Last reviewed October 2026 by Dev Gaymes, Texas-licensed life insurance agent, NPN 16654074 · Editorial policy
This is a record of 39 life insurance cases I placed in 2026, with the condition, the first offer on record, the final offer and how long the decision took. The median time from submitted application to a carrier decision was 4 days, and 21 of the 39 ended with a better offer than the first one on record. It is a casebook, not a study: these are completed placements I chose to record, so they show what happened on real files, not the odds for yours.
The summary
| Measure | Result |
|---|
| Cases | 39, all placed in 2026 |
| Median time from submitted application to a carrier decision | 4 days |
| Decided within 7 days | 31 of 39 |
| Decided the same day or the next day | 10 of 39 |
| Longest | 45 days (an applicant living outside the U.S.) |
| Declined or postponed on the first offer on record | 7; all 7 later placed |
| Final offer better than the first offer on record | 21 of 39 |
| Final offer Standard or better | 38 of 39 (the other was Table 4 after a decline) |
DG Life Group casebook, 39 cases placed in 2026. Completed placements only; not a statistical sample and not a prediction.
Declined, postponed or graded elsewhere, then placed
Seven clients came in with a decline or postponement on record. All seven were placed, six at Standard and one at Table 4.
- Day-one coverage instead of a waiting period. Five clients had been declined, postponed, or offered only a policy with a waiting period or a graded benefit (cases 1, 17, 20, 26 and 36). Each was placed with full coverage from day one, all within a day. Case 17 had been rated Table 6 on a policy with a waiting period and now pays less for day-one coverage.
- Diabetes and heart stents (case 19). An informal attempt at term showed there was one realistic option. He was placed in whole life at Standard the next day.
- PTSD, depression and a disability (case 29). A veteran who had been declined elsewhere was placed at Table 4 without a medical exam.
- Cancer history (case 34). Declined by every traditional carrier approached, 12 in all. He was placed in a non-traditional increasing term policy that covers him immediately. It took three weeks.
Rated, then improved at another carrier
- Table 2 to Standard on diabetes (cases 21, 25 and 30). Three diabetic clients had Table 2 offers. A second or third carrier approved each at Standard.
- Table 2 to Preferred on a heart murmur (case 35). An online provider would not take the additional answers the file needed. The first carrier I approached approved him at Preferred in three days.
- Table 4 to Standard on blood pressure and build (case 2). His medical-exam quotes were higher than the no-exam policy that approved him at Standard.
- Table 2 to Standard on an opioid prescription (case 13). In my experience many carriers decline opioid use outright; a second carrier approved her at Standard.
- Tobacco rates to non-tobacco (case 33). Several carriers had rated her marijuana use as tobacco. The fourth carrier rated her non-tobacco. How marijuana use is underwritten.
- Standard to Preferred (cases 11, 18, 23 and 37). Cholesterol after weight loss, blood pressure with tobacco use, anxiety with ADHD, and elevated blood pressure. Each found a better class at a second carrier, or on a rewrite before the old term ran out.
Conditions placed where they belonged the first time
Most files with a condition do not need several carriers. They need the right one first. Sleep apnea on CPAP (case 5) and controlled blood pressure (cases 6 and 24) reached Preferred or Preferred Plus; Barrett’s esophagus with sleep apnea (case 3) and thyroid disorder (case 22) were Standard at the first carrier, and several conditions together (case 31) at the second. Most were decided in four to six days without a medical exam.
Business, foreign national and review cases
- Loan collateral (cases 27, 28 and 38). Three $1 million policies for collateral assignments, decided in 6, 4 and 1 days. How collateral assignment works.
- Foreign nationals living abroad (cases 12 and 39). One completed the application and exam on a visit and finished the policy through a limited power of attorney (three weeks); the other took 45 days. Coverage for non-U.S. citizens.
- Policy reviews (cases 14 and 15). Two indexed universal life policies bought a few months earlier did not match their owners’ goals. Both were redesigned, one funded more heavily with living benefits riders, the other with a lower death benefit so the same premium gives it more margin in weak years.
