Answer every question truthfully and completely, then stop. Here is what I coach clients on before the exam and interview, with real cases from my files.
Last reviewed October 2026 by Dev Gaymes, Texas-licensed life insurance agent, NPN 16654074 · Editorial policy
The most useful thing to know before a life insurance exam or phone interview is this: answer every question truthfully and completely, then stop. Most of the trouble I see does not come from lying. It comes from people saying more than the question asked, such as a story, a guess or a someday plan, and that extra information goes into the file. It matters because in Texas a carrier can contest a policy over application misstatements during the first two years it is in force.
Remember what is going on in that conversation. It is the examiner’s and the underwriter’s job to find anything that might be hidden, and everything they find is reported in the case. So I tell every client the same thing: be factual, be honest, and answer only the question. The underwriter can always ask for more information. They can never unhear what has already been said.
I think of it as offense and defense. I play offense: I prepare the case, I know what the carrier will look for, and I put the client’s history in front of the underwriter in the clearest form. The underwriter plays defense: their job is to protect the carrier from risk it has not priced. Extra commentary in an interview only gives the defense more to work with.
One client was asked how many drinks he has in a week. That question has a number for an answer. Instead he told a story that included his bachelor party and a few other one-off nights. He did not have an alcohol problem, but the interview record now described heavy drinking.
It cost him insurability with one carrier. To move forward, we had to get a letter from his doctor stating that he had never been advised to cut back on alcohol. That was extra time and paperwork caused by a story nobody asked for.
The fix is simple. Give the factual answer for your typical week. If the next question is broader, such as whether you have ever been advised to reduce your drinking, answer that question as asked.
Many applications ask about hazardous activities and foreign travel. I regularly hear applicants say they would like to go skydiving or bungee jumping, learn to fly a plane, or spend six months traveling in Africa someday. If there is no ticket booked, no event scheduled and nothing paid for, that is a wish, not a plan, and it does not answer a question about your plans.
If you have booked the jump, enrolled in flight lessons or bought the plane ticket, say so, because the question covers it. If you already skydive, that is a current activity and it gets disclosed. And if a question is worded more broadly than plans, answer it the way it is worded.
These sound alike and read very differently in a file. “My doctor wants to run tests” suggests the doctor suspects something. “My doctor recommended a screening” describes prevention. Doctors would rather check than be sorry, and ordering a test usually does not mean they think something is wrong.
One client had a colonoscopy coming up. Nothing was wrong with him; his doctor recommended it because of his family history. Said accurately, that is a screening based on family history. Said loosely, it sounds like a symptom being investigated, which can lead an underwriter to wait for the result before deciding.
If a test is pending, disclose it, because applications usually ask. Just describe why it was ordered as precisely as your doctor did.
A single borderline blood pressure or cholesterol reading is not a diagnosis of hypertension or high cholesterol, so do not diagnose yourself in the interview. If a question asks whether you have been diagnosed with or treated for a condition, answer based on what your doctor actually told you and prescribed. If it asks about abnormal test results, a borderline reading counts, and you say so.
People worry about this more than they need to. Underwriters are forgiving about honest memory gaps, because over a lifetime people forget things: a medication taken for a few weeks two years ago, or a borderline reading that never became a diagnosis. When the records show something you did not mention, the usual response is a follow-up question to remind you and gather details.
In October 2026 I had a client who did not mention a cancer screening from 2024. Everything had come back negative, but her doctor’s note recommended a follow-up in a year, and she had not had it. Before the carrier would give a rating, she had to complete the follow-up test. It came back negative. There was no penalty. It extended the timeline, and no harm was done.
Texas law reflects the same idea: a misstatement on a life insurance application does not defeat recovery unless it is of a material fact and affects the risks the insurer assumed (Texas Insurance Code section 705.051). That is not permission to be careless. It is a reason not to panic over an honest slip. If you remember something after the interview, tell your agent right away so it can be added before the policy is issued.
Forgetting is different from leaving something out on purpose. I have had applicants who knowingly left a diagnosis off because they had been declined for it in the past. They were declined with me as well. The diagnosis was in their records, and the carrier found it.
Before making an offer, carriers typically check several sources: prescription history reports, medical records from your doctors, the MIB database that insurers share coded application information through, your driving record, and the exam’s blood and urine results. The FTC has treated prescription history reports sold to insurers as consumer reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If a question asks about something in your history, expect it to come up whether you mention it or not.
The stakes go beyond a decline. Knowingly giving false material information to support an insurance application, with intent to deceive the insurer, is insurance fraud under Texas Penal Code section 35.02. A policy issued on a misstatement can also be contested during its first two years (Texas Insurance Code section 1101.006). After that Texas law limits the defense, but a misstatement that was material and intentional can still be raised (section 705.104). The worst time for one to surface is after a death, when your family files the claim.
So I will not coach anyone to leave out something a question asks for. If you have a history you are worried about, tell me first. Often the better move is an informal inquiry, where underwriters review your history before a formal application goes in. How an informal inquiry works.
Be factual, be honest, answer the question and stop. The interview is not the place for the full story of your life; your records already tell the underwriter most of it. My job is to know what they will find, prepare your case before it goes in and choose where it goes. Yours is to answer what is asked, accurately.
Answer every question fully and truthfully, then stop. Do not add stories, guesses, one-off events or someday plans the question did not ask about. The underwriter can always ask a follow-up question, but anything you volunteer goes into the file.
In my experience underwriters are forgiving about honest memory gaps. When records show something you did not mention, the usual response is a follow-up question, and sometimes an extra test, which can lengthen the timeline. If you remember something after the interview, tell your agent so it can be added before the policy is issued.
In Texas, a carrier can contest a policy over application misstatements during the first two years it is in force (Texas Insurance Code section 1101.006). After that Texas law limits the defense, with exceptions, including a misstatement that was material and intentional (section 705.104). This is general information, not legal advice; for a disputed claim, talk to a Texas attorney.
Answer the question as it is worded. If it asks about planned activities or travel, disclose what is booked, scheduled or paid for. A wish with nothing arranged is not a plan. If you already do the activity, it is a current activity and gets disclosed.
Carriers typically review prescription history reports, medical records from your doctors, the MIB database that insurers share coded application information through, your driving record, and exam lab results. Requirements vary by carrier, age and coverage amount.
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Tell me what is in your history before anything goes to a carrier. I will walk you through what the questions cover.
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