Life insurance depression/lied

ellyn

I met with a life insurance agent the other day, first time really talking with anyone about life insurance, didn't know a lot about it but went ahead and did the whole process and signed the paperwork for a 50/50 temporary/life policy. I know, stupid, I should've done my homework.

He rattled off a whole bunch of questions about smoking, physical health, etc., all of which I answered honestly, I have none of the conditions he mentioned. Except depression. But I still said no as it was stuck in with a series of other conditions like HIV, heart disease, etc etc. I had to think for a second, "did he just ask about depression?" When he asked I thought to myself, "I don't want him to know anything about my mental health, I'm embarrassed." Had he asked each condition a little more slowly and one at a time, instead of rapidly going through them..I may have answered more honestly. I know its not his fault, but i feel pretty naive to this whole process. It had nothing to do with trying to scam or save money. I honestly didn't even consider that the life insurance co. would access my mental health records and find out I lied. Until after I lied, and then signed the waiver to access my records.

Uggh..I feel awful about it now and am afraid I'll get denied. I hate lying and it really eats me up.

So the story is, I have had on/off depression for several years. Parents died 10 yrs ago, started anti-depressants, under a drs care, for about 2 yrs took them. Fast forward to 4.5 yrs ago, had a baby, ...life stressors, job pressure,...last fall I felt terribly depressed, so asked my dr to refer me to a psychiatrist for med recommendations, as I didn't trust my GP's knowledge. So started taking an anti-depressant in the fall and am still taking it. Works great, haven't had any major outbursts of crying, laying around feeling like a slug, etc. I have energy and have not missed work at all. I have not attempted suicide nor do I think about it. The psych suggested an anti-anxiety med also, which I tried but I didn't like the side effects, so she had me try another one,..same thing. So I opted not to keep trying to take the anxiety meds. She also gave me a prescrip for sleep medication, for occasional insomnia, which I take as needed. Dr said I should try a sleep clinic for trouble sleeping.

I'm a single mother, 48 yrs old, nonSmoker, healthy weight, etc.

The agent said someone will be coming to my house to do a physical,..BP, urine, blood, etc. I imagine they will ask a more thorough health questionairre, and I plan to tell them about the depression.

First question...will it be a big deal that I didn't disclose the depression to the agent but did so with the nurse? As in will they deny me because I lied initially?

Secondly, even if they rely solely or mostly on the nurse's evaluation and take into consideration what I report about depression, ...are they likely to deny me outright?

The agent gave me a good premium and I'm fine if it has to go up some because of the history of depression. He did say health conditions w/in the past 5 yrs, so should I tell the nurse about my parents dying 10 yrs ago which started the whole depression/med cycle?

I've been googling and reading all kinds of contradictory info about how much to tell them. Don't offer too much, don't tell if they don't ask, tell them everything... I honestly don't trust the records from the dr either...since last time I was there, the dr. didn't even have it noted that I already just tried an anti-anxiety med., and then screwed up my refills because of lack of note taking in my chart. I'm not even sure what my diagnosis is...the first psych said, "I don't think you have major depression, I think you have dysthymia." But I don't know if that's in my chart. (I switched psychiatrists bc the first was abusive).

csgohan4

You must contact your broker asap and mention you have made a mistake. You need to disclose everything they ask, as they can and will use this to not pay out.


Also they can flag you up for insurance fraud if your not careful, better be honest with them asap. If they cancel your insurance you will have to declare this for any insurance you buy making you potentially high risk.


Depression is a high risk and some don't cover or put a hefty premium on it.


In regards to the agent, how did you encounter them? are they whole of the market? are they independent? Do they get a fee? Are they really acting in your best interests?


May be better to cancel your application and go through the MSE guide on life assurance and go through rated Brokers like Life search for example

Chris_Pollard

Ellyn, hopefully you will receive a summary of your answers to the medical questions from the recommended insurer. This is an ideal opportunity for you to provide the additional information that you have mentioned above. It is likely that when the nurse attends for the physical examination they will ask some questions about your medical history, but in some instances they won't.

CSG (above) is partly right about the significance of anxiety/depression but it is more significant in terms of disability rather than pure life cover. A good many suffering from mild/moderate mental illness will be accepted for life cover with no restrictions. There is an obvious risk, that of suicide and hospitalisation is also a significant issue. The fact you have seen a specialist will not count against you, and indeed if you have had little/no time off work, again, this is a major positive.

It would obviously be best for you to inform your adviser as it is important to build trust. However, just letting him know you have provided some more personal information directly to the insurer that you didn't feel comfortable sharing at the time would help. It is very important that you review the questions you were asked and if necessary make amendments and send them back to your insurer. They might contact you to ask more specific questions.

Your situation isn't rare. Sharing detailed personal medical and lifestyle histories with financial advisers, especially those who you might know well for other reasons, can be uncomfortable. This is often the case for gynaecological, mental illness, alcohol and drug use problems. Insurers are used to this and would be very comfortable with you providing this information privately to them. Naturally, from the adviser's perspective, they are keen to secure the best product and terms for you so knowing everything will help them broker the market. The last thing anyone wants is for important information to be withheld that might have an impact at the point of claim.

Well done for coming on and sharing. Hope this is helpful.

mufi

Ellyn, from some of the language used in your post you are, perhaps, American?

If so, and you still live there, you need to ask your question on a US forum; any advice you get on here (a UK forum) could be incorrect.

Good luck!

dunstonh

It does indeed look like this is not a UK poster from the wording used. There will be differences in different countries. You may be better asking on a forum that deals with issues from your country.

In the UK, depression is largely split between clinical and event specific depression. i.e death of a family member causing short term depression. How they adjust the premiums or cover acceptance or modifications to cover will vary on a case by case basis but event driven depression generally has fewer conditions imposed. Especially if it was a long time ago.

In the UK, there would be no issue with you changing any of the answers before the cover is put in force. There is no come back on. It is more important to get it right before it is set up.

ACG

I have not read everything, but call the broker give him/her the information and they can amend the application.

It probably will affect either premiums or the cover available but it should not prevent you getting cover.

If you do not correct it and your next of kin need to claim, there may be no payout.

ellyn

Thank you all so much!! I feel relieved to know that its common to not feel comfortable disclosing personal information to an agent.

Chris, this was especially helpful advice:
"It would obviously be best for you to inform your adviser as it is important to build trust. However, just letting him know you have provided some more personal information directly to the insurer that you didn't feel comfortable sharing at the time would help. It is very important that you review the questions you were asked and if necessary make amendments and send them back to your insurer. They might contact you to ask more specific questions. "

I neglected to mention that while I am American, I live in Canada now. And have obtained Canadian citizenship. I looked for online forums but only saw this one...and this is where there were recent postings similar to my question.

The person I spoke with was through my bank, Desjardins, in Quebec. So it is specifically through Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company. I honestly should have looked around more and done my homework.

I did receive a "Conditional Complete Binding Receipt", which took effect when I signed the "Statements and Authorizations" form. So I think this means the application is "locked in", whatever that means.

But I will call the person I spoke with at my bank and disclose to the nurse when they do the home visit. I don't know when I would receive a summary of my responses to the medical questions, and the nurse is supposed to come within a few days.

Quentin

You cannot rely on any posts in this thread in reply to your issue. (Which are specific to the situation in the UK regarding disclosure to insurers)


You need to get advice locally!