6. Do You Have Any Pre-Existing Conditions That Could Affect The Acceptance Of A Claim?
Pre-existing conditions are very common and often aren't applied to Life Insurance products however, they could determine the insurance provider you end up using.
Having a serious health issue such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer will leave you underwritten as a high-risk client which often makes for a long and difficult underwriting process, a key reason to work with an advisor. Importantly, some insurers who don't have the 'invasive', up-front underwriting process will often offset it with underwriting upon claim and premium cost increases, increasing costs or difficulties upon claim. For this reason, we would recommend avoiding buying cover directly from third party insurance resellers like banks or supermarkets, as they are unlikely to provide product comparisons with similar products offered by other insurers. Independent insurance reviews over the years have often found such products can be up to 75% more expensive than similar products elsewhere, or be impacted with harsher policy wording or exclusions not found with other insurers in the market.
Advisors are there to negotiate the best terms available during the underwriting process to ensure policy is fit for purpose, whether that be having exclusions removed or loadings reduced. It’s important you disclose your previous health and lifestyle history with your insurance adviser so that your advisor can set you a realistic expectation of your insurance application and work to get you the most favourable results!
Please understand that having pre-existing conditions can lead to a longer risk analysis from the insurer, who may end up waiting for medical records to be supplied so they can assess the applicant's individual risk prior to offering terms, so please be patient with your adviser during this time.