The reason I ask is if you have existing policies bought directly from banks or online, they will need checking to make sure claims don’t go pear shaped down the road.

In my lengthy experience working for an insurer over nine years, most declined claims could have been avoided if adequate care had been taken in answering the medical questions correctly. Had the person used an insurance adviser to review their policies, the claim would have likely been paid out. Tragic!

This is often because people don’t have the support they need in completing their insurance application. A lot of care and guidance is required to avoid common mistakes and answer questions accurately. When they’re not, people get penalised at claim time.

Here’s why

There are 30 or so medical questions in a typical insurance application. Think of each medical question as a potential minefield so that’s 30 potential minefields to work our way through.

Think of your experienced adviser as a mine sweeper, making sure the questions are answered correctly so an insurance company cannot get out of the contract at claim time.

No errors, no explosions!

Let us take one medical question on cholesterol which is answered incorrectly most times when an adviser is not involved.

The cholesterol bomb

The first question on most application forms, for example, is, “Do you suffer from high cholesterol?” Most people on an online application, with no one to guide them or caution them, will answer “No” if they are not on medication. Theoretically right, but technically wrong.

I typically rephrase the question for people. It really should be: “Did the doctor ever ask you to exercise and diet to bring down your cholesterol?” Many would respond yes, even if they think they are okay because the doctor said cholesterol was under a certain limit and did not prescribe any meds.

The correct response for the first question for many should in fact be “Yes,” with a further explanation that the doctor advised diet and exercise. This may lead to a blood test required at application time, and the insurance company is on notice to accept your contract at standard rates if the results are normal.

Or it may even lead to an increased premium. But paying a little higher premium is far better than getting declined at claim time, right?

A good adviser is also a good negotiator on your behalf – getting the lowest premiums possible and finding ways to even remove that extra “loading” of higher premiums if you can bring your cholesterol levels down within, say, 12 months.

And most importantly, it will get the cholesterol bomb out of the way so that a claim cannot be declined and explode on you when you suffer from heart disease few years down the line.

Get your insurance checked today

I have highlighted only one bomb and showed the way to address it, but what about the other 29 med questions? Have you answered them correctly?

The trouble is, many people buying insurance online or through a bank don’t have the support they need to get this right. Many of these sales channels seem to encourage what we call “inadvertent non-disclosures”, probably to get the numbers in.

People need someone to make sure that, if they suffer a heart attack 10 years down the line, they won’t have inadvertently not disclosed their cholesterol situation and miss out on their trauma cover. That’s what insurance advisers like me are here for!

An easy way to start is by seeing if your current insurance passes its warrant. By answering seven easy “yes/no” questions, you can quickly test whether your cover needs a bit of work to avoid non payment of a claim in the future.

Your insurance policies need to pass their WOF test so they don’t get declined at claim time. Click here to see if they pass or call Anand on 021595750 today.