All Individual health underwriting seems tighter than ever. Each company has it's own hot buttons - for example, in Kansas City if someone tells me they've been in any type of counseling I will not go to Blue Cross as they'll be declined outright most likely (based on my experience). Humana hates joint related issues and will usually rider those depending on severity, other companies have their own hot button issues. What may bother one company, may not bother others - you have to really understand what the client's medical issue is in order to predict which companies may be 'friendlier' to that particular malady. Personally, I've found that with Health Care exchanges on the way, my career in that market going the way of the dinosaur and the level of effort required - I pretty much don't market individual health at all since the bill was passed. If someone comes to me and asks for it - I interview them pretty extensively to see if I think they'll get through underwriting before I jump through hoops doing a bunch of work for free only to be declined. If I check UW guides & know they'll be auto declined - I send them directly to the state high risk pool & save myself a lot of heartache.
