More people would consider buying life insurance if they didn't have to take a physical exam, according to the 2017 Insurance Barometer Study, jointly conducted by LIMRA in Arlington, Va. and Life Happens, a Windsor, Conn.-based educational nonprofit.

A majority (70 percent) of the 2,031 U.S. adults surveyed by the two groups say their likelihood of purchase would increase if carriers would conduct "simplified underwriting," defined in the study as making use of publically available data for risk classification decisions for life insurance pricing, enabling purchase without requiring blood and fluids for medical testing.

The alternative process would not only be faster and easier, but would also provide greater transparency of risk and price, and would be unbiased because there would be no medical exams, a majority of the survey respondents say.

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Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.