Best No-Medical-Exam Life Insurance Companies

Best Overall

Penn Mutual was a shoe-in for this award because it will waive the exam requirement for eligible applicants who apply for $10 million or less in coverage, including people 65 or younger and those who want a permanent life insurance policy. The company also has one of the highest financial strength grades available from credit rating agency AM Best and one of the lowest customer complaint rates of the providers we researched. Our experts gave it strong marks, too, for its long history of paying dividends to eligible policyholders at a high interest rate. 

Best for High Coverage

Penn Mutual’s coverage limit for accelerated underwriting is $10 million, the highest by far among the companies we reviewed—and double the $5 million coverage amount for runner-up Nationwide. This allows more applicants to get the coverage they need without having to take a medical exam. 

If you’re not yet 66, in good health, and want a death benefit of up to $10 million on an individual life insurance policy, Penn Mutual may allow you to skip the medical exam. 

Qualifying for accelerated underwriting doesn’t guarantee an exam won’t be required, but if you’re approved, you can complete the entire process online with the help of a Penn Mutual insurance professional. 

Part of what makes Penn Mutual stand out is its wide range of policy types available with accelerated underwriting. They include term, whole, and universal life insurance policies, including convertible and non-convertible term policies; indexed universal and variable universal policies; and a few different whole life insurance policies with optional riders. 

However, rider options for the company’s term policies are more limited. And you won’t find accelerated death benefits, which let you use some of your death benefit while you’re alive if you get a serious illness. 

Penn Mutual earned the second-best financial strength rating (A+) from AM Best, indicating the company has a superior ability to meet its claims-paying obligations. Customers seem pretty happy with Penn Mutual. Its National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Complaint Index shows they filed far fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for a company of its size. Penn Mutual ranked above average in the 2024 J.D. Power U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, coming in eighth out of 21 large insurers.

Penn Mutual has paid dividends to eligible policyholders for 175 straight years, and its 2025 dividend interest was the highest we saw among companies offering no-exam life insurance. On top of that, Penn Mutual rates for term life insurance are competitive relative to industry average rates. 

The biggest downside to applying for a Penn Mutual no-exam policy is that you’ll need help from an insurance agent. The company’s website doesn’t provide a quote tool or application and has scant information about policy options, so you’ll need to call for more details. That said, Penn Mutual does offer an online portal that existing policyholders and beneficiaries can use to make payments or start a claim. 

Founded in 1847, Penn Mutual is based in Horsham, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia.