“Universal” health questionnaire\proposal

tingly

Hi there
Strange one this.

My partner has started working as admin for remote advisors
His is to input proposals to life companies.

The advisors use a “universal” medical questionnaire which doesnt always capture the questions on the proposal form of the provider so he has to keep asking supplementary questions to one particular advisor who he is assigned to, who seems to be answering from memory.

The advisor said a copy of the proposal goes out to the customer anyway and its their job to spot any issues (its a remote selling company)

Does this seem right ? We are both a bit worried but dont know enough about the industry to know if its standard and he doesnt want to lose his job as its hard to find full time work these days.

Thanks

Quentin

tingly wrote: »

The advisor said a copy of the proposal goes out to the customer anyway and its their job to spot any issues (its a remote selling company)

Does this seem right ? We are both a bit worried but dont know enough about the industry to know if its standard and he doesnt want to lose his job as its hard to find full time work these days.

Thanks

Yes it seems right


Don't worry.

Weighty1

The application summaries ALWAYS get sent to the client to check, HOWEVER, I'd be very cautious of ever trusting that a client reads all the questions again in depth and confirms everything is right. I think this "universal proposal" form is pretty poor practice in my mind.

dunstonh

The advisors use a “universal” medical questionnaire which doesnt always capture the questions on the proposal form of the provider so he has to keep asking supplementary questions to one particular advisor who he is assigned to, who seems to be answering from memory.

it is not uncommon for firms to create their own forms. As long as all the data is captured.

The advisor said a copy of the proposal goes out to the customer anyway and its their job to spot any issues (its a remote selling company)

That is correct but also wrong. It is correct that a copy of the info is sent to the policyholder asking them to check. However, on advised cases, it is the responsibility of the adviser to ensure that they record the answers given to the questions asked. If a question is completely missing but the adviser has put something in there without asking that particular question as it is asked, they cannot fall back on the "you should have checked" excuse. You would expect the FOS to uphold a complaint by the policyholder in that scenario.

If the adviser asked all the questions and used their own form to get that data capture then no problem at all.

So, really it comes down to whether the insurance agent is answering it truthfully or is just making the answer up and doesn't really know.

tingly

So, lets say its erring on wrong / poor practice, as well as potentially harming the client; could my partner get into trouble? He is effectively just inputting what he has been told, he is not an advisor in any way ( he actually has a background in buying stock for sheet metal company!]

Weighty1

If your partner is not on the FCA register then I can't see that there'd be much fall back on him. What I can't understand is why don't the advisers run all the quotes etc. and then your partner could complete the application process over the phone with the client and this way it ensures the questions are asked exactly as the insurer lays them out.

As an aside, some insurers even explicitly state that the insured person must be the person answering the questions so in the scenarios you've given it sounds like this wouldn't ever really be the case, especially if your partner has had to clarify any of the questions with the adviser.

tingly

Hi there
Thanks. No he’s not on any register.
I dont know why they dont do that- but i guess thats given him a job anyway!
Thankyou for your replies

dunstonh

tingly wrote: »

Hi there
Thanks. No he’s not on any register.
I dont know why they dont do that- but i guess thats given him a job anyway!
Thankyou for your replies

The FCA register is for people with control functions. Advisers have CF30 at the moment and are required to be on there. However, insurance agents are not advisers. So, they are not required to hold the the adviser control function.

tingly

Thanks, i Actually think they are classed as life and mortgage advisers

ACG

A full application form is around 40 pages long.
I have reduced mine down.

If the form is not working as it should then your husband should raise it with the firm. But if it is working for all of the advisers bar one, then it would suggest it is the adviser rather than the process?

tingly

I see.
Well thankyou all for your help. Its always tricky changing sectors- from sheet metal to life cover has been a bit of a change for him. I will show him these replies when he gets home to put his mind at rest. (He will prob kill me for asking!) ��