How to apply for term life insurance: from confirming the need to policy issue and annual review

Process at a glance

Preparation checklist before you start

These are general items to prepare; the insurer's proposal form governs the specific requirements.

• Identity documents (NRIC or passport), contact address, tax residence information
• Income and liabilities: recent payslips or Notice of Assessment (NOA), loan balances, summaries of existing policies (including DPS, HPS and employer group insurance)
• Health information: past diagnoses, surgery, long-term medication, recent health screening reports, treating doctors' details; family medical history, smoking and nicotine use, height and weight
• Occupation, hobbies (such as diving or climbing), recent and planned overseas residence or travel; application history with other insurers, including any loading, exclusion, postponement or decline

The seven steps

1. Step 1: Confirm the need and sum assured

   Take stock of existing cover first, then decide how much to add and for how long. DPS, HPS, employer group insurance and existing individual policies are all resources that can be offset, but each has its limits; group insurance, for example, usually ends with the employment. The sum assured can be cross-checked with the income multiple method and the needs-based method; the MoneySense and LIA reference multiples, offset rules and worked illustrations are in How much cover do you need.

   • Documents: proof of income, loan balances, summaries of existing policies, list of household expenses.
   • Time: depends on gathering information; usually days.
   • Who: you and your spouse; a licensed adviser can help with the calculation.
   • Common sticking points: treating DPS as sufficient cover; overlooking that group insurance lapses on leaving the employer; a term that does not match the age at which the youngest child becomes independent.

2. Step 2: Compare product summaries, policy illustrations and DPI options

   What you compare is the terms, not just the premium. Under LIA's consumer guide, you should receive from your adviser "Your Guide to Life Insurance", the Product Summary and, depending on the product, the Policy Illustration, and check and sign the reference checklist at the end of the sales process. You can filter on compareFIRST by date of birth, sex, smoking status, sum assured and term; Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI) is bought by the consumer directly from the insurer, which must provide a standardised Fact Sheet and Checklist.

   • Documents: Product Summary, Policy Illustration (where applicable), comparison results, the DPI Fact Sheet.
   • Time: usually days.
   • Who: you; a licensed adviser can explain the terms, while DPI is arranged by you directly with the insurer.
   • Common sticking points: comparing premiums only, without comparing exclusions, waiting periods and renewal and conversion conditions; comparing with inconsistent smoking status, sum assured or term; not asking when the free-look period starts.

3. Step 3: Proposal form and disclosure

   The proposal form is the insurer's main source of underwriting information. LIA's advice is that all questions on the proposal form must be answered truthfully; information should be disclosed even when you are unsure whether it is material, including anything told to the adviser but not written into the form; false, inaccurate or incomplete information may void the contract or lead to a claim being rejected. MoneySense likewise reminds you not to sign if you find errors or omissions, not to sign blank or incomplete forms, and to pay premiums to the insurer rather than to the adviser personally. Most policies provide interim cover for accidental death only, from the time the insurer receives the signed proposal form and first premium until the policy formally takes effect, with the period and amount differing by insurer (LIA, May 2020).

   • Documents: proof of identity; declarations on health, occupation, hobbies, travel and other insurance; you may ask the insurer for a copy of the completed proposal form.
   • Time: usually same day to several days.
   • Who: the policy owner and the life assured personally; an adviser may help fill in the form, but you must confirm the content.
   • Common sticking points: not remembering medical history (records can be obtained from the clinic or hospital); not knowing family medical history; verbal disclosures not written into the form; different understandings of the definition of "smoker".

4. Step 4: Medical and financial underwriting

   LIA's underwriting guide explains that, depending on age and sum assured, you may need a routine medical examination or tests by the insurer's panel doctor; based on disclosed conditions or lifestyle, the underwriter may ask for supplementary questionnaires (such as an asthma or diving questionnaire); where there are complications or ongoing follow-up, the underwriter may request a report from your treating doctor. Who pays for the examination and reports depends on the type of cover and whether you accept the underwriting outcome; the rules are in Underwriting for term life. For higher sums assured, the insurer usually also checks that the sum assured is in proportion to income and assets, with the specific rules set by the insurer.

