Life insurance customers must be honest
July 25, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
Customer honesty is imperative when taking out a life insurance policy, an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) said today.
While customers might be tempted to try to keep premiums as low as possible through selective disclosure of facts, this might well prove costly in the long run.
Kieran Platt, who also co-founded the website Life Direct, strongly recommends that “whatever the situation is when you apply for your policy, you must be totally honest”, with the possibility of claims being invalidated otherwise.
Giving the example of a claimant going wreck diving – “perceived to be high risk” – he pointed out that dangerous hobbies must be declared at the outset.
However, Mr Platt said that taking up a potentially premium-boosting activity such as a high risk hobby after filling the form in would not affect life insurance, provided it could be proved that at the time of taking the cover out it was not being practiced.
“Life policies are underwritten at outset: it’s the complete opposite of income protection insurance, where you have to go back to the insurance company anytime anything changes… With a life policy you don’t, it’s all done at the outset”, he surmised.
Recent figures from life insurers Bright Grey show that around one in three British families do not have life insurance, critical illness or income protection cover.
