fees vary. Insurers also pull prescription histories from pharmacy databases, which the guide on how insurers check your prescription history explains, so ask your pharmacy for a list of what it has filled for you.

When the documents arrive, read them against the insurer's stated reason. You are looking for:

• A diagnosis you do not have, or one recorded in a more serious form than your doctor intended.
• A medication prescribed for one purpose but coded as though for another.
• A test result that was borderline once and has never been repeated.
• A date that is wrong, which changes how recent an event looks.
• A condition that is missing its resolution, such as a follow-up that cleared a worry.

Mark each item with what you think is wrong and what would show it.

Days 22 to 35: correct what is wrong

Corrections go to the source.

1. MIB entries. If a code is inaccurate, MIB has a dispute process on its website. Describe the entry and what is inaccurate, attach what you have and keep the confirmation.
2. Medical records. Ask the doctor's office to correct or annotate the chart. A note from the physician explaining that a finding was a one-time reading, or resolved, is often more useful than a correction alone.
3. Prescription records. If a medication was filled for a reason the record does not show, a physician's letter explaining the purpose can help.

Most people have no errors. If that is you, treat this stretch as the time to complete anything missing: an unfinished referral, a repeat test, a follow-up visit. The insurer declined based on what was in the file, and the file can change if the facts do.

Expect some corrections to take weeks. A dispute is not a deadline, so run the rest of the plan while you wait.

Days 36 to 50: see your doctor about the underlying issue

This step is about your health first and your insurance second, and the two usually point the same way.

Book an appointment and bring the insurer's stated reason. Ask:

• Is this finding real, and what is causing it?
• Is it being treated, and is the treatment working?
• What would a stable, documented picture look like, and how long might it take?
• Can the records show the trend, with dates?

If the decline was caused by something you did not know about, such as an abnormal test result, you have learned something valuable about your health that the application process surfaced. Follow your doctor's advice. Following treatment also shows up later in records, and an underwriter reading a file will notice whether a condition has been managed or ignored.

Ask for a summary letter when your doctor can honestly write one. A short note stating the diagnosis, treatment, results and current status is the kind of document an underwriter can use, and in a formal setting the same information would arrive as an attending physician statement. Do not ask a doctor to say anything that is not true or to predict an outcome; the aim is an accurate record.

Days 51 to 70: price the alternatives

By now you know what happened and what is being done about it. Next, work out what coverage is available while you wait. The options differ in cost and limits:

Here is an illustration of why the price matters. Say a guaranteed-issue policy for $15,000 costs an invented $80 a month. A year of premiums is $80 x 12 = $960, and two years is $1,920. If the policy pays only the premiums paid, with a modest addition, for natural death in the first two years, the family receives something near $1,920 instead of $15,000 for that period. After the waiting period it pays the full amount. Whether it is worth buying depends on whether the family has another way to cover the first two years. Compare it with the alternatives before you sign.

The point of this stage is not to pick the final answer. It is to arrange the stopgap. A common approach is to take the smallest amount that covers immediate needs, such as final expenses, keep any group coverage, and plan to reapply for more once the file has improved.

If you are unsure what to compare, an independent agent can describe which insurers fit your situation, and can often make an informal inquiry, a hypothetical case without your name, before a full application. The companion post choosing coverage after a decline: group, guaranteed or wait lays out how to choose among these options.

Days 71 to 85: decide whether and when to reapply

The decision depends on why you were declined.

1. If the cause was an error that is now corrected, reapply once the correction is complete, with the proof ready. A different insurer is often the right choice, since the first one has already formed a view; whether to ask the same insurer to reconsider is a separate question, covered in filing a reconsideration request with new medical evidence.
2. If the cause was a temporary or unfinished medical matter, wait for the milestone your doctor identifies. Reapplying before it is documented repeats the problem.
3. If the cause was a stable, serious condition, reapplying soon is less likely to change the result at the same type of insurer. Consider the simplified-issue or guaranteed-issue routes, group coverage, or an insurer whose guidelines are more tolerant of the condition. An independent agent can tell you which.
4. If you do not know the cause, get it before you decide.

Write a short statement of what changed. It should read like a timeline: what the issue was, when it was found, what was done and what the current results are. The same facts will go on the next application.

Days 86 to 90: write the plan and set the calendar

At the end of the period you should have a one-page plan with four lines.

• The cause of the decline, in your own words.
• The evidence you now hold: corrected records, doctor's letter, test results and dates.
• The coverage you have in force, including any stopgap.
• The next step and date: which insurer or route, who will make the approach, and when.

Put the reapplication date and the date to check the MIB file again on your calendar. Insurers keep application data for years, but your health file changes.

A hypothetical 90 days

This is an invented case to show how the pieces fit. Say Jordan, 44, applies for $400,000 of 20-year term coverage and is declined. The letter gives no detail.

• Day 3. Jordan writes to the insurer for the reasons and calls the agent. The agent says the underwriter noted an elevated kidney value on the lab report and no follow-up in the records.
• Day 12. Jordan receives the MIB file, which shows a single entry from an application six years earlier about blood pressure. It is accurate. The doctor's records arrive a week later and show the kidney test was repeated three months ago and came back normal, but the insurer never saw the repeat because it was done after the exam.
• Day 30. The doctor writes a short letter giving the dates and results of both tests and stating that no kidney disease was found. Jordan keeps a copy.
• Day 45. Jordan sees the doctor about the original finding. The doctor explains that the first value was probably affected by a hard workout the day before, and suggests a repeat test in a few months to show a pattern.
• Day 60. Jordan keeps the group life coverage from work and does not buy guaranteed issue, because the family's immediate needs are covered by the group amount for now. The agent confirms two insurers whose guidelines treat a single repeated-normal value as a minor note.
• Day 80. The repeat test is normal again. Jordan has three documents: the first lab, the repeat and the doctor's letter.
• Day 90. Jordan writes the one-page plan and sets a date to apply, with the agent making an informal inquiry first.

The details are made up, and no insurer is obliged to reach that result. The structure is the useful part: a specific cause, records that answered it, a doctor who stayed involved and a stopgap that kept the family covered meanwhile.

What to put in a package for the next insurer

Keep it short. An underwriter reading a file wants dates and results, not a story.

1. A one-paragraph summary of what happened and when.
2. Copies of the relevant lab results or records, in date order.
3. The doctor's letter, if you have one.
4. Any corrected MIB or record entry, with the confirmation.
5. Your current list of medications and the purpose of each.

Offer the package through your agent when you make the informal inquiry, so the insurer can say in advance whether it is likely to be enough.

Questions that come up in this period

Will the decline make me uninsurable? No. Insurers differ in appetite, and many people who are declined by one company are approved or rated by another. The next post in this group, myths about how a decline follows you to the next application, tests the common beliefs about permanent flags.

Can I appeal? Some insurers have a reconsideration process, and new evidence is what it looks for. Ask the insurer what it offers and whether a request can only improve the outcome.

Should I apply to several insurers at once? Not before you know why you were declined. Applying widely without guidance can leave several records of the same problem.

Key takeaways

• Use the first week to get the written reasons and your agent's account, and do not cancel existing coverage.
• Request your MIB file and your medical and prescription records, and compare them with the stated reason for errors, wrong dates and missing resolutions.
• See your doctor about the underlying issue; documented treatment and stability are what change a future decision.
• Arrange a stopgap that fits your cost and limits, and compare it with the alternatives before buying.
• End with a one-page plan that names the cause, the evidence, your current coverage and a date to reapply.