What is the MIB?
The MIB is the Medical Information Bureau. This service is used by insurance companies to assess a person’s risk and eligibility for coverage during the underwriting of an application for life, health, disability, critical illness, and long-term care insurance policies and to help determine if any errors, omissions, or misrepresentations are made on the applications. The service uses coded reports to represent different medical conditions, hazadrous activities (e.g. motor vehicle racing, skydiving, etc.), adverse driving records (e.g. DUIs, multiple moving violations, etc.) and other factors that can affect the insurability of the proposed insured.
How does the MIB affect the underwriting process for my insurance application?
If the input on the application is different from the coded reports (and the medical history input from the attending physician statement (APS report)), the carrier may approve you for coverage, but at a higher risk classification than what you applied for (and therefore require higher premiums for the coverage) or decline you for coverage.
For example, if you applied for life insurance coverage with a preferred plus risk classification through company A and the carrier offered you coverage with a standard risk classification (requiring a higher premium for the policy) and you then applied for life insurance with a preferred plus risk classification through company B, company B will see what occurred with the application for coverage with company A and want to know why the first carrier approved coverage at a different risk class than what was applied for (especially if you are applying for the most preferred rates a second time).
Therefore, when you apply for any type of insurance, consult with an independent insurance agent who can shop the case for your among many companies prior to applying for the coverage, so the application you do complete will contain the most accurate information. You do NOT want to apply to multiple companies at the same time – this can work against you. From the insurance company’s perspective, it can be a red flag of sorts if they saw you were rated up and/or declined by several carriers prior to applying for coverage with them. Throwing mud on the wall to see what sticks does not help you when applying for any type of insurance.
If you have any questions about the MIB part of the underwriting process for insurance applications, or have any other insurance-related questions, please give us a call at 1-888-972-0024 or CLICK HERE to e-mail us 24/7.