recreational drug use as teenager & life insurance.....help!

anon_y_mouse

hi

my dear, silly husband took the advice to 'be truthful' when applying for life insurance a little too literally, & told them everything he had ever done...which included cocaine, ectasy & cannabis as a teenager-about 18yrs to 20yrs old.
he now is a very clean-living, healthy man, he does smoke on occasion & does drink. he does not do any drugs any more.

the insurance company basically said; no way! but we had done another application at the same time, which i filled in & didnt mention the past use...but i am worried that;
a) if something happened, they would find out & we wouldnt get the cover we paid for,
& b) we wont be able to get any cover for him for less than extortionate if we do disclose this to a new company...

does anyone know precisely how much info they share between each other?
& anyone know of a company that accepts that many people have dabbled in drugs as young adults.....??!

thanks

kingstreet

Details of the declined application will be stored on the Life Assurance Registry and any future application should have details of the declined application noted where requested.

InsideInsurance

You will also need to ensure future Life companies (and related insurances) are aware of the fact that he was declined cover.

I only have personal experience, rather than professional, of this sort of insurance but with my background I found different insurers much much closer knitted than with general insurance. I guess one part will be as reinsurance is done on a case by case basis, where as general tends to be done on a treaty basis for personal lines, and so different insurers all use the same reinsurers

anon_y_mouse

thank you, im going to check if he was actually declined officially or not.....was through an advisor so i cant remember!

if not, would they share the records?

beca

kingstreet

It's unlikely.

If the life office made a decision to decline or defer, it will be noted on the LAR.

OshayAway

Don't despair, you do have options. The good news is that although some insurers ask about any drug use, regardless of how long ago, others limit to the last 5 years.

In addition, although most insurers ask about previously offered declined terms, postponements or special terms, several now do not ask.

Find an insurer that ticks both of these boxes and you'll be fine. A good, whole of market broker should be able to steer you.

olly300

anon_y_mouse wrote: »

thank you, im going to check if he was actually declined officially or not.....was through an advisor so i cant remember!

if not, would they share the records?

beca

Make sure you now use a broker NOT an advisor.

That way the broker will know who you will be able to get insurance with and who to not bother with.

OshayAway

olly300 wrote: »

Make sure you now use a broker NOT an advisor.

That way the broker will know who you will be able to get insurance with and who to not bother with.

......Que?

ACG

Answer the questions as they are - if they say EVER - then that means he has to disclose everything. If the question says in the last 5 years, then you can answer based on the last 5 years.

Good news however, ive done policies for people who have taken various drugs which includes cocaine, heroin, LSD among others. Best case scenario was standard rates due to the length of time since last usage.
Worse case scenario i have had was a 100% loading (which is basically double the standard rates premium) but atleast it was cover in place.

Get a broker on this and they should be able to get you cover.

magpiecottage

If you are sure it is ONLY because of recreational drug taking, you MIGHT find that you could complain that, had he been convicted of the offence it would now be "spent" under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and, therefore, ought not to be considered.

I have not seen this argument used for life assurance but when it was raised regarding motor cover in respect of a drink driver - see here.