Regarding the life insurance application, who must sign it?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
The applicant must personally sign the life insurance application. The signature authenticates the application and makes the applicant's statements part of the contract; an unsigned or agent-signed application can make the policy void or contestable. An agent may not sign for the applicant, and a medical examiner signs only to certify the examination, never for the applicant. Paying the first premium does not cure the missing signature — the signed application is a foundation of the contract and of the incontestability clock, since the insurer relies on the applicant's representations in deciding whether to issue.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Agents are prohibited from signing the application for the applicant. Only the applicant's own signature authenticates the statements and makes them part of the contract; an agent-signed application may be void or contestable.
- C) The medical examiner signs to certify the results of the physical examination, not to represent the applicant's consent. The applicant must personally execute the application.
- D) Paying the first premium creates a conditional receipt but does not substitute for the applicant's signature. The signed application remains essential to contract formation and to the running of the contestability period.
Memory hook
The pen belongs to the applicant — an agent's signature makes the application worthless.