A Video MER (Video Medical Examination Report) is a remote medical assessment process used by insurance companies during underwriting. A doctor examines the proposer over a live video call, asks the health questions from the insurer's medical form, checks the proposer's photo ID on camera, and records the findings in a Medical Examination Report (MER) that the underwriter uses to decide on the policy. Insurers and TPAs also call it VMER or video tele-MER.
This guide is for insurance underwriting, operations and product teams who run or are building a video MER process. It explains how video MER differs from tele-MER and a physical medical, the steps of a session, what the report contains, how it relates to the pre-issuance verification call (PIVC), and what IRDAI does and does not say about it.
Key takeaways
- Video MER replaces the clinic visit for the doctor's part of a pre-policy medical; blood, urine and other tests are still collected in person when the insurer's medical grid asks for them.
- The insurer's underwriting rules decide who needs a video MER, usually by age and sum assured.
- Tele-MER can mean a phone interview or a video call, depending on the insurer; a video MER is always on video, so the doctor can see the proposer and their ID.
- We found no IRDAI rule that sets a format for video MER or tele-MER. Insurers selling health cover must have a board-approved underwriting policy (IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, 2024). For life and health cover alike, the insurer's own underwriting rules decide when a video MER is enough.
- PIVC is a separate call that checks the proposer understood the policy before issue; it is not the medical exam.
What is Video MER (Medical Examination Report)?
A medical examination report (MER) is the form a doctor fills in after examining a person who has applied for life or health insurance. It records the proposer's height, weight, blood pressure, medical history and answers to the insurer's health questions, plus the doctor's remarks. The underwriter reads it, with any lab reports, to accept the proposal, load the premium, postpone it or decline it.
In a video MER, the doctor completes that form during a live video call instead of an in-person visit. The proposer joins from a phone or laptop at home. The doctor confirms the person on screen matches their photo ID and asks the questions on the insurer's form. Where the insurer accepts readings taken on video, such as weight on a home scale or blood pressure on the proposer's own monitor, the doctor watches them being taken. Then the doctor signs the report. Some insurers and TPAs also record the call so an underwriter or auditor can check it later; others keep the signed MER as the only record.
Video MER changes only the doctor's part of the medical. If the insurer's medical grid asks for tests such as a blood sugar or lipid profile, a phlebotomist still collects the samples at a diagnostic centre or at home, and the lab reports are added to the case. Insurers run video MER through their own medical teams or through third party administrators (TPAs) and medical service providers that run pre-policy medicals for them.
Video MER vs tele-MER vs physical medical
The terms overlap, and insurers use them differently. The table shows the common meanings; check your insurer's or TPA's definition before you compare quotes.
| Physical medical | Tele-MER | Video MER | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it happens | Diagnostic centre or home visit | Phone call or video call, depending on the insurer | Live video call |
| Who runs it | Doctor at the centre or visiting doctor | Doctor or the insurer's tele-medical team | Doctor |
| What the examiner sees | The proposer in person | Nothing on a phone call; the proposer on a video call | The proposer, their photo ID and any readings taken on camera |
| Physical measurements | Taken by the examiner | Self-declared on a phone call | Taken by the proposer on camera, if the insurer accepts it |
| Lab tests | Collected at the visit | Booked separately if needed | Booked separately if needed |
| Typical record | Signed MER and lab reports | Notes or a call recording, and the MER | Signed MER, sometimes with a recording of the call |
A phone tele-MER is the lightest check: someone reads the health questions and records the answers, and nobody sees the proposer. A video MER adds what the phone cannot give: a face to match against the ID, and readings the doctor watches being taken. Which cases get a phone call and which get video is each insurer's underwriting choice, set in its medical grid.
Why is Video-based Medical Examination (VMER) Important?
Convenience and Accessibility
The proposer does not have to travel to a diagnostic centre or wait for a home visit slot. A video MER works wherever the proposer has a phone with a camera and a data connection, which matters for proposers far from an empanelled diagnostic centre.
Reduced Risk of Conflict of Interest
When the doctor is on the insurer's or TPA's panel rather than chosen by the seller, the exam is harder to influence. Prompting by an agent is also more likely to show on video, and where the call is recorded, the underwriter can review it instead of relying on the form alone.
Data Security
A video MER produces sensitive health data: the signed report, the photo ID shown on camera and, where the call is recorded, the recording. Treat all of it as health records. Decide before launch where recordings are stored, who can play them back, how long they are kept and how the proposer's consent is captured. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 covers digital personal data like this, so check its consent and retention duties with your compliance team alongside the insurer's record-keeping policy.
Increased Efficiency
A video MER can be booked and completed in one call. That removes the trips, courier steps and manual data entry of a paper medical, so the underwriter sees the case sooner.
