You may have seen a recent piece on the front page of the Telegraph Money, about a woman called Melanie Hoskin. A lady who was declined life and critical illness cover last year, by one insurer due to post traumatic stress disorder, following her mothers death. The thing is, Melanie’s mum didn’t just die, she was murdered.
Melanie was signposted to me (Kathryn, hi!), because I am a specialist insurance adviser, and own a protection firm that is known for finding protection insurance, for people who have been declined cover.
Melanie came to me and the first thing I asked, was for her to tell me her story, and she certainly had one to tell. Her mother had been murdered three years ago and the verdict on the case had only been reached two months ago. She had taken the proactive step to speak with a trauma counsellor, for all of this time, to stop herself from becoming ill. She took this tragedy and owned it, it empowered her to live life to the fullest. Melanie even started a blog in memory of her mum, 62 months to complete 62 life challenges, this is significant because her mother was killed at age 62. This is not the story of someone that presents a high risk for insurance.
I spoke to the underwriters. I am thrilled to say that everyone was sympathetic to Melanie’s situation. The underwriters heard her story, they could see the reasons behind her ticking yes to mental health concerns in recent years, most were not massively bothered by the disclosures. I researched the market, I went back and forth between Melanie and the underwriters, to clarify specific parts about her health. The underwriters and I wanted to make sure that we had every last detail perfectly understood, before terms were indicated; Melanie had been through enough already, the last thing she needed was false expectations on what insurance she could have.
Off her own back, Melanie spoke with her GP and got a copy of her medical report, gave it to me, and I sent it to the insurer that had indicated the best terms. We submitted the application on a Tuesday morning, by Thursday afternoon we had terms. I am pleased to say that we were able to arrange life and critical illness cover at standard terms, with exclusions for mental