From the first call to a policy in force.

1. 1. The first conversation

   Fifteen to twenty minutes, on the phone. I ask who depends on your income, what you owe, what you already have through work or from an old policy, and what you’d want handled if you weren’t here. Nothing invasive, and nothing you need to prepare for.

   By the end of it you’ll know roughly how much coverage you need and which type fits. Sometimes the answer is that you already have enough, and I’ll tell you that.

2. 2. Health and history

   Before I quote anything I want the real picture: medications, conditions, height and weight, tobacco, family history, and anything that’s been declined or rated before. This is not a test. It decides which carrier I take you to, because companies grade the same condition very differently and a quote built on a rosy version of your health is a quote that changes later.

3. 3. I shop it across the bench

   I’m independent and appointed with a wide range of insurance companies, so I compare them on your specific case — price, but also which one underwrites your history most favorably, which one issues at the amount you want, and which one can get there fastest. You get real numbers, and I’ll tell you which one I’d pick and why.

   This is the step the bench pays for. Two companies looking at the identical application can land in different rate classes, and the gap between them is real money every month for as long as you own the policy.

4. 4. The application

   Most applications are done electronically, either together on a call or by a link you complete yourself. Expect to name your beneficiaries and answer health questions under oath. Many carriers can approve without a medical exam by checking prescription and other records; when an exam is needed, a paramedical examiner comes to your house or office at no cost to you.

5. 5. Underwriting

   The carrier reviews everything and comes back with a decision and a rate class. Accelerated cases can be approved in days; a case that needs records from your doctor can take several weeks. I chase it so you don’t have to, and you hear from me whether or not there is news.

   If it comes back rated higher than quoted, or declined, that is not the end. I take it to a carrier that treats your history better. That is the single biggest practical reason to use an independent agent rather than applying direct.

6. 6. In force — and then a check-in

   You review the policy as issued, make the first payment, and the coverage starts. Keep the policy where your family can find it and make sure they know it exists; a policy nobody knows about is the most common way a benefit goes unclaimed.

   I check in when life changes — a baby, a house, a new job, a divorce, a business. Those are the moments coverage stops matching reality.

Before you call

Nothing to prepare, but these help

• A rough number for your household income and what you owe, including the mortgage
• Whatever coverage you already have, through work or otherwise, and the amount
• A list of your prescriptions
• Any condition you’ve been treated for in the last ten years
• Who you’d want the money to go to

Don’t have all of it? Call anyway. We can get most of the way there from memory.