Fellow, Academy of Life Underwriting (FALU)

Include in-force and pending policies. Add pending cover and business obligations by owner and beneficiary before deciding whether the requested face is supportable.

Apply it: An $8m face amount needs a documented purpose and review of existing and pending coverage before selection.

Connect amount to obligations and beneficiary intent. Distinguish personal income replacement from business continuity; the purpose determines whose financial interest supports the amount.

Compare income, liabilities, ownership, and pending policies so the amount has a defensible business purpose. Reconcile income, liabilities, ownership, and premium source; an unsupported amount can signal misalignment or financing concern.

Use combined-impairment methodology. Evaluate diabetes, hypertension, and renal indicators as an interaction using the carrier’s combined-risk method, not summed debits.

Apply it: Two mild conditions may interact; use the carrier’s combined-risk method rather than adding table ratings.

Reconcile source records and clinical interpretation. Compare original test dates and specialist interpretation; conflicting evidence must be resolved at its clinical source.

Prioritize evidence that could change combined risk, then obtain appropriate clinical interpretation. Request the missing trend or record only when it could move the combined risk or change offered terms.

Check limit, exclusions, and submission rules. Automatic treaty limits, exclusions, and reporting deadlines determine whether the case can proceed without individual referral.

Apply it: A $2m request above $1m retention needs facultative review; verify treaty limits before promising capacity.

Obtain reinsurer consideration before promising capacity. Send consistent medical and financial summaries to facultative markets before telling the applicant that capacity is secured.

A request above retention triggers treaty review, not automatic facultative acceptance. A referral above retention is not acceptance; confirm the reinsurer’s written line, terms, and effective conditions.

Interpret findings with trends and related conditions. Interpret an abnormal result alongside trajectory, treatment, and related conditions rather than using one favorable summary.

Apply it: A normal summary conflicts with an abnormal ECG tracing; obtain clarification before relying on either.

Build on AALU through ALU 301 and fellowship electives FALU extends AALU judgment through advanced underwriting study; course completion does not replace carrier authority.

Refer unresolved material uncertainty to the authorized medical or reinsurance reviewer before final terms. Escalate an unresolved ECG or laboratory conflict when the result could materially change mortality selection or terms.

Reconcile requested face with need and total existing cover. Route large face amounts and complex medical files early so medical, financial, and treaty reviewers can work in parallel.

Apply it: A large financial case with incomplete obligations should remain open for targeted evidence, not guesswork.

Assign medical, financial, and treaty questions to the right reviewer, then reconcile their findings before preparing a consistent offer for the applicant.

Keep offer decisions within delegated underwriting limits. An underwriter may not bind above delegated authority; obtain approval and any treaty support before making an offer.

Explain interactions instead of adding ratings mechanically. Explain how conditions interact and why the aggregate evidence supports the selected class, rather than adding table ratings mechanically.

Apply it: Record the underwriter’s authority, facultative response, and reason for terms so a reviewer can retrace the decision.

Record facultative referral and response. State which terms are approved and which remain subject to facultative acceptance; do not promise unconfirmed capacity.

Preserve source evidence, judgment, and final approval. Keep original evidence, rationale, approvals, and reinsurance responses so an auditor can reconstruct the final selection.