How to Access the Medical Information Bureau

Rachael Brennan has been working in the insurance industry since 2006 when she began working as a licensed insurance representative for 21st Century Insurance, during which time she earned her Property and Casualty license in all 50 states.
After several years she expanded her insurance expertise, earning her license in Health and AD&D insurance as well. She has worked for small health in…

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Written by

Rachael Brennan

Licensed Insurance Agent

Benjamin Carr was a licensed insurance agent in Georgia and has two years’ experience in life, health, property and casualty coverage. He has worked with State Farm and other risk management firms. He is also a strategic writer and editor with a background in branding, marketing, and quality assurance. He has been in military newsrooms — literally on the frontline of journalism.

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Reviewed by

Benji Carr

Former Licensed Life Insurance Agent

UPDATED: Jan 30, 2022

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Quick Facts

The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) compiles information from an individual’s life, health, disability, or long-term care insurance applications
MIB reports may include medical information, risky hobbies and habits, driving record information, and credit information
Insurance companies can access MIB reports to ensure that information is accurate and consistent
MIB reports can also be used to detect fraud

What is the Medical Information Bureau (MIB)?

The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) is an organization that compiles information from an individual’s insurance applications. For example, if you apply for life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, or long-term care insurance, the MIB will compile the information that you enter into each application.

What is the purpose of the Medical Information Bureau? The MIB compiles the information from insurance applications to ensure that consumers are entering accurate and consistent information.

What would the Medical Information Bureau identify? In cases where a consumer does not enter the same information across all applications, the MIB would identify differences in information and possibly fraud. Insurance companies can also access the reports created by the MIB to verify the information on your application.

Who makes up the Medical Information Bureau? Almost every life insurance company in the United States and Canada is a member of the MIB, which is more than 800 companies. Each company can see the information that other companies know about an individual.

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What is in an MIB report?

An MIB report will include information from your insurance applications from the past three to five years. The report may include:

The date of any insurance applications
The date of a diagnosis or medical treatment
All known medical conditions
Types of medical treatments
The source of medical information
Habits such as smoking or drug use
Risky hobbies or activities
Driving records
Credit information

For example, if you have an operation done and enter it onto an insurance application, your MIB report would include information such as the operation type, the date of the operation, and where they received that information (usually from an Attending Physician Statement).

Insurance companies can use this information, along with other records, such as a medical exam, other physician statements, and prescription records to make sure that nothing important is missing from your application.

Entries on your MIB report will remain for up to seven years. In addition, if an underwriting company requests your records, that will be noted on your report for up to two years.

There are no personal identifiers included in your MIB report, which means the information can’t be used to steal your identity. Instead, the information is coded according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10). In addition, your MIB report includes only information that is “significant to the underwriting process.”

The entire process of compiling information falls under Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, which means that information cannot be sent to an insurance company without your consent.

How do I access my MIB report?

If you have ever applied for insurance, you can request a copy of your MIB report online or by calling (866) 692-6901. The copy that you receive may include:

Medical and personal information
The names of insurance companies that have requested your information
The dates on which insurance companies requested your information
Information from the MIB’s Disability Insurance Record System (DIRS) for those who have applied for disability insurance

The MIB falls under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which means that you have all the rights associated with the FCRA, including free copies of your report. In addition, you also have the right to dispute any incorrect information in your report.

Why do life insurance companies use MIB reports?

The MIB was created to protect insurance companies and consumers against fraud. Therefore, life insurance companies, as well as other types of insurance companies, can use MIB reports to ensure that consumers are providing accurate information.

Life insurance companies will set your life insurance rates based on the amount of risk that you pose to the insurance company, based on health, lifestyle, and more. Therefore, insurance companies can access your MIB report to verify medical information and to help determine how much they will charge for your policy.

Verifying your information with an MIB report helps life insurance companies charge accurate prices. For example, if an applicant forgets to include a past medical procedure on their application, or if someone is purposely committing fraud, the life insurance company can either raise their rates according to their health status or deny coverage due to fraud.

After you’ve checked your Medical Information Bureau report, enter your ZIP code into our free quote comparison tool below to find affordable life insurance.