Letter of Explanation for Life Insurance Underwriting

You submit a clean application. A week later the underwriter emails: "Please provide a letter of explanation regarding the client's travel to Peru." Or the client's climbing. Or why they're applying for $2 million on a $90,000 income.

A good letter of explanation can turn a postponed or rated case into a standard approval. A vague one usually triggers another round of questions and another two weeks of waiting.

I sell a lot of coverage to climbers, skiers and people who travel for work, so I've written a lot of these. Here's when underwriters ask for them, what goes in one, and a sample you can adapt.

What a letter of explanation is

A letter of explanation (often shortened to LOE) is a short written statement that gives the underwriter context about one specific part of an application. It answers the questions the application form didn't have space for.

It can come from:

• The client, explaining their own facts and signing it. This is the most common.
• The advisor, as a cover letter that summarizes the case and points to the evidence.
• A third party, such as an employer confirming a work posting abroad or an accountant confirming income.

It doesn't replace a carrier questionnaire. If the carrier wants their foreign travel or avocation form, complete that too.

When underwriters ask for one

Foreign travel and residence

Carriers ask about travel and residence outside North America because risk varies by country. Equitable Life's foreign travel and residence questionnaire asks whether the client plans to travel outside North America for more than six weeks in total, or change their country of residence, in the next 12 months. BMO's foreign travel questionnaire asks about the past and next 12 months, and Empire's version asks about the past 24.

A letter helps when:

• The trip is long or to a country with a government travel advisory
• The client works abroad on rotation
• The client is a newcomer to Canada and still travels home
• The dates or plans are uncertain

Adventure sports and hazardous activities

Climbing, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, scuba, skydiving, motor racing and private flying all get extra questions. Foresters' underwriting guide lists a specific climbing and mountaineering questionnaire, for example.

Manulife's underwriting team suggests that on larger cases you provide the questionnaire plus a detailed cover letter on the client's involvement, expertise, experience and club affiliations. Underwriters want to know how often, how high or how deep, where, with whom, and what training and safety equipment is involved.

Financial justification

Underwriters need the coverage amount to make sense for the client's income, net worth and purpose. You'll get a request when:

• Coverage is high relative to income (common with high earners early in their career)
• Income is irregular, self-employed or recently changed
• The policy is for business purposes, such as buy-sell or key person
• A non-working spouse is applying for a large amount

Medical history

The application and medical records usually cover health. A letter helps when the records don't tell the full story: a single elevated reading that was investigated and cleared, a past condition that's fully resolved, or a gap in treatment with a simple reason. Empire's field underwriting guide gives a sense of the detail underwriters look for: diagnosis, dates, medications and dosage, treatment, time off work and the doctors involved.

Discrepancies

If the paramed exam, the MIB, a prescription check or a previous application doesn't match what the client said, the underwriter will ask why. Manulife has a good piece on why underwriters ask for questionnaires that weren't triggered by the application. The answer is usually that they found information somewhere else.

How to write one

Keep to the facts that were asked about

Read the underwriter's request twice. Answer exactly what they asked, completely. Don't add a life story.

Be specific

"I climb sometimes" tells the underwriter nothing. "I climb outdoors about 15 days a year, on bolted sport routes up to grade 5.11, in the Bow Valley, always with a partner" gives them something to rate.

Numbers that help:

• Dates and durations
• Frequency (days per year)
• Altitudes, depths, grades or speeds
• Dollar amounts and sources
• Names of doctors, clinics or employers

Include evidence

Attach what supports the letter: a doctor's note, a travel itinerary, an employer letter, a certification card, tax returns or financial statements. Reference each attachment in the letter.

Keep it consistent with the application

Every fact in the letter has to match the application. If it doesn't, fix the application through the carrier first. An inconsistent letter is worse than no letter.

Have the client sign and date it

A client letter should be signed and dated by the client. Check the carrier's signature rules if it's being sent electronically.

Write it in plain language

Short paragraphs, one topic each. The underwriter is reading dozens of these a day.

Sample letter of explanation (fictional client)

This is a fictional example for illustration. The client, dates and details are made up. Adapt it to what your underwriter actually asked for.

Letter of explanation: climbing and planned travel

Applicant: Daniel Okafor, date of birth March 2, 1991 Application: Term 20, $750,000 Date: October 20, 2026

To the underwriter,

You asked for more information about my climbing and my planned trip to Nepal. Here are the details.

Climbing - I have climbed for 9 years. I took an introductory course with the Alpine Club of Canada in 2017. - I sport climb outdoors about 20 days a year, mostly in Canmore and Squamish, on bolted routes graded 5.10 to 5.11. I always climb with a partner and use a rope, helmet and harness. - I climb indoors at a gym about twice a week. - I do one or two alpine scrambles a summer in the Canadian Rockies, below 3,500 metres, on established routes. I do not do technical ice climbing, solo climbing or climbing above 4,000 metres. - I have never had a climbing accident that needed medical treatment.

Travel to Nepal - I plan to travel to Nepal from April 4 to April 25, 2027 (21 days) to hike the Annapurna Circuit with a licensed trekking company. - The highest point on the route is Thorong La Pass at about 5,400 metres. I will be on a guided trek on established trails, not technical climbing. - I have no other travel outside North America planned in the next 12 months. My last trip outside North America was to Portugal for 10 days in 2025.

Attached 1. Completed climbing and mountaineering questionnaire 2. Trekking company booking confirmation and itinerary

I confirm the information above is true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

Daniel Okafor Signed October 20, 2026

Notice what it does. It answers both questions with numbers, separates what he does from what he doesn't do, matches the questionnaire, and points to evidence. An underwriter can rate that in one read.

An advisor cover letter, briefly

On larger or complex cases, add your own one-page cover letter:

• One paragraph on the client and the purpose of the coverage
• A bullet list of what's attached
• Anything you think the underwriter should know (for example, that the client's climbing is mostly gym-based)
• Your contact details for questions

Don't argue for a rating in the cover letter. Give the underwriter what they need, clearly, and let the facts speak.

Tips from the field

• Ask before you guess. If the request is vague, call or email the underwriter and ask what they need.
• Set expectations early. If a client mentions climbing or a long trip during the needs call, warn them a questionnaire and a letter are likely.
• Shop the risk. Carriers treat activities and destinations differently. If one carrier's answer is an exclusion, another may offer a standard rating. Your MGA's underwriting desk can help.
• Keep a copy. Save every letter and attachment in the client's compliance file.

In PolicyStream, each client has one file with their quotes, application, notes and uploads, so the letter and its attachments sit next to everything else when the underwriter comes back with a question. It's built for Canadian advisors only and isn't available in Quebec yet.

This article is general information, not legal, medical or underwriting advice. Each carrier sets its own requirements, so follow the underwriter's request and check with your MGA.

If you want one place for every case file, start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed.

Frequently asked questions

← All guides