   • Documents: medical examination or test reports, treating doctor's report, supplementary questionnaires; proof of income and assets for high sums assured.
   • Time: usually days to weeks, as determined by the insurer; longer where a doctor's report is needed.
   • Who: the insurer's underwriting department and panel doctors; you book the examination and authorise release of records.
   • Common sticking points: waiting for doctors' reports; further tests after an abnormal examination result; incomplete financial documents for high sums assured.

5. Step 5: Underwriting decision and checking the terms

   There are four possible outcomes: acceptance on standard terms (LIA notes that most applicants fall here); loading and/or exclusions, where you decide whether to accept the revised terms; postponement; and decline. A policy accepted with loading or exclusions may be submitted for reassessment with fresh medical evidence once the condition improves; a declined application may be resubmitted once the situation improves. Underwriting guidelines and risk appetite differ between insurers, so the same application may receive different outcomes; see Underwriting for term life.

   • Documents: the underwriting decision letter, revised premium and terms, the exact wording of any exclusion.
   • Time: usually days to weeks, as determined by the insurer.
   • Who: the insurer decides; you decide whether to accept; an adviser can help compare.
   • Common sticking points: looking at the premium only and not the exclusion wording (for example an exclusion of disability relating to a particular organ or cause); not knowing when and how to apply for review; misunderstanding who bears the costs if you decline a counter-offer.

6. Step 6: Payment, issue and the free-look period

   Once you accept the terms, you pay the first premium and the insurer issues the policy. The LIA industry code requires insurers to give you a free-look period of at least 14 days from the day you receive the policy; where the policy is sent by post, the 14 days start from the 7th day after posting. If you cancel within the free-look period, premiums are refunded without interest, less expenses already incurred such as medical examination and administrative costs (LIA, Dec 2021); MoneySense takes the same position and states that cancellation must be notified to the insurer in writing within the period (updated 11 May 2026). After payment, there is usually a 30-day grace period when a premium falls due, during which the policy stays in force; a lapsed policy can usually be reinstated within two years (LIA, May 2020). The outcomes at other points, such as the contestability period, the suicide clause and misstatement of age, are in the lifecycle table in the Overview.

   • Documents: confirmation of underwriting acceptance, payment record, policy document and summary of terms.
   • Time: issued after payment; free-look period of at least 14 days.
   • Who: the policy owner pays and reviews the policy; the insurer issues it.
   • Common sticking points: not knowing when the free-look period starts; missing the written notice deadline; insufficient balance in the deduction account leading to lapse.

7. Step 7: Nomination of beneficiaries and annual review

   Once the policy is issued, complete the nomination of beneficiaries as soon as possible; the difference between the two types of nomination and where the payout goes without one are in Payout and nomination of beneficiaries. Keep the policy documents safe and let a trusted family member know where they are, and keep the deduction account and payment method active. LIA's consumer guide notes that the common practice is to review the policy once a year and whenever your goals or personal or financial circumstances change; marriage, childbirth, buying a home, refinancing, changing job, relocating and changes in income are all triggers.

   • Documents: the policy, beneficiary details, latest information on liabilities and income.
   • Time: nominate as soon as possible after issue; review once a year.
   • Who: the policy owner; a licensed adviser can help.
   • Common sticking points: forgetting to update the nomination (after divorce, remarriage or the birth of a child); looking only at the premium without re-checking whether the sum assured is still enough; missing conversion and renewal windows, see Conversion and renewal options.

Additional points for foreign and non-resident applicants

Country of residence is one of the factors insurers assess (LIA underwriting guide, Apr 2024). Whether foreigners and non-residents can apply, what residence and stay documents are needed, where the medical examination is done, and how the premium currency and the beneficiary's location are handled all depend on the insurer's current underwriting rules; this site does not list insurable countries, and the written reply of the insurer or a licensed adviser governs. Questions of tax residence and cross-border beneficiaries should be taken to a professional in your own jurisdiction; underwriting differences between Hong Kong and Singapore are covered on the sister site term.hk. To have these rules read against your own situation, register an enquiry through the contact options on this site.