How a video MER works, step by step
- Underwriting triggers the medical. The insurer's medical grid decides whether the proposer needs a video MER, lab tests, or both. A consumer guide from Ditto describes this grid as a matrix of age, sum assured and health disclosures.
- The case goes to the medical team or TPA. The insurer sends the proposer's details and the required package.
- Consent and scheduling. The proposer agrees to the video medical, and to its recording if the call is recorded, and picks a slot.
- Device and network check. Before the call, the proposer's app checks the camera, microphone and connection, so the call does not fail halfway.
- The live call. The doctor confirms identity against the photo ID, works through the insurer's medical form, notes any "yes" answers in detail, and watches any self-measured readings.
- Report. The doctor signs the MER, with their registration details. If the insurer records calls, the recording is stored with the case.
- Lab tests, if required. Samples are collected at a centre or at home, and the reports join the case.
- Underwriting decision. The underwriter reviews the MER, the lab reports and, where one exists, the recording, then accepts, loads, postpones or declines the proposal.
What a video MER report contains
Each insurer has its own MER form. Common blocks include:
| Section | What it records |
|---|---|
| Case details | Insurer reference, proposer name, age and gender, date and type of examination |
| Identity | The type of ID shown on camera; record only a masked number (for example, the last four characters) |
| Measurements | Height, weight, BMI, blood pressure and pulse, as taken on camera or declared |
| Health declarations | Yes or no answers on conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, surgery, hospital stays, regular medicines, tobacco and alcohol, with details for every yes |
| Family history | Conditions in parents and siblings that the form asks about |
| Doctor's remarks | Observations and any further tests recommended |
| Attestation | The doctor's name, registration number and signature, with the date |
| Attachments | Lab reports and, where the call is recorded, a reference to the recording |
How Video MER Helps Insurance Companies
Video MER gives the underwriter a richer record than a phone call and a faster one than a clinic visit. The doctor can see the proposer, so impersonation is harder, and a recording, where the insurer keeps one, lets the underwriter check an answer that looks inconsistent with the lab reports. The case also moves faster, because there is no travel to arrange.
For the insurer's operations team, video MER also gives a measurable process: every case has a booking time, a call time and a signed report. That makes it easier to track turnaround by TPA, find where proposers drop off, and audit a sample of calls. Insurers often run claims on the same kind of video stack; our guide to video-based auto insurance claim adjustment covers that workflow.
What is the difference between Videography and Video MER?
Videography records a medical that happens in person. Some TPAs offer "videography" for home-visit medicals, where the visit itself is filmed as a record of the examination. HealthIndia TPA, for example, lists home visit videography alongside diagnostic centre visits, home visits, tele-MER and video MER.
Video MER is the examination itself, held over video. In videography, the camera documents a physical exam. In a video MER, the camera is the only way the doctor sees the proposer.
Key Features of Video MER
This section covers the checks around the exam: software that helps the doctor, the pre-issuance verification call (PIVC), which is a separate call and not part of the medical exam, and the medical team's review after the call.
AI-enhanced MER Checks
Software can help the doctor and the underwriter, but the doctor still signs the report. Typical helpers are a structured form that will not close until identity is confirmed, checks that flag missing answers, a transcript of the call, and a summary that points the underwriter to the "yes" answers. Treat any AI output as a draft for the doctor or underwriter to review, not as the medical opinion.
Pre-Issuance Verification Call (PIVC)
A pre-issuance verification call (PIVC) is a separate call a life insurer can make before issuing a policy, to check that the proposer was told the terms and conditions of the product. It is a check against mis-selling, not a medical exam. PIVC is sometimes read as a "photo ID video call", but in IRDAI's circulars it stands for pre-issuance verification call.
IRDAI's 2020 circular on PIVC (IRDAI/Life/Misc/CIR/116/05/2020) noted that life insurers had adopted PIVC "to prevent mis-selling and unfair business practices", and encouraged all life insurers to conduct it "to the extent possible and certainly in important cases", under board-approved guidelines. It set no call format. The 2024 Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests lists that circular among those it supersedes (para 31.1), and we found no replacement PIVC clause in the 2024 text, so confirm your current obligation with compliance. An IRDAI press release of 10 September 2026 on its order against Canara HSBC Life noted deficiencies in the verification call; the insurer's corrective measures included "pre-issuance video-based validation calls".
So a proposer may face two video calls before a policy is issued: the video MER for health, and a PIVC for the sale. Keep them as separate steps with separate records, because they answer different questions.
KYC is a third, separate step. Insurers that verify identity for KYC over video follow the IRDAI VBIP guidelines, which set their own rules for the call.
MER Analysis
After the call, the medical team or TPA checks that every section of the MER is complete and consistent with the lab reports before the case goes to the underwriter. Incomplete reports, unclear readings or answers that conflict with the lab reports go back to the doctor.
