Can life insurance claim be rejected even if undiclosed issue is unrelated to death?

mlaf

My wife and I have bought our first home; we sign the papers today. We have spoken with LV for life insurance, but they have decided to hold off giving us a quoted premium until we receive the scan results for a minor, non-life-threatening issue.

So, this leaves us unprotected until the scan results come in and leads me to the question: If we obtain a new quote and declare nothing of significance medically, and my wife were to die in a terminal accident, could the insurance company reject the claim because we did not declare all minor medical issues? In other words, can a claim be rejected even if the undisclosed medical issue has nothing to do with the cause of death?

Essentially what I'm thinking is, get a quick quote from someone else, declare no issues so we're instantly covered in case of some unforseen accident, then cancel that policy once the scan results come back. Would that work? Thanks.

csgohan4

any undisclosed conditions, pending investigations, unless underwritten will make your claim invalid. It's also called insurance fraud, don't do it.


Wrap your wife in cotton wool if your so worried.

Aretnap

Failing to answer the questions truthfully can be grounds for voiding the entire policy, whether or not the death directly related to the fact that wasn't disclosed. So you idea isn't a good one.

Many life insurance providers offer free accidental death cover while your application is being processed - have you checked whether yours is one of them?

If not, you can also get accidental death cover as a standalone policy, eg here. At first glance it doesn't look like great value, and certainly isn't a substitute for "proper" life insurance, but if you are just looking for a bit of extra piece of mind for a month or two then it may be worth considering.

dunstonh

There are two issues here. The first arises from the non-disclosure of the condition and the second arises from a later question asked about ever having insurance declined, postponed or accepted on modified terms. So, you would be telling lies in two areas.

The FOS allow the policy to be voided without payout and without return of premiums paid if the non-disclosure is intentional.

mlaf

So my brilliant idea this morning turns out to be insurance fraud...I'm a clever one! Haha.

Thank you for the replies. Picking up accidental death cover for a month sounds like a good idea just to cover the deposit we've now committed.