National Western Life Insurance has expanded its product portfolio with the launch of simplified issue life coverage, NWL OptionLife series.

The new life platform includes both rapid issue life and graded death benefit versions, offering customers with the choice of level term or whole life coverage.

National Western Life Insurance life underwriting and new business vice president Fabiola Best said: "OptionLife is a great alternative for harder-to-place cases or for those clients that can’t wait to complete a traditional underwriting process before getting approved for life insurance.

"With our NOW Underwriting process the risk assessment is done all over the phone, saving the consumer and advisor alike valuable time."

The NWL OptionLife series is comprised of ratings from Standard to Table 16 and written exclusively on an electronic application platform.

It also offers accelerated benefits for chronic illness, critical illness and terminal illness.

National Western Life provides a wide range of individual universal life, whole life and term insurance plans as well as annuity products to its customers.

As of September last year, the company has around total consolidated assets of $11.5bn and life insurance in force of $22.6bn.