What is the life insurance waiting period?

The waiting period in insurance occurs between the time you apply for a policy and the moment your coverage becomes active.

Headshot of Katherine Murbach
Headshot of Tory Crowley

By

Katherine MurbachEditor & Licensed Life Insurance AgentKatherine Murbach is a life insurance and annuities editor, licensed life insurance agent, and former sales associate at Policygenius. Previously, she wrote about life and disability insurance for 1752 Financial, and advised over 1,500 clients on their life insurance policies as a sales associate.&Tory CrowleyAssociate Editor & Licensed Life Insurance AgentTory Crowley is an associate life insurance and annuities editor and a licensed insurance agent at Policygenius. Previously, she worked directly with clients at Policygenius, advising nearly 3,000 of them on life insurance options. She has also worked at the Daily News and various nonprofit organizations.

Edited by

Antonio Ruiz-CamachoAntonio Ruiz-CamachoAssociate Content DirectorAntonio is a former associate content director who helped lead our life insurance and annuities editorial team at Policygenius. Previously, he was a senior director of content at Bankrate and CreditCards.com, as well as a principal writer covering personal finance at CNET.
|

Reviewed by

Kristi Sullivan, CFP®Kristi Sullivan, CFP®Certified Financial PlannerKristi Sullivan, CFP®, is a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius. Previously, she was a regional consultant at Fidelity Investments for nine years.

Updated|1 min read

Expert reviewedExpert reviewedThis article has been reviewed by a member of ourFinancial Review Council to ensure all sources, statistics, and claims meet the highest standard for accurate and unbiased advice.Learn more about oureditorial review process.

Policygenius content follows strict guidelines for editorial accuracy and integrity. Learn about our editorial standards and how we make money.

The life insurance waiting period is the length of time between when you’ve applied for coverage, and when your policy becomes active. A typical life insurance waiting period can last about four to six weeks, which is the time an application for life insurance usually takes to process.

Key takeaways

  • The waiting period for a standard life insurance application is four to six weeks on average, but it can be longer.

  • You can add temporary life insurance to your policy to cover you during the waiting period.

  • Accelerated underwriting and instant issue life insurance policies can offer you coverage with a shorter waiting period, or no waiting period at all.

What is the waiting period in insurance?

The waiting period in life insurance is the time between when you initially apply for a policy and when your coverage begins.

You need to wait for approval because insurers take time to evaluate your background and health profile to assess your insurance risk and determine how much you’ll pay for your policy. This evaluation process is called underwriting.

  • During this waiting period, you don’t have life insurance coverage, and if you die, your beneficiaries won’t receive any life insurance money.

  • Once you’re approved for coverage, you’ll need to pay your first premium and sign your life insurance policy for the waiting period to end. 

  • At that point, your coverage will be active and if you die, your beneficiaries will receive the payout.

How to avoid the waiting period

Depending on the insurer you’re applying with and your health profile, you may have some options to buy life insurance with no waiting period — or at least a shorter one.

  • Purchase temporary coverage while you wait for your official policy to become active. The cost of temporary coverage is based on your quoted premiums. So, if you were quoted $30 per month for your policy, you’d pay $30 for temporary coverage. Some insurers don’t require upfront payment for temporary coverage, either.

  • Buy a no-medical-exam life insurance policy that skips the medical exam, which speeds up the application process.

  • Purchase accelerated underwriting or instant issue life insurance. Both of these policy offerings will get you an application decision almost immediately.

Learn more about how to buy life insurance

Ready to shop for life insurance?

What is the waiting period for insurance payouts?

The waiting period also can refer to the time between when your beneficiaries submit a death claim form and the time they receive the actual payout. Processing the death claim can take as little as two weeks and as long as two months, after which the life insurance company will pay out the death benefit.

Most payouts happen less than 30 days from when you file the claim. If your family will need immediate financial support, consider creating a contingency plan, like a savings account they can immediately access, while they wait for the funds.

Authors

Katherine Murbach is a life insurance and annuities editor, licensed life insurance agent, and former sales associate at Policygenius. Previously, she wrote about life and disability insurance for 1752 Financial, and advised over 1,500 clients on their life insurance policies as a sales associate.

Tory Crowley is an associate life insurance and annuities editor and a licensed insurance agent at Policygenius. Previously, she worked directly with clients at Policygenius, advising nearly 3,000 of them on life insurance options. She has also worked at the Daily News and various nonprofit organizations.

Editor

Antonio is a former associate content director who helped lead our life insurance and annuities editorial team at Policygenius. Previously, he was a senior director of content at Bankrate and CreditCards.com, as well as a principal writer covering personal finance at CNET.

Expert reviewer

Kristi Sullivan, CFP®, is a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius. Previously, she was a regional consultant at Fidelity Investments for nine years.

Questions about this page? Email us at .