Life Insurance✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 1/5
In the life insurance underwriting process, an attending physician's statement (APS) is best described as:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
An attending physician's statement is a report from the applicant's own doctor that supplies the underwriter with the applicant's medical history, diagnoses, treatment, and current health status. It is requested when the application or a medical examination reveals conditions that need further review. The APS supplements the application and any medical exam, and the applicant must authorize its release, usually through the application's authorization provision.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) The agent's report describes the observations and recommendations of the field underwriter, not the physician's medical history.
- C) An APS is not automatically obtained for every applicant; it is ordered selectively when the underwriter needs more medical detail.
- D) The APS is a medical report from a physician, not a document the applicant signs to accept the policy.
Memory hook
APS = your doctor writes the underwriter. Ordered when the file needs more medical detail than the application gives.