Declined PHI Aviva

SandC

I have heard today that my application for PHI (that is the insurance that pays out a set amount each month after my company sick pay runs out if I were to be unable to work due to illness) has been declined. My IFA rang me to tell me he'd received a letter and I would have one at home the same.

The letter doesn't give any reasons, just that it was based on the medical report sent by my GP which they requested after my telephone health interview.

I phoned my surgery and they told me they usually receive a letter informing them that the application has been declined and why. The secretary I spoke to said that they didn't send a medical report but a copy of my files.

I have very good health but think this might be due to contraceptive requirements I have to visit the nurse every 3 months and whilst there she weighs me and takes my blood pressure. My blood pressure has been raised on and off for a year or two now and I know my weight is high. At no point has anyone ever said I need medication for the blood pressure or anything like that.

Other than that I have only visited the GP once last year, before that it was probably 6 years ago, I have not had a single day sick off work in over 6 years either.

I gave up smoking nearly one year ago now.

Anyone have experience that insurance would be declined on the basis of being overweight and having slightly raised blood pressure? My IFA wants me to find out then we can discuss options.

But having been declined I am wary about ever applying for any again in case I get the same outcome. As it is I now have to tick the box of having been declined when taking out other insurance.

Is it worth bothering ever again applying? If it turns out as I suspect, if these areas improve do I apply again?

I feel I need this insurance because I am a single home owner and there is no back up if I should get an illness which caused me to be off work for more than six months, which is when my pay would stop.

OshayAway

Your GP shouldn’t have sent a photocopy of all your medical records. That can prejudice an underwriting decision as it makes them aware of issues that fall outside of the information requested on a report. For example, they can be made aware of issues that were longer than 5 years ago, which would not have had to be disclosed because the question asked "within the last 5 years".

Insurers will not send a 'reasons why' letter automatically to your GP, just the standard vague one to you. A more detailed letter can be requested via your IFA though. This normally will be sent directly to the applicant unless the reasons are very involved or sensitive and therefore likely prompt additional questions by the applicant. In this case, it can be sent to the GP and an appointment made to discuss it's content.

If you have smoked or use NRP within the last 12 months you will only be eligible for smoker rates.

The combination of smoker status, high BMI and recently diagnosed high blood pressure is not a great combination and I would guess that it is the combination that has resulted in the decline.

That's not to say you won’t be able to get terms anywhere else though. Insurers do vary considerably on this. I good IFA / broker worth their salt should have done some research pre-application to ascertain which provider would be best to apply to. They would need an accurate height, weight and recent blood pressure readings to be effective though.

SandC

Thanks for your response Oshay. I'm not sure whether it was all records or going back X far, the secretary didn't expand. She said they normally receive a letter but if they haven't within a week I will take it as per you have said that they won't be sending one. I will then request my IFA ask for more details. If they did go back further than 5 years it wouldn't really make any difference as I've only been about 5 times in 20years for minor things.

I haven't used NRP but the original application was made in December 2009 when I had been stopped for 9 months but that is a rate issue rather than a refusal issue isn't it?

I think on original application I underestimated my weight to my IFA but on the nurse telephone interview I upped it to nearer what it probably is. I don't have any scales and don't look at the surgery when I am weighed - I know, denial. My IFA wouldn't have any idea re blood pressure (there being no medication required etc.).

Oshay, I think you are right in the reasoning. I will, of course, be speaking to my IFA about it as soon as I am sure about that. Believe it or not, the very fact that I was thinking about the future and illness etc. has spurred me on to look after myself better - hence the first thing was the smoking, my alcohol intake has now been greatly reduced to and I am a few weeks into a new fitness regime. If the issues improve, say in 12 months time with a better bill of health would that be a wise timeframe to rethink applying elsewhere or indeed the same insurer?

I know i need to speak to my IFA about this but the subject is burning round my head right now and he can't help til he knows more about it.

Incidentally, my cover is of a very low one, £800 per month after 26 weeks of illness and the original rate of about £21 per month to be paid.

Oh by the way, the letter the IFA received which I haven't seen yet said to refer to GP for reasons which does indicate they are going to be writing to the surgery.

Annisele

SandC wrote: »

I think on original application I underestimated my weight to my IFA but on the nurse telephone interview I upped it to nearer what it probably is.

Hmm, that might be your problem.

Depending on how much of an underestimate it was (and how it compared with the weight the surgery gave) the insurance company *might* have thought that you were deliberately lying to them about your weight. Once they reckon you're lying about one thing, it's easy for them to think that you might be lying about something else.

(I don't mean to sound judgemental - I'm in a similar position to you: I'm overweight, not sure by how much, and my blood pressure is high enough for my GP to want to monitor it but not high enough for him to want to treat it. I just think that if there was a very large discrepancy between the weights given, it might have raised alarm bells for the insurer).

OshayAway

Annisele wrote: »

Hmm, that might be your problem.

Depending on how much of an underestimate it was (and how it compared with the weight the surgery gave) the insurance company *might* have thought that you were deliberately lying to them about your weight. Once they reckon you're lying about one thing, it's easy for them to think that you might be lying about something else.

It is very common for individuals with a high BMI to round up their height and down their weight. If this was a concern or if an applicant is near the upper threshold the insurer would simply request a paramedical screening for accuracy.

SandC

Yes, I think I was very naive in that it simply didn't occur to me that I would be turned down. My thoughts were that if I was way out with my weight my last surgery notes would correct them. I know what you are saying about misleading them but that is the purpose of getting in contact with the GP - I actually thought they were writing to the GP because they probably didn't believe I had so little illness in my life!

Ah well, never mind. It has if nothing else made me even more determined to get myself sorted out - fact of the matter is that raised blood pressure and being overweight is a risk factor in many conditions anyway and the sooner I do something about it the better.