help please - turned down for life assurance

GPark

Hoping someone can help, I've been turned down for life assurance and don't know what to do next. Basically, dh and I had a joint policy taken out 4 years ago, before we had ds, it was a decreasing policy which started at £101k, and was costing us £42 per month. Anyway, I kept getting these quotes through from the companies I had other insurances with and they were much lower.

So I cancelled my old policy, gave 30 days notice thinking that would be plenty of time to get new insurance. Got a quote from Legal and General that was for £14 for level term rather than decreasing cover. Sounded good so applied for it, it was supposed to start at midnight tonight.

Anyway, today I came home to a letter stating they are unable to offer me cover due to my medical history!! There were only two things that I had to give information about - the first was that I had pnd 2 years ago, and took a low dose of prozac for about 6 months, the second is that I am awaiting testing for recurrant miscarriages. I wasn't expecting either of these to be a problem.

So, can someone advise me what to do next? Do I keep applying elsewhere? They have said they will insure dh but not me, so should I just get a single policy for dh, or keep trying for a joint one, and if I apply for a joint one, does anyone know which companies are likely to accept me?

tilla66

Hi, sorry I cant help, but I am in a similar situation and came on thr forum tonight for the same help you need so thought best to post with you?

My husband has been turned down for life cover due to his medical history, he is diabetic type 2 which he doesnt pay too much attention to, hasnt visited the doctor for some time, foolish I know, he has also suffered depression for which he has also been prescribed prozac.

We have 143k mortgage of which we only have cover for 70k over a shorter term than its currently at. I am very concerned now that we wont get any cover and as the insurance companies realise, the risks of him dying before me and during the life of the mortgage are quite high, I've got 3 young children, what can we do? keep applying? are there smaller policies that dont need medical history but would help bridge the gap should the worst happen? He also has a child by another relationship and I am concerned that should he die the mother would come after me for maintenence that she would have been entitled to until the child reached 18, a life policy would have prepared for this.

dunstonh

Anyway, I kept getting these quotes through from the companies I had other insurances with and they were much lower.

Probably as they were not like for like and priced on the assumption of class 1 occupation and clean health.

So I cancelled my old policy, gave 30 days notice thinking that would be plenty of time to get new insurance.

That was a very bad move. If you used a financial adviser, you could potentially complain about them as its advice 101 not to cancel an existing policy until the new one is in force.

the second is that I am awaiting testing for recurrant miscarriages.

Thats your problem. If you are awaiting tests then insurers will either refuse or postpone cover until the outcome of the tests is known.

Why not reinstate the old policy before its too late?

GPark

thanks for the reply, I didn't think that I would be able to reinstate the old policy, its actually due to expire at midnight tomorrow, so I'll ring them in the morning and see if I can reinstate it. Then I'll wait till after the tests before I try and get a different policy.

I didn't go through a financial adviser - probably should have, but when I went through the paperwork from the old policy, I discovered the adviser had been paid £2500 when we took out the old policy, which is 5 years worth of premiums, that seemed slightly unreasonable and made me question whether we had reliable advise so I just did it by myself.

I'm actually convinced the advice to set up the policy was slightly dodgy - at the time we had no dependents, and we both had death in service benefits which would have covered the mortgage if we both died, and around half of it if only one of us died - so I'm not really sure why we needed an extra policy. Now of course we have ds, so I'm thinking if I get a policy for the mortgage, he'll then have the death in service benefits as well (around £50k for me, £60k for dh) which should hopefully be sufficient.

stephenni1971

I discovered the adviser had been paid £2500

For a £42 per month premium this sounds way off.

I would have thought around £900 would be more like it.

that seemed slightly unreasonable and made me question whether we had reliable advise so I just did it by myself

... and look what has happened.

I'm actually convinced the advice to set up the policy was slightly dodgy - at the time we had no dependents, and we both had death in service benefits which would have covered the mortgage if we both died, and around half of it if only one of us died - so I'm not really sure why we needed an extra policy.

Nothing seems particularly dodgy to me on the basis of what you say. In todays climate of lower job security it is a perfectly normal approach to place cover for a mortgage or other need in addition to any DIS benefit. What if you lost your job, had to retire or could not work through sickness? Your DIS would stop - you would have no cover.

death in service benefits which would have covered the mortgage if we both died, and around half of it if only one of us died

Following from above, if your DIS only covers half the mortgage perfectly reasonable to recommend additional cover. You had the choice of accepting the recommendation or adjusting the cover up or own, You chose to accept it so unless you can prove deception in the original sale hardly much you can do now.

dunstonh

I discovered the adviser had been paid £2500 when we took out the old policy, which is 5 years worth of premiums, that seemed slightly unreasonable and made me question whether we had reliable advise so I just did it by myself.

That figure doesnt sound right. Its way too high and no insurer pays that much. If you used a tied sales rep rather than an IFA, its possible that the illustration showed a cost of advice figure rather than a remuneration figure. The cost of advice figure is not what the agent gets paid. Its an estimate of the cost of the advice transaction.

I'm actually convinced the advice to set up the policy was slightly dodgy - at the time we had no dependents, and we both had death in service benefits which would have covered the mortgage if we both died, and around half of it if only one of us died - so I'm not really sure why we needed an extra policy.

Not dodgy. Death in service is paid out via a trust arrangement and is not guaranteed to go where you may need it. It is also designed for family protection and for loss of replacement income. Had either of you died, you would have lost one income and some future pension entitlement. The other issue is that many DIS schemes have been removed in recent years or cut back in some way. It is often folly to rely on rely on DIS in case you become uninsurable later. Most people are underinsured so the DIS can go some way to make that up.