- One that moved down (case 9). A business owner with a $500,000 online policy at Preferred needed $2 million. The larger policy came at Standard, for a small increase in premium and no exam. A bigger face amount is underwritten more closely.
All 39 cases
| Case | Age, sex | Condition or factor | Coverage | First offer on record | Final | Carriers | Time |
|---|
| 1 | 75+, F | High blood pressure, diabetes, stent five years earlier | $25k whole life (final expense) | Declined; 2-year waiting period elsewhere | Standard, day-one | 4 | Same day |
| 2 | 55-64, M | High blood pressure, BMI about 37 | $500k 10-year term | Table 4 | Standard | 3 | 2 weeks |
| 3 | 35-44, M | Barrett's esophagus, sleep apnea | $2M 20-year term | Standard | Standard | 1 | 4 days |
| 4 | 35-44, F | Mother diagnosed with breast cancer in her 40s | $1M 20-year term | Preferred | Preferred | 1 | 1 week |
| 5 | 25-34, M | Sleep apnea, CPAP | $2M 20-year term | Preferred Plus | Preferred Plus | 1 | 4 days |
| 6 | 25-34, F | High blood pressure | $1M 20-year term | Preferred Plus | Preferred Plus | 1 | 4 days |
| 7 | 45-54, M | None noted | $2M 20-year term | Preferred | Preferred | 1 | 3 days |
| 8 | 25-34, F | Complications during pregnancy | $500k 20-year term | Preferred Plus | Preferred Plus | 1 | 4 days |
| 9 | 35-44, M | Tobacco, BMI about 32 | $2M 20-year term | Preferred ($500k existing policy) | Standard | 3 | 4 days |
| 10 | 35-44, M | None noted | $2M 20-year term | Preferred | Preferred | 1 | 4 days |
| 11 | 45-54, M | High cholesterol, recent weight loss, green card holder | $1M 20-year term | Standard | Preferred | 2 | 5 days |
| 12 | 45-54, M | Foreign national living abroad | $1.5M 20-year term | Standard | Standard | 2 | 3 weeks |
| 13 | 55-64, F | Prescription opioid for back pain | $60k IUL | Table 2 | Standard | 2 | 5 days |
| 14 | 25-34, M | Review of a recently bought IUL | $250k IUL | Preferred | Preferred Plus | 1 | 2 weeks |
| 15 | 25-34, F | Review of a recently bought IUL, green card holder | $300k IUL | Preferred | Preferred Plus | 1 | 2 weeks |
| 16 | 45-54, F | High blood pressure, diabetes | $50k IUL | Standard | Standard | 1 | 1 day |
| 17 | 65-74, F | High blood pressure, prescription opioid, high BMI, oxygen | $30k whole life (final expense) | Table 6 with a 2-year waiting period | Standard, day-one | 1 | 1 day |
| 18 | 55-64, M | Elevated blood pressure, tobacco | $250k 10-year term | Standard | Preferred | 2 | 6 days |
| 19 | 45-54, M | Diabetes, multiple heart stents | $100k whole life | Declined | Standard | 2 | 1 day |
| 20 | 45-54, M | Diabetes, kidney disease | $25k whole life (final expense) | Declined | Standard, day-one | 3 | 1 day |
| 21 | 55-64, F | Diabetes | $200k IUL | Table 2 | Standard | 2 | 3 days |
| 22 | 35-44, F | Thyroid disorder | $1.5M 20-year term | Standard | Standard | 1 | 5 days |
| 23 | 25-34, M | Anxiety, ADHD, tobacco | $2M 30-year term | Standard | Preferred | 2 | 5 days |
| 24 | 35-44, M | High blood pressure | $1M 20-year term | Preferred | Preferred | 1 | 4 days |
| 25 | 45-54, F | Diabetes, sleep apnea | $300k IUL | Table 2 | Standard | 2 | 1 day |
| 26 | 65-74, M | Heart stent, diabetes, high cholesterol | $10k whole life (final expense) | Declined; graded only elsewhere | Standard, day-one | 2 | 1 day |
| 27 | 35-44, M | None noted; loan collateral | $1M | Preferred | Preferred | 1 | 6 days |
| 28 | 35-44, M | None noted; loan collateral | $1M | Standard Plus | Standard Plus | 1 | 4 days |
| 29 | 45-54, F | PTSD, depression, disability | $160k | Declined | Table 4 | 1 | 1 day |
| 30 | 45-54, M | Diabetes | $750k | Table 2 | Standard | 3 | 8 days |
| 31 | 55-64, M | Anxiety, asthma, testosterone therapy, past bankruptcy | $250k | Standard | Standard | 2 | 6 days |
| 32 | 55-64, F | High cholesterol | $250k with living benefits | Preferred | Preferred | 1 | 5 days |
| 33 | 25-34, F | Marijuana use four times a week | $500k | Standard tobacco | Standard non-tobacco | 4 | 4 weeks |
