Insurance application unsuccessful

[Morn]

Hi,

 

First post here so hope it all makes sense.

 

As the title suggests I have (at the beginning of the year) been rejected for life insurance policy.

 

Without boring you all with the details, I applied and answered all the questions honestly including answering that i had had some numbness/cramping in my legs at that point.

 

The application was referred and I received a letter from the underwriter asking about any investigations/diagnosis I had had into this. I replied that I was seeing a Chiropractor who believed it was nothing more than postural and with some treatment I had indeed seen an improvement.

 

I then received a letter stating that the company were unable to insure me due to an undiagnosed medical condition.

 

At this point i visited my doctor and was sent for some tests which let to me being diagnosed with a vitamin/mineral deficiency and given high strength vits by way of treatment.

 

So to the questions.

 

1) Do i have to tell future life insurers about this refusal as I seem to find conflicting information on whether in constitutes a refusal or not.

 

2) If i want to buy say home insurance do i have to declare it here as well?

 

3) Should i go back to the original insurer and get it sorted there.

 

Hope that makes sense, I am needing to get life insurance sorted soon as I am buying a house but i am scared that i will never be able to get it even though i am medically fit and well.

 

Help.

 

Cheers

Morn

[BankFodder]

Yes, you should disclose it on any life insurance application.

 

I can't imagine that it would make any difference on a home insurance application - but if they ask on the form if you have ever been refused insurance then you have to answer truthfully.

 

It would be a good idea to go back to the original insurer

[Morn]

Thanks for the reply.

 

With regards to thw home insurance. I was looking last night and it asked have i ever been rejceted, and as soon as I said yes it said it could not offer me the insurance.

 

Seems like a crazy system to me.

[unclebulgaria67]

Declined or cancelled Insurance disclosure really means advising other Insurers where you have had a situation of non disclosure or fraud, where Insurers have been misled into accepting a risk they would not have taken had the known the truth.

 

Your situation with the life Insurance, was the standard negotiation process of you disclosing all relevant facts and the underwriter coming back, saying that they could not provide the cover. So this has no relevance to any other Insurance application. Obviously if you apply for life cover again, you would go through the same process of declaring everything they ask about.

[Morn]

Declined or cancelled Insurance disclosure really means advising other Insurers where you have had a situation of non disclosure or fraud, where Insurers have been misled into accepting a risk they would not have taken had the known the truth.

 

Your situation with the life Insurance, was the standard negotiation process of you disclosing all relevant facts and the underwriter coming back, saying that they could not provide the cover. So this has no relevance to any other Insurance application. Obviously if you apply for life cover again, you would go through the same process of declaring everything they ask about.

 

 

Thanks for this information.

 

Its really hard to find information about this to inform a correct understanding.

 

Is there anywhere this is all written down?

[unclebulgaria67]

Thanks for this information.

 

Its really hard to find information about this to inform a correct understanding.

 

Is there anywhere this is all written down?

 

Not that I know. I think you have been reading too much online about cancellations and having to disclose, which is making you fearful. Yours was not a cancellation as such, as you were still in the application process and the life assurers could not cover you.

[Morn]

Not that I know. I think you have been reading too much online about cancellations and having to disclose, which is making you fearful. Yours was not a cancellation as such, as you were still in the application process and the life assurers could not cover you.

 

Thats makes me feel a bit better to be honest.

 

Was thinking i would never get insurance again and would be struggling to travel etc...

 

Looks to me that the terminology need tightening up really to avoid this type of confusion.

 

Thanks for your advice.

[unclebulgaria67]

Thats makes me feel a bit better to be honest.

 

Was thinking i would never get insurance again and would be struggling to travel etc...

 

Looks to me that the terminology need tightening up really to avoid this type of confusion.

 

Thanks for your advice.

 

The questions were originally written to be asked by the Insurers staff in face to face or telephone conversations, where you have a chance to discuss what is being asked.

 

With many applications being online, you don't always get the chance to discuss anything around what is being asked. If you tried to make the questions more specific or provide more information, it may just complicate matters and it may make matters worse.

 

Having been involved in designing Insurance forms and questions etc, is is more difficult than you might imagine.

 

Personally I would suggest that if you are not sure about Insurance or any financial product, that you don't arrange cover online. Often you can research the cover online, obtain quotes and still phone companies to arrange cover, where you can ask questions to make sure you have confidence in what you are looking to buy.

[Morn]

The questions were originally written to be asked by the Insurers staff in face to face or telephone conversations, where you have a chance to discuss what is being asked.

 

With many applications being online, you don't always get the chance to discuss anything around what is being asked. If you tried to make the questions more specific or provide more information, it may just complicate matters and it may make matters worse.

 

Having been involved in designing Insurance forms and questions etc, is is more difficult than you might imagine.

 

Personally I would suggest that if you are not sure about Insurance or any financial product, that you don't arrange cover online. Often you can research the cover online, obtain quotes and still phone companies to arrange cover, where you can ask questions to make sure you have confidence in what you are looking to buy.

 

Again thank you for making this crystal clear.

 

For anyone else that stumbles across this information with a similar situation, I have just had the information provided by unclebulgaria86 confirmed by the 'Financial Ombudsman Service.'

 

Apparently life insurance is treated as a very different entity from other forms of general insurance. If you are looking for say house insurance and have only ever been rejected for life insurance then it is not necessary to declare this to the insurance company.

 

Again thank you unclebulgaria86 for your clear accurate advice.

 

Cheers