What Is an Unsolicited Application?
An unsolicited application is a request for life insurance coverage that is made by an individual rather than an insurance agent or broker.
Life insurance companies generally heavily scrutinize this type of application because of the likelihood of self-selection, which refers to the probability that individuals with higher health risks will seek insurance on their own instead of through an insurance professional.
Key Takeaways
- An unsolicited application is a life insurance request that is made directly from an individual, versus an agent or broker.
- Such applications often raise concerns among insurers, as they tend to be from consumers with higher health risks.
- This category of insurance seekers is seen as being "self-selected" because they have self-selected into a group, which can then skew the group toward higher risks or higher payouts for the insurer.
- Some life insurers will refuse self-selected, or unsolicited applications, while others will accept the applicants but charge higher rates to account for the higher risk the applicants pose.
- An unsolicited application may also refer to a job application where the applicant applies oftheir own accordand not as a reaction to a specific job opening.
Understanding an Unsolicited Application
A person with a suspected or known health problem, such as heart disease, may try to submit an unsolicited application to purchase life insurance before seeking medical treatment for the condition. These applicants could weigh the insured pool towards bad risks. For this reason, the insurers try to screen out self-selection applicants either by requiring higher rates or by denying coverage altogether.
The reason for insurance carriers' extreme scrutiny of self-selecting insurance applicants can be explained by astatistics concept calledself-selection bias. Self-selection biasarises in any situation (not just buying insurance)in which individuals "select" themselves into agroup, causing abiased sampleand abnormal or undesirable conditions in the group. It is closely related to thenon-response bias, which describeswhen agroup of people responding has different responses than the group of people not responding.
Self-selection is typically a choice an individual makes when an emergency or sudden need for coverage comes up, therefore making the person a higher risk for an insurer to cover.
Disadvantages of Unsolicited Insurance Applications
Self-selection makes determining the causemore difficult, which makes determining risk levels problematic for insurance actuaries. Due to self-selection, there may be a number of differences between the people who choose to apply for insurance and those who are led into it as a course of their life and life decisions. These motivations can vary, but self-selection is typicallysomething aperson does after suddenly recognizing they have an urgent need for insurance.
There are significant differences between self-selectingpopulations and those who aren't self-selecting. An outcome might be that those who elect to submit an unsolicited insurance applicationhave higher-than-normal risks, and this can skew risk pools and throw off the accuracy of mortality tables, for example. A relative measure of 'improvement' might improve the reliability of the study somewhat, but only partially.
Self-selection bias also causes problems in other fields where statistical averagesmight not follow expected patterns. For example,research about programs or products, in particular, is susceptible to biasedevaluations of people who have self-selected to be part of a product research project.
Special Considerations
A distinct but related term is an unsolicited applicant. Unsolicited applicants are those who apply for a job without any advertisem*nt or requirement from the company.
For example, a job seeker may visit a company's website, find contact information for someone who works at the company and send them their resume. Some people choose to do this on the basis that companies don't always advertise all of their job openings.This type of applicant applies of their own accord—not in response to any specific job opening.
As a general rule of thumb, the higher up in a company that a position is, the more one can assume that it is not advertised. This is because companies will usually first look for applicants internally and in their networks. Keeping unqualified applicants as low as possible saves companies time and money.
FAQs
A distinct but related term is an unsolicited applicant. Unsolicited applicants are those who apply for a job without any advertisem*nt or requirement from the company. For example, a job seeker may visit a company's website, find contact information for someone who works at the company and send them their resume.
What is meant by unsolicited application? ›
An unsolicited application is a type of job application sent to us without being asked.
What is an example of an unsolicited application? ›
Example of an unsolicited application
Dear [company name], I am writing to apply for the opportunity to work with you as [position]. I first became aware of your company through [name of source] and after looking at your products and services, I am impressed by your commitment and potential in the area.
What are the benefits of unsolicited job application for potential employers? ›
Applying unsolicited has the benefit of showing a potential employer that you are interested enough in their firm to take the initiative to contact them. For firms, hiring someone who applies unsolicited can save them the hassle and expense of posting a job, reviewing applications and conducting interviews.
What are unsolicited job offers? ›
Unsolicited Job Offers
Unsolicited job offers often come in the form of a job scam email. These offers are not sought by the job seeker and offer either immediate employment or the opportunity to interview for a great job.
What does unsolicited status mean? ›
: not asked for or requested : not solicited. unsolicited advice.
What is the difference between solicited and unsolicited application? ›
response to an advertisem*nt or an announced job opening, it is known as solicited job application. Such application is submitted only when it is known that there are some vacancies in the organization. organization that has not announced any vacancy, it is known as unsolicited job application.
What is the term for unsolicited? ›
unsolicited (adjective as in unasked for) Strongest matches. spontaneous uninvited unwelcome voluntary. Weak matches. free freewilled gratis gratuitous offered uncalled-for undesirable undesired unforced unrequested unsought volunteered.
What is the difference between solicited and unsolicited documents? ›
What's the Difference Between Solicited and Unsolicited Proposals? A solicited proposal is when the customer asks for a proposal while an unsolicited proposal is when you send them a proposal they haven't even asked for. Solicited proposals are usually sent to customers who issue a “Request for Proposal” or RFP.
What is an unsolicited employee? ›
Explanation: Casual callers, also called unsolicited applications, are the prospective employees who go to well-renowned associations informally and either mail or drop in their employment forms looking for any open positions.
Other tips for handling unsolicited job opportunities include the following:
- Know exactly what your career goals are. ...
- Don't let the flattery of being pursued be your only reason for taking a job. ...
- Be open-minded and listen. ...
- Be honest. ...
- Be courteous.
For whatever reason it might be (e.g., you don't have the necessary skills, you're missing a particular certification required for the job, your cover letter had grammatical errors, etc.), you may just not be the right person for the position.
How do you respond to an unsolicited job offer? ›
If you are interested in the opportunity that is being shared with you, let them know. If not, be direct and honest. Respectfully decline it and ask for you to be kept on their radar for future opportunities. If you feel guilty turning down the offer, recruiters love referrals.
How to identify fake job offers? ›
Here are the seven ways you can tell if a job offer is a scam.
- The Recruiter Asks for Personal Information. ...
- Job Offer Seems Too Good To Be True. ...
- The Company Lacks Credibility Online. ...
- The Company Website Does Not Match the Job Listing. ...
- Job Description Is Vague. ...
- The Company Wants You To Pay Upfront.
Recruiters often face the challenge of informing job applicants about decisions, including rejections. While rejection calls may seem uncomfortable, they demonstrate professionalism and regard for candidates' efforts. Recruiters initiate these calls to provide closure and uphold a positive candidate experience.
What does solicited and unsolicited mean? ›
A solicited proposal is when the customer asks for a proposal. They may ask verbally or they may issue a written Request for Proposals (RFP). An unsolicited proposal is when you send them a proposal they haven't even asked for because you think they should buy from you or take some action.
What is the legal definition of unsolicited? ›
unsolicited means, in relation to goods sent to any person, that they are sent without any prior request made by him or on his behalf.
