Life insurance refused on medical grounds.

boo666

I have just applied for life insurance and was open about my medical problems.
Mental health, depression, asthma and pcos. They went on to get a medical report from my doctor and have now refused to give me any life insurance.
This i think is compleatly wrong as yes i do have health problems and i was honest about them.
Is there any firms that will take me?

starrystarry

Why do you think it's wrong?

boo666

Because i belive that just because i have health problems it should not stop me from providing for my family if the worst was to happen.

starrystarry

It doesn't prevent you from providing for your family, but it does mean that some insurance companies may not be willing to offer you the life assurance you'd like. They're not under any obligation to accept you.

If they consider you represent an increased risk they are entitled to either increase the premiums or decline your application altogether. It's good that you were honest in your application, but this doesn't alter their decision.

boo666

At the moment i am a single mum on benefits and have only £600 in savings.
If the worse was to happen to me then £600 is not going to provide alot for my 3 boys.
I have been in touch with another company who have said I can not go through them as I have a another company refuse me.
Once I am working again I would be able to save more for my children.

starrystarry

It's still worth trying other companies, but it might be worth seeing an IFA about it first. They can ring the insurance company in advance to see if your application is likely to be declined. Just because you've been declined by one company doesn't mean that nobody else will accept you, but of course you'll have to disclose that you've been declined by another company.

Have the first insurance company told you why they declined you? Was it due to your depression alone? (PM me if you'd rather not give details on here)

VIGILANT22

As starrystarry has said you should contact an adviser who has access to companies who deal with people with medical history. However the suggestion of calling the company in advance will not work. A medical report will be requested and possibly a medical.... after that the reports will go to underwriting and then depending on the risk, they will priced accordingly...

starrystarry

VIGILANT22 wrote: »

As starrystarry has said you should contact an adviser who has access to companies who deal with people with medical history. However the suggestion of calling the company in advance will not work. A medical report will be requested and possibly a medical.... after that the reports will go to underwriting and then depending on the risk, they will priced accordingly...

Calling the company in advance can be very helpful actually. I'm an underwriter and I often talk to IFAs in advance of an application being submitted. The IFA can give brief info re medical history and the underwriter can give an indication of what the company's stance will be. The company will need to get a medical report but only if the application is submitted. If the underwriter feels the application will be declined anyway then it saves everyone a lot of time and trouble.

VIGILANT22

starrystarry wrote: »

Calling the company in advance can be very helpful actually. I'm an underwriter and I often talk to IFAs in advance of an application being submitted. The IFA can give brief info re medical history and the underwriter can give an indication of what the company's stance will be. The company will need to get a medical report but only if the application is submitted. If the underwriter feels the application will be declined anyway then it saves everyone a lot of time and trouble.

I still stand by what I say, the description the OP gave "Mental health, depression, asthma and pcos"....and a refusal....any experienced adviser would approach a company such as Partnership who specialise in dealing with people who have health conditions....they would not risk another refusal on the basis of a conversation with an underwriter..

dunstonh

With those medical conditions, a mainstream life policy is likely to be refused or at best hit with such a premium increase and some exclusions that it becomes too expensive. Whilst the more specialist policies would likely get acceptance, I suspect the premiums would be far higher than what the OP is willing to pay.

VIGILANT22

dunstonh wrote: »

With those medical conditions, a mainstream life policy is likely to be refused or at best hit with such a premium increase and some exclusions that it becomes too expensive. Whilst the more specialist policies would likely get acceptance, I suspect the premiums would be far higher than what the OP is willing to pay.

Yes premiums would most certainly be higher..... some people may choose to reduce the initial cover they required and take some cover within their budget. Sometimes a "little bit of something" is better than nothing....