subject: Critical Illness Insurance-problems Of Disclosure? [print this page] Statistics in the last decade state that 1 in 3 people in Britain will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their life. Although continual ongoing medical research means the chances of survival are higher the threat of suffering from such an illness is still very apparent.
Almost 55% of claims made on critical illness insurance were cancer based and medics believe this is set to continue. In this eventuality critical illness cover can offer the financial security you need. However non co-operation from insurance companies seems to be becoming an increasingly common problem.
Before your insurance company will make a pay out they have to go through vigorous checks on all the information and medical history you supplied. Although in your application to make a claim you will have told them this information, insurers will now insist that this is rechecked. For example if you state that you were a non-smoker when you made the claim, your insurance provider will need conformation of this from your doctor.
The main reason for this process is the problem of non-disclosure. As the title suggest, non-disclosure is where the insurance company believes the applicant has withheld factual information, whether inadvertently or not. Insurers defend this procedure stating that, failure to disclose information when you first applied for the policy may have affected whether or not you would have been initially refused cover. Non-disclosure is therefore seen as a way of cheating the system and insurers see this as a valid reason for refusing an insurance claim.
Additionally insurers are particularly distrustful of those making a claim within the first 5 years of the policy. Any claim within this period is seen as an early claim and insurers often believe the policy holder took out the insurance with the knowledge they were already ill. However this intense scrutiny is now creating the problem of bas press.
Ultimately even if a piece of information is found that had nothing to do with the illness you claimed for, your claim will still be refused. However larger insurance companies are being seen to try and remedy these problems. In the last year the insurance giant, Aviva had a moratorium period, whereby customers could come forward and present new information they had failed to disclose origionally; without any negative affects on their policy. In addition to this major insurance companies advertise regulalry that 85-90% of claims are successful and the payouts the make each year runs into millions and millions of pounds.
Even if a failure to disclose was inadvertant this may still affect your claim, applicants must therefore insure they dont withhold anything before going ahead. Customers should therefore seek expert independent advice before applying for critical illness insurance.
by: Yzder Twain
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