What is the initial step in the total process of insuring a health risk?

The initial step in the total process of insuring a health risk involves field underwriting. This step is crucial as it serves as the first point of contact between the insurer and the potential policyholder. Field underwriting includes gathering preliminary information about the applicant’s health history, lifestyle, and any pre-existing conditions that could affect the risk assessment.

During this stage, agents or underwriters may conduct interviews, collect health questionnaires, or review medical records to better understand the applicant’s health status. This information is vital as it helps determine the applicant's insurability and informs the insurer about the risks involved. By effectively performing field underwriting, the insurer can identify and evaluate the risk before proceeding to deeper analysis, thus ensuring that the underwriting process is comprehensive and efficient.

While other options like claim analysis, policy development, and risk assessment are essential steps within the overall insurance process, they occur later in the cycle after the initial assessment of the applicant’s risk has taken place. Therefore, field underwriting is distinctly positioned as the foundational step in insuring a health risk.