To assess your risk profile, we perform a risk appraisal — a process in which an insurance company reviews information about you, such as the state of your health, your financial situation, and, if necessary, whether your job and hobbies impact your risk profile.

An applicant will typically apply for the most favorable risk class available, and over 80% of the time we will be able to offer a policy in that class after the risk appraisal is completed. Sometimes, however, an additional premium (rating) may be needed to cover an aspect of your risk profile that makes you a less favorable risk. The amount of the additional premium will vary with the degree of extra risk involved, and can also vary by insurance plan.

Doctors and insurance companies evaluate your health differently, and have different roles in their relationship with you.

Your doctor's role is to maintain your current health and support your efforts to improve it, whereas your life insurance provider's role is to maximize the value of your insurance by guaranteeing that you pay the same premium as people with similar risk factors.

When your doctor says you are "fine," it generally means that there is no change in your health or condition. Or, if you have a condition, no change in your care/treatment is recommended. You can leave and come back one year later and the doctor will re-evaluate you at that time and make changes if necessary.

This is the fundamental difference between clinical medicine and insurance medicine. A doctor can monitor your health on a continuous, individual basis, responding to any problems, risk factors or conditions you have with changes in treatment. So from the doctor's perspective, as long as the treatment is going well, you are fine.

We don't have the opportunity to monitor your health. We have one chance to evaluate it (risk appraisal), and from that evaluation we must make a judgement as to how your risk fits with other policyowners and the group that best matches your risk level.

If health risk factors are present, we must base our risk appraisal decision on how those factors could impact your longevity (life span). Current treatment aside, those factors may still remain and continue to be an issue in the future.

If your policy is rated, it does not mean that you aren't going to live as long as someone without a rating. There is no way to predict how risk factors will affect specific individuals. We base our guidelines on our experience of how risk factors affect groups of people over the long term. This is the only way to ensure that you pay the proper amount to cover your risk level.

No, once you have been rated we cannot increase your premium should you encounter health issues down the road. On the other hand, you may be eligible to have your premium reduced if your overall condition improves.

This process is called reconsideration. Reconsideration gives customers with rated policies the opportunity to have their premiums reduced at a later date if they can demonstrate that the reason for the rating has disappeared or improved. Reconsideration is granted on an individual basis.

Just because a policy has been rated does not mean that you should automatically turn it down. There are a number of reasons why accepting the policy is a good idea:

It is to your advantage to accept a rated policy because of the needs you identified with your financial representative.

You will save money by starting now. Waiting just one year to buy a policy could mean an increase in premiums.

You lock in insurability. Your policy was rated because of an identified risk, and that risk may become worse down the road, making it more difficult and expensive to obtain a policy. If you accept a policy now, you keep your coverage regardless of what happens to your health in the future.

If your condition or impairment improves, you may be eligible to have your premium reduced (reconsideration).

Historically, over 85 percent of life insurance applicants who are offered a rated policy accept it.

Not necessarily. A Northwestern Mutual policy that has been rated may outperform non-rated policies from other companies over the life of the contract, based on widely accepted measures of historical performance.

The factors considered in the rating process and rating definitions differ from company to company. Therefore, one company's ratings may not be equivalent to another's. Ultimately, how a policy from any company performs will depend on its favorable investments, expenses, and mortality experience. Ignoring this fact and comparing offers solely on initial premiums may be shortsighted. Consult your Financial Representative for further advice.

We treat all information as personal and sensitive. And, just as you have a responsibility to provide us with personal information, we have a responsibility to ensure that it is handled carefully and with confidentiality.

Northwestern Mutual has been in the business of handling confidential information for a long time—we are experts at it.

We have established procedures in every step of the application/risk appraisal process to help maintain your privacy. Please be assured that we are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of all of the information we receive from our customers.

We may disclose information about you to other parties involved in the insurance process, such as reinsurers, translators, Financial Representatives and medical consultants. We may report information to the Medical Information Bureau. In addition, we may be required by law to disclose information, such as in response to a subpoena in a legal proceeding or as required by a state insurance department.

You should also keep in mind that if you are to be insured under a policy in which another person is the applicant, the applicant may see information that you have put on the application. The application also becomes part of the policy when it is issued and delivered to the policyowner. There are occasions when we come across information that is extremely sensitive in nature, and merits special care and attention. Such information includes:

Positive test results for infection with HIV (the AIDS virus).

History of abuse of alcohol or drugs.

Positive test results for cocaine.

Psychiatric treatment.

In cases like these, in which adverse action is taken or additional information is needed, the insured or personal health care provider is notified regarding what we have discovered, our concerns and how the information impacts the application.

Your Financial Representative and applicant (if different from the insured) are not made aware of this information, only that adverse action has been taken because of "confidential information received at the home office."

In the situation of a possible adverse action, you (the insured) have the option of providing sensitive information directly to the underwriter.