The role of an attending physician statement in the life insurance process
When applying for life insurance, the company that issues your life insurance policy needs to know how healthy you are before a policy is issued. Life insurance company often evaluates your health status by requesting an attending physician statement (APS). Before your insurance policy is finalized, you will have to submit information about your health, medical history, lifestyles, and take a medical exam. The health information you provide to the insurance company issuing the life insurance policy will be used to determine your risk. The risk score is used to judge your likelihood of developing illness or other medical conditions. Higher risk scores will mean a higher premium since you pose a higher risk. If your risk is too high, the insurance company may not issue a life insurance policy. Part of the APS is to get documents from your physician or healthcare providers. Your healthcare provider will be best suited to provide a comprehensive review of your health. The APS is a standard summary of your overall health, medical history, and any known medical conditions the insurer will need to know. The APS servers as a means to document and assess your risk to the insurance company.
What is in an APS statement, and what are the typical form look like?
The insurance underwriting process starts when the insurer begins to determine how much insurance you need and generate a premium quote. The accuracy of an insurance policy, and the premium is partly based on the APS. Since the APS will contain sensitive patient health information (PHI), it must adhere to all HIPPA regulations and guidelines to safeguard patient medical data. Your healthcare provider will submit paperwork that describes your condition, any medication use, and any health-related issues.
A typical APS will contain history of any medical conditions and prognosis. The doctor will explain your medical history by noting how long you have been treated, what are the symptoms, and what other treatments you might have had. Along with your medical history, APS will contain the prognosis of your condition detailing your health status if you’ve made any improvements or not since treatment began. If you have multiple healthcare providers, the insurer will likely request your medical information from all healthcare providers you have had in the past that have treated you.
Collating APS is a lengthy process
Applying for life insurance can be a lengthy process. One reason for this is because the process to obtained APS can be extensive. The insurer will have to process and extract APS from multiple healthcare providers before they can start the underwriting process. Doctors are very busy people and will take time to fill out paperwork that your insurer requested. The request can take two to four weeks to process and can hold the application until the request is completed. Not all medical practices use a standardized form. After your doctor does fill out the APS, it goes to the underwriter. The insurer will summarize and issue a report which can add more time before an insurance policy is issued.
Datafied specializes in APS retrieval by utilizing our extensive network of Certified Field Agents to retrieve medical records. Our extensive network and experience can help you reduce the amount of paperwork you need to chase down allowing your company to focus on customer service. Give our specialist a call at 800-765-7510 to learn how we can help.
