Executive Summary
- A 15-minute annual review is intake and orientation — not underwriting, not a quote, and not a carrier decision.
- Informal conversation and a formal application are different steps. Formal applications can create a record other carriers may later consider.
- Just 32% of consumers believe they are knowledgeable about life insurance; 53% prefer speaking with a professional (2026 Insurance Barometer Study, LIMRA and Life Happens).
Fifteen minutes is intake, not underwriting
You do not need a complete medical file on the first call. You need an honest sketch of what you own and what it was meant to do.
Typical ground:
- Individual, workplace, or both.
- Term or permanent; face amount; years left on a level period.
- Who is listed as beneficiary.
- What has changed in the household — and, at a high level, in the health and work facts a carrier would eventually evaluate.
Gregory M. Sloan is a Licensed Insurance Representative. He does not underwrite. He does not issue approvals. Carriers do. The point of fifteen minutes is to keep you from treating a website number as a decision, and from filing a formal application to find out what a conversation could have flagged.
Informal and formal are not the same step
Informal: questions, documents you already have, a read of the contract, sometimes — later, if it fits — an informal inquiry to a carrier that does not create the same documented decision path as a signed application.
Formal: you apply. Answers are certified. Authorized records may be checked. The carrier’s action can become part of the history the next carrier sees.
People blur those steps because quote engines and instant-issue funnels are designed to blur them. An annual review un-blurs them on purpose.
If a different rate or path may exist, the review is where you decide whether a formal application is the tool — and which one, in which order.
Nothing is filed unless you choose it
The 2026 Insurance Barometer Study, LIMRA and Life Happens, found that 53% of consumers prefer speaking directly with a financial professional by phone, video chat, or in person. 71% either have or are looking for a financial professional. 45% already work with one. Just 32% believe they are knowledgeable about life insurance.
This site is informational. The 15-minute review is the working conversation. You can stop after it. You can take time. You can keep the policy you have.
Coverage decisions are made in underwriting — not by a quote engine. Carriers evaluate data, not intentions. Protect the file before you add to it.
Understand how to protect your insurability before applying.
A confidential 15-minute annual review with Gregory M. Sloan, CLU®, ChFC®, Licensed Insurance Representative. Not an application.
Call 800.365.TERM (800-365-8376) Direct/Text 754-313-6200
Information only. This article is not tax, legal, or investment advice.