Life Assurance - will a life assurance company always request medical records?

pjamaman

I am planning to take out a life assurance policy.
I am 41, in reasonably good health, non-smoker, moderate drinker, no extreme sports. I've looked at the questions you're asked e.g. if you have HIV, clinical depression, Huntington's Disease, etc, and my impression is I don't need to declare anything.
I am wondering how likely it is that the assurance company will demand my full medical records. I will tell the truth on the application but don't like the idea of my records being handed over to any company. There is plenty of personal data that I would like to keep as confidential as possible.
Do assurance providers demand medical records 100% of the time? Or only if you have some kind of medical condition? Or, for example, smoke?
If anyone has been accepted for life assurance and did or did not have to provide medical records, I would be grateful to hear your experiences.

davidmcn

Not normal for bog-standard policies (think of what it would cost for somebody to wade through your medical records, of suitable qualification to understand them, on the offchance they'll find something which contradicts your proposal form).

For particularly high value policies I would have thought them more likely to send you for a medical rather than hope there's something already disclosed in your records.

If there's a claim (which arouses suspicion something wasn't disclosed) then yes they'd then be likely to want to see your records. But you won't be around to worry about it, obviously.

coachman12

pjamaman said:

I am planning to take out a life assurance policy.
I am 41, in reasonably good health, non-smoker, moderate drinker, no extreme sports. I've looked at the questions you're asked e.g. if you have HIV, clinical depression, Huntington's Disease, etc, and my impression is I don't need to declare anything.
I am wondering how likely it is that the assurance company will demand my full medical records. I will tell the truth on the application but don't like the idea of my records being handed over to any company. There is plenty of personal data that I would like to keep as confidential as possible.
Do assurance providers demand medical records 100% of the time? Or only if you have some kind of medical condition? Or, for example, smoke?
If anyone has been accepted for life assurance and did or did not have to provide medical records, I would be grateful to hear your experiences.

If you are asking for a £1m  life policy, you can be sure the company will send you for a full medical which will include treadmill test for heart and many other such procedures.
If you are seeking a £100,000 policy, it would be unlikely for you to be examined by anyone unless there is something way out of the ordinary. But you WILL have to sign a form allowing access to your medical records------if the answers on your application warrant it, the company WILL contact your doctor, usually about the specific conditions you have mentioned in your application; but by signing the disclosure agreement, the company may use it to review your full medical records in the event of your death ( so it is vital to tell the whole truth on application form).
I have no wish to pry and I certainly do not want you to tell me anything confidential or personal, but your reference to "plenty of personal data I would like to keep as confidential as possible" tends to make me feel that you have to ask yourself if such data impacts on your health, either historically or currently-------assuming your medical records only contains medical details; then insurance companies have a right to decide whether any medical fact is relevant in considering your application or in paying out in the future.
The fairly routine questions asked on the application form may seem that your simple "yes" or "no"
answers are all that are required to ensure the validity of your policy. Do not assume that.
Our expert MSE member, username "Lifer" will no doubt see this thread and give you a much more definitive answer-----he is the best. In the meantime, I hope I have helped a bit and I wish you success and peace of mind in making your application.

Old_Lifer

I can only relate the situation during my service with  a Life Office   but it was as follows:

The person who dealt with the proposal ,  who would  have at least a couple of years experience in that job,  so would   have some basic medical knowledge,   would  look  at the proposal  form and if it was a 'clear proposal'  (with nothing declared or only  minor ailments)  the decision to accept  at normal terms would be made.     If there was something  on the proposal which  indicated that further evidence was required before making a decision,   a medical report   would be sent to  the proposer's GP

for completion  together with a set fee and a reply envelope.  The fee was about 18 per cent  of the weekly pay  of the most  junior clerk in the  building.     A    GP would usually take a couple of weeks to return the form  but some took longer and a reminder was issued.   In most cases a  decision  to accept and if so on what terms  would then be made.    A  very few  proposals required  a medical examination   before a decision was taken    and  this  was carried-out   by  our own doctor  ( we had a panel of several local GPs.).   Of course, a higher fee was paid for a medical examination.     Completing  forms from Life Offices   was an additional source of income for a GP  especially in  an affluent middle-class area

We  would also request a medical report,  even if it was a 'clear' proposal,   in cases where  the sum assured  requested was large and in  those cases  where the  proposer was  middle-aged  and the sum assured was fairly large.

The practice  of requesting  medical reports would vary from one  Life Office to  another.     I  understand that some  automatically  requested a report from a small percentage of clear proposals,  chosen at random.

dunstonh

The size of the sum assured will also come into play.   A clean health application with a large sum assured will usually result in some further medical information being required (which could be a nurse visit or greater access to medical details).

There is plenty of personal data that I would like to keep as confidential as possible.