| 34 | 45-54, M | Cancer history | $300k | Declined by traditional carriers | Standard | 12 | 3 weeks |
| 35 | 35-44, M | Heart murmur on record | $2M | Table 2 | Preferred | 1 | 3 days |
| 36 | 55-64, F | Arthritis, diabetes | $40k | Postponed; waiting period elsewhere | Standard, day-one | 4 | 1 day |
| 37 | 45-54, M | Elevated blood pressure | $1.5M | Standard | Preferred | 1 | 4 days |
| 38 | 55-64, M | Slightly elevated blood pressure; loan collateral | $1M 20-year term | Preferred | Preferred | 1 | 1 day |
| 39 | 55-64, M | Foreign national living abroad | $1.3M | Standard | Standard | 1 | 45 days |
Age bands, no names or carriers. "First offer on record" is the earliest offer on file, which sometimes came from another agent, an online carrier or an existing policy. Time is from submitted application to carrier decision.
What this casebook does not show
- Your odds. Every case here was placed. Files that never placed are not in it, so it shows what is possible, not how likely it is.
- Prices. Premiums depend on age, amount, product and carrier. For dated, illustrative rates, see pricing and what table ratings cost.
- Carrier names. Guidelines change, and the point is that carriers differ, not which one won a particular file.
If your file looks like one of these, the first step is usually an informal inquiry before any application goes in. How that works.
Sources and limitations- Data: DG Life Group impaired-risk casebook, 2026, compiled from carrier portals, the CRM and submitted applications, not from memory. Age bands rather than ages, no names, dates of birth, employers, locations or carrier names. Height and weight are shown as approximate BMI.
- Selection: these are cases Dev chose to record, and all of them were placed. Applications that were never placed do not produce a decision date, so the figures describe completed placements, not the odds of being placed.
- Time to decision: days from submitted application to carrier decision. "Same day" means an instant decision. Policy delivery and the first premium come after.
- Replacements: several cases replaced or added to an existing policy. Texas requires replacement disclosure and comparison forms, and an existing policy should stay in force until the new one is issued. How a policy review works.
- Limitations: Dev Gaymes is a licensed life insurance agent, not a physician; nothing here is medical advice, and no one should change a medication or treatment for an application. Rate classes and outcomes are specific to each file and carrier.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DG Life Group casebook?A record of 39 life insurance cases Dev Gaymes placed in 2026, taken from carrier portals and application records and described without names, dates of birth or carrier names. It shows the condition, the first offer on record, the final offer and how long the decision took.
Do these cases predict what I will be offered?No. They are completed placements chosen and recorded by one agent, not a statistical sample. Your offer depends on your full medical and financial record, the coverage you apply for and the carrier that underwrites it.
How is time to decision measured?Days from the submitted application to the carrier’s underwriting decision, taken from carrier records. It is not the time to policy delivery or to the first premium. Across the 39 cases the median was 4 days, and 31 were decided within a week.
What does first offer on record mean?The earliest offer or decision on file for that client. In some cases it came from another agent, an online carrier or a policy the client already owned before the case came to me; in others it was the first carrier I approached.
Why are carrier names left out?Carriers change their underwriting guidelines, so a name attached to an outcome goes out of date quickly and can mislead. The useful point is that carriers reach different answers on the same file.
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