Self-reported health: potential life underwriting tool?

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Health Services Research
• Insurance Underwriting

Background:

• Traditional medical underwriting relies on attending physician statements, which are time-consuming and costly.
• The financial services industry seeks faster, more efficient underwriting processes for a competitive edge.
• Data acquisition for medical underwriting presents significant challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the potential use of self-reported medical and health history data in underwriting assessments.
• To review existing research on the validity and application of self-reported health data in medical and public health contexts.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of published research on self-reported health data.
• Analysis of current medical and public health practices utilizing self-reported health information.

Main Results:

• Self-reported health data has established uses in various medical and public health applications.
• The validity of self-reported medical history specifically for underwriting remains under investigation.

Conclusions:

• Self-reported health data shows promise for improving underwriting efficiency.
• Further validation is required to determine its suitability and reliability in the underwriting context.