First reaction on a comment like that is that there is something on your medical details that could well impact on the life assurance.  If you are in clean health, you will have very little of interest beyone minor ailments or routine surgeries.   If you have "plenty" of things then it is quite possible that the usual insurance questions will require some form of positive response.  and if so, the chance of the GP being contacted increases.  Most people do not have "plenty" of things on their medical records.

Weighty1

Further to the comments above, you could potentially keep certain things private at the point of application by a variety of methods.  Some insurers never automatically request a GP report, irrespective of how much cover is being applied for.  HOWEVER, at the point of a claim your full medical records would be requested to ensure the claim can be paid and this could result in a declined claim if there's something which they should have been notified of on the application.

pjamaman

If there was something  on the proposal which  indicated that further evidence was required before making a decision,   a medical report   would be sent to  the proposer's GP for completion  together with a set fee and a reply envelope. 

We  would also request a medical report,  even if it was a 'clear' proposal,   in cases where  the sum assured  requested was large and in  those cases  where the  proposer was  middle-aged  and the sum assured was fairly large.

Thanks for your input. Without wanting to get bogged down in unnecessary detail, I am wondering if the potential insured person is notified by their GP that a company is requesting their records?

Also, what is a "fairly large" sum? Would £300K over 30 years be "large"?

And what is "middle-aged" these days?

Also, how is the medical file sent? Electronically? Presumably there is some kind of secure system?

pjamaman

dunstonh said:

The size of the sum assured will also come into play.   A clean health application with a large sum assured will usually result in some further medical information being required (which could be a nurse visit or greater access to medical details).

There is plenty of personal data that I would like to keep as confidential as possible.

First reaction on a comment like that is that there is something on your medical details that could well impact on the life assurance.  If you are in clean health, you will have very little of interest beyone minor ailments or routine surgeries.   If you have "plenty" of things then it is quite possible that the usual insurance questions will require some form of positive response.  and if so, the chance of the GP being contacted increases.  Most people do not have "plenty" of things on their medical records.

The way I wrote it does sound somewhat dubious. I was thinking that, as a teenager, over 25 years ago I had various appointments regarding a variety of personal issues (as happens with a percentage of teenagers). I simply don't like the idea of this information being disseminated.

Imagine a person has an abortion or is victim of a sexual assault. This also might be personal information the individual does not want transmitted to an life assurance company.

pjamaman

coachman12 said:

I have no wish to pry and I certainly do not want you to tell me anything confidential or personal, but your reference to "plenty of personal data I would like to keep as confidential as possible" tends to make me feel that you have to ask yourself if such data impacts on your health, either historically or currently-------assuming your medical records only contains medical details; then insurance companies have a right to decide whether any medical fact is relevant in considering your application or in paying out in the future.

I don't dispute that life assurance companies have the right to check the information they are provided. That said, presumably they do so when the person dies anyhow.

I have been through a "test" application filling in all the answers honestly and I don't have any conditions I would need to acknowledge.

I suppose my point is that I wouldn't mind if the GP was asked: does this person have HIV, alcoholism, certain genetic diseases, heart condition, is a smoker, etc? I don't like the idea of the entire file being sent to a third party. It's just a "feeling" I have. I know other people don't share this approach.

Incidentally, I would have no problems with a "medical". In fact, I'd welcome it.

davidmcn

How many people do you think already have potential access to your records? A few people at the insurers seeing it isn't really going to change things (unless you know them personally maybe).

As above though they're unlikely to be wading through your whole file during the underwriting process, only after a claim.

csgohan4

pjamaman said:

dunstonh said:

The size of the sum assured will also come into play.   A clean health application with a large sum assured will usually result in some further medical information being required (which could be a nurse visit or greater access to medical details).

There is plenty of personal data that I would like to keep as confidential as possible.

First reaction on a comment like that is that there is something on your medical details that could well impact on the life assurance.  If you are in clean health, you will have very little of interest beyone minor ailments or routine surgeries.   If you have "plenty" of things then it is quite possible that the usual insurance questions will require some form of positive response.  and if so, the chance of the GP being contacted increases.  Most people do not have "plenty" of things on their medical records.

The way I wrote it does sound somewhat dubious. I was thinking that, as a teenager, over 25 years ago I had various appointments regarding a variety of personal issues (as happens with a percentage of teenagers). I simply don't like the idea of this information being disseminated.

Imagine a person has an abortion or is victim of a sexual assault. This also might be personal information the individual does not want transmitted to an life assurance company.

While your concerns regarding privacy/confidentiality is reasonable, it would be kept confidential or the insurers would be severely fined if not. 

however assuming you answer whatever questions they throw at you to the best of your knowledge, you wouldn't have to worry. They will access your full records anyway if you need to claim, so best to ensure everything is on there.

I asked my GP for a summary care record printout so I wouldn't miss anything when applying for these insurances and indeed useful for travel insurance.

If you have things on your report that you consider sensitive, it won't be shared with your local pub if thats what your asking. They have procedures in place.