Senior Life Insurance Exams

Erica Ludwig | September 24, 2026

 

Many life insurance companies require older applicants to complete a senior supplement, cognitive assessment, or functional capacity exam. This additional life insurance underwriting requirement evaluates memory, orientation, mobility, independence, and the ability to perform activities of daily living.

At What Age Is a Senior Exam Required?

Requirements vary by life insurance carrier, product, health history, and policy amount.

Senior assessments commonly begin at age 70 or 71. For example, Symetra requires a senior supplement beginning at age 70, while North American applies additional cognitive and functional underwriting considerations beginning at age 71. Advisors should verify the carrier’s current age-and-amount requirements before scheduling the life insurance medical exam.

What Questions and Activities Are Included?

A publicly available Sun Life Supplemental Senior Care Assessment provides a useful real-life example. It asks about orientation, daily activities, memory,mobility, and independence.

Common questions and activities include:

 

The examiner may also observe whether the applicant understands instructions, uses a cane or walker, or relies on another person for assistance.

How Many Words Must an Applicant Remember?

The delayed word-recall test varies by carrier. Some assessments use three words; others use ten words and request recall after five to ten minutes.In a ten-word insurance test,recalling at least six words is often described as a passing result, but this is not a universal carrier rule. Each insurer may use its own scoring method and may consider the result with the applicant’s complete medical andfunctional profile.

The published Mini-Cog uses three words, awarding one point for each word recalled without prompting. The clock drawing receives either zero or two points, producing a five-point total. A score of three tofive indicates a lower likelihood of dementia, although it does not rule outcognitive impairment. Mini-Cog is a screening tool, not a diagnosis or a universal life insurance passing standard.

Memory technique: Connect random  practice words through a vivid story. If the words are apple, train, jacket, river, and  dog, imagine a dog wearing a jacket and  carrying an apple onto a train that  crosses a river. Practice the technique rather than memorizing an insurer’s  actual questionnaire.

What Is Evaluated in the Clock-Drawing Test?

A normal Mini-Cog clock generally includes:

What Is Evaluated During the Chair-and-Walking Test?

The Timed Up and Go test generally asks the applicant to stand from a chair,walk 10 feet, turn, return, and sit down. Theexaminer may record:

The test helps evaluate leg strength, balance, coordination, fall risk, mobility, frailty, and independent living ability. The CDC notes that taking 12 seconds or longer may indicate increased fall risk, but life insurers may apply their own underwriting standards rather than treating12 seconds as a universal pass-or-fail score.

 

Why Do Insurers Ask About Travel, Exercise, and Social Activities?

Questions about walking, sports,childcare, travel, book clubs, volunteer work, community service, church activities, hobbies, and helping family or friends are not casual conversation.They help an underwriter understand the applicant’s functional age – how independently and actively the person lives – instead of relying only on chronological age and medical records.

North American’s underwriting guidance for applicants age 71 and older specifically identifies physical activity, travel, exercise, social activities, and independence in activities of daily living as favorable considerations. The CDC also reports that supportive social connections are associated with better physical and emotional health, reduced loneliness, greater quality of life, and longer life.

 

Do These Activities Have a Point Value?

There is generally no publicly disclosed, universal point system awarding a fixed number ofpoints for taking a trip,attending church, playing tennis, helping with childcare, or belonging to a book club. Unlike the published Mini-Cog scoring system, these lifestyle answers are usually evaluated as partof the applicant’s overall underwriting profile.

A carrier may treat sustained physical activity, recent travel, social engagement, and independence as favorable evidence, particularly when considering a preferred underwriting classification. However, one activity does not guarantee approval or a particular rate class. Frequency, consistency, independence, medical history, cognitive testing, mobility, falls, and the complete application are considered together.

 

How Should Applicants Prepare?

Schedule the exam when you are rested, alert, hydrated, and not rushed. Eliminate television, telephone, and household distractions. Wear your normal glasses, hearing aids, footwear, and prescribed walking aids. Review the current date, day, month, year, and season. Listen carefully, take every question seriously, and request clarification when needed.

 

Review the Previous 12 Months

Before the senior life insurance exam, make a truthful list of your activities during the past year so that you do not overlookmeaningful parts of your normal life. Include:

 

Applicants sometimes answer ‘not much’ because they are surprised and cannot immediately remember everything they do. Reviewing the year helps the applicant give a complete, accurate description. Activities should never be exaggerated or invented.

If the examiner speaks too quickly, the telephone connection is poor, or an accent makes instructions difficult to understand, politely ask for repetition. If communication remains unclear – or you  are sick, unusually tired, or rushed – request another appointment. Health, fall-history, mobility, and daily-activity questions should always be    answered completely and truthfully. Preparation should help applicants present their actual abilities accurately, not conceal cognitive or physical limitations.  

 

Helpful Memory Technique

Create one exaggerated mental story connecting the words. Imagine a rabbit riding a bicycle beside the ocean, carrying an orange and a silver lantern. It stops at a market, sees a guitar through a window, and falls asleep on a pillow. Practice this technique with changing random words rather than memorizing one list.

 

Preparation Checklist

 

This article is educational and does not establish any carrier’s current underwriting requirements or guarantee a particular underwriting decision. Requirements and scoring methods can change and may vary by product, age, policy amount, and applicant history.