Does IRDAI regulate video MER?
Not as a format. We read IRDAI's Master Circular on Health Insurance Business (29 May 2024) and the Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests (2024) and found no rule that sets how a video MER or tele-MER must be run. The health master circular asks every insurer selling health cover to have a board-approved underwriting policy. For life and health cover alike, the insurer's own underwriting rules decide when a video MER is enough.
What does apply is the general framework around it: the insurer's underwriting policy, its consent and disclosure obligations to the proposer, its record-keeping rules, and data protection law for the health data the call produces. If your compliance team finds a newer circular on tele-underwriting, follow it over this summary.
How does VideoSDK transform InsurTech via the Video MER solution?
A video MER product has the same parts whoever builds it: a proposer app or link, a doctor console with the medical form, a recording that lands in the insurer's storage, and a case record the underwriter can open. VideoSDK provides the real-time video layer for that stack; the medical form, the doctor panel and the underwriting decision stay with the insurer or TPA. Our guide to building a telehealth video platform walks through the same architecture for doctor consults.
Features in the VideoSDK docs that a video MER build can use:
- Pre-call device and network test.
runPreCallTest()checks the camera and microphone and scores the uplink and downlink before the proposer joins, so weak connections are caught before the doctor joins. - Recordings in your own bucket. Recordings can be written to the insurer's own AWS S3, Azure Blob or GCP Cloud Storage bucket, set per API key (recording storage).
- Encrypted recordings. Recordings can be encrypted at rest with the insurer's RSA public key (recording encryption). This cannot be turned on together with transcription and summaries on the same API key, so choose per use case.
- Transcript and summary after the call. Post-call transcription and summary runs on the recording and notifies your backend by webhook, which can feed the MER quality check.
- Identity helpers. Face Match and OCR APIs can support the doctor's ID check, on the Enterprise plan only.
One limit to plan around: the E2EE page says recording and transcription are not supported while end-to-end encryption is on. Our guide to end-to-end encryption in video calls explains what E2EE protects. If your video MER must be recorded, talk to us about the encryption design for your plan.
Build your video MER flow on VideoSDK. Sign up for VideoSDK to get API keys; a new account comes with a $20 credit (pricing). Running video MER for an insurer or a TPA at volume? Talk to our team.
Glossary
- MER (Medical Examination Report) is the form a doctor completes after examining an insurance proposer, used by the underwriter.
- Video MER (VMER) is a MER completed by a doctor during a live video call with the proposer.
- Tele-MER is a tele-medical examination for underwriting, run as a phone interview or a video call depending on the insurer.
- Medical grid is the insurer's table of age, sum assured and disclosures that decides which medicals and tests a proposal needs.
- TPA (third party administrator) is a company that runs services such as pre-policy medicals for insurers.
- PIVC (pre-issuance verification call) is a call before policy issue that checks the proposer was told the product's terms; separate from the medical.
- Proposer is the person applying for the insurance policy.
FAQ
What is a video MER test?
A video MER test is a medical examination for an insurance application, held as a live video call with a doctor. The doctor checks your ID, asks the questions on the insurer's medical form and records your answers in a medical examination report. Any blood or urine tests the insurer needs are collected separately.
What is a MER medical test?
MER stands for medical examination report. A MER medical test is the doctor's examination an insurer asks for before issuing a policy: health history, measurements such as height, weight and blood pressure, and questions about conditions, medicines and habits. It can be done at a centre, at home or over video.
What is tele-MER in insurance?
Tele-MER is a tele-medical examination for insurance underwriting. Depending on the insurer, it is either a phone interview in which the health questions are read out and answered, or a video call with a doctor. When it is on video, it is the same as a video MER.
Is a video MER call recorded?
It depends on the insurer or TPA. Some record the call so the underwriter can check answers later; others keep only the signed report. If the call is recorded, you should be told and asked for consent before it starts.
What should I keep ready for a video MER?
A phone or laptop with a working camera and a stable connection, a quiet and well-lit room, your original photo ID, and the names and doses of any regular medicines. If the insurer accepts self-measured readings, keep your weighing scale and blood pressure monitor nearby. Answer every health question truthfully; non-disclosure can affect a claim later.
Is video MER mandatory?
No. The insurer's underwriting rules decide whether a proposal needs no medical, a phone tele-MER, a video MER, a physical medical or lab tests, usually by age and sum assured. IRDAI does not set a video MER format.
Conclusion
Video MER moves the doctor's part of a pre-policy medical onto a live video call. It gives underwriters a face and an ID instead of a phone note, and it saves proposers a trip, while lab tests still happen in person when the grid asks for them. Because no IRDAI rule fixes the format, the quality of a video MER comes down to the insurer's underwriting policy and the process it builds: consent, a reliable call, a complete report and, where calls are recorded, recordings kept under the insurer's control.