Life Insurance

999mph

Hi
I am looking to get a life insurance policy, very basic (and very affordable). Since my Brother's death and a unsuccessful claim (due to him not mentioning an important health issue), I am a bit concerned as to who I should consider. As an illness I have only suffered from minor depression about 8 years ago. I was an outpatient then and wasn't formally discharged. How does that affect me and how can I obtain the precise records to show? I am thinking of a Subject Access File through the NHS. I don't know where my Brother got his Life Insurance and I think it's unfair to ask the Widow about that.
Cheers.:A

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

Sorry for your loss.

I cannot advise you on life assurance (and wouldn't know where to start), but I can confirm that under the Access To Health Records Act 1990, you do have the right to get information from your GP or whoever holds your medical records. Here's a link:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/ukpga_19900023_en_1

Personally, I would phone your GP's office and ask them to book you in for a health check; advise them about your brother and say you just want to make sure you are ok - they probably get loads of calls like this and will be best placed to advise you what to do.

When you are there, mention your previous illness and ask them what the records say; they should be able to look them up whilst you are there and put your mind at rest.

This strikes me as the most friendly way to deal with your doctors and also help you make sure you are fit and well.

All the best.

dunstonh

Personally, I would not be too concerned. you dont need to be that specific on an application. As long as you mention it and give the answers to the questions asked which you should know (or if not, you state you cannot remember) then its up to the insurance company to decide what to do.

Very few claims get rejected due to non-disclosure and there are rules in place now that cover inadvertent non-disclosure and intentional non-disclosure.

dunstonh

Life insurance

Its life assurance you spammer. Post reported.

999mph

Thanks for all the input. Is anyone with L&G (Legal & General)? Cheers.

dunstonh

L&G are fairly well used. Not as competitive for pricing as they used to be but that is no surprise as some are trying to buy market share at the moment.

Andrew24620

Hi 999mph - sorry for the loss of your brother.

I have an L&G policy. Ask away if you have any questions ad I'll try to help.

I also work for a life assurance provider in processing New Business applications.

I disagree with dunstonh when he says "you dont need to be that specific on an application". My guide to you is to be as specific as possible to the question asked. Don't try to second guess whether anything is relevant or not - that's the insurers role. I agree that you should say if you're not sure or can't recall.

Should an insurance provider wish to see details of your medical history they will obtain your permission to do so BEFORE they request it - usually by you signing an application or consent form . They'll also make you aware of the Access To Medical Reports Act. This gives you the right to see details of what the GP will be sending to the insurer before or after your GP has sent in the report. You view the report via your GP rather asking the insurer for a copy.

Oscar's advice will also help put your mind at rest.

A number of providers choose to avoid using GP reports - they're expensive, cause delay and don't always provide the very info that's being sought. Instead, an underwriter or nurse will telephone the client and ask for further info on the condition that's of interest to the insurer. This is call "Tele-Medical Underwriting" or TMI.

The upside of this approach is the speed - no waiting for dozy GP practices to respond - but more importantly for you, the insurer asks the relevant questions directly of you. As long as you tell the truth to the best of your knowledge, the risk of inadvertant non-disclosure is virtually nil as there's the opportunity for you and the insurer to have a two-way conversation (e.g. about medication, symptoms etc) - and you're able to say if you don't understand the question. The insurer is also able to drill down to the relevant info and detail.

There is emerging evidence from providers that there is a higher incidence of paying out on a claim when the policy application followed a TMI route compared to a non-TMI approach.

The simple approach the company I work for take is "Tell the truth, we'll make a fair decision, you pay the premiums and we'll pay out if you claim".

Good luck.

dunstonh

I disagree with dunstonh when he says "you dont need to be that specific on an application". My guide to you is to be as specific as possible to the question asked. Don't try to second guess whether anything is relevant or not - that's the insurers role. I agree that you should say if you're not sure or can't recall.

You have misunderstood what I said. You dont need to be specific and guess and give information you dont know. You just state you cannot recall if that is the case. The important bit it making sure you disclose that there was a medical condition. If you cannot recall the medication or doseage then state that rather than guess it. If the insurance company wants to find out more they will do so by going to the doctor and asking the questions. There is no need for the OP to pay for access to their own medical history to find out. With many medical conditions the insurance company are only interested in when it was, what it was and is it still ongoing or not.

Andrew24620

Let's see if we can both be clear.;)

I am not advocating guessing.

My experience when talking to customers about non-disclosure is that they tried to put themselves in an underwriters role and second guess whether a condition was relevant or not.

What I am saying here is don't fall into this trap. Answer the question asked, declare as much as you know about the condition and where possible be specific.

Let the insurer worry about it being relevant or not. Let the insurer obtain clarity either from the applicant directly or their GP.

999mph

I am thinking whether I should go with AXA or L&G. I did a search on moneysupermarket.com and a fellow rang me up with a good quote. He recommended AXA saying that they have a policy that pays out the sum regardless of the economic deflation etc. Can't quite remember the term he used for this but I think he said L&G don't offer that. I am just looking for life insurance right now, no critical illness or terminal illness cover etc. I was also told that the terminal illness cover provided by L&G requires two Doctors to certify that the patient is indeed terminal and is on his way to the land of no return.
Basically my real concern is with the medical. Don't know if I already mentioned it but I have suffered from depression a long time ago and was an outpatient for quite some time. Then I realised that I was never depressed to begin with. I wasn't formally discharged though cos I simply stopped attending my sessions.

dunstonh

I did a search on moneysupermarket.com and a fellow rang me up with a good quote.

moneysupermarket.com is not a good place to buy life assurance. They sell leads on to intermediaries. If you are happy with that, then fine.

He recommended AXA saying that they have a policy that pays out the sum regardless of the economic deflation etc. Can't quite remember the term he used for this but I think he said L&G don't offer that.

AXA do have indexation on their policies.

I am just looking for life insurance right now, no critical illness or terminal illness cover etc

Terminal illness is present at no cost on virtually all life assurance policies now. Only CI is a cost add on.

Basically my real concern is with the medical.

As you have chosen to use an intermediary, you should provide all your details and let the intermediary phone the underwriters to see how they would consider your case. Doing this does not record any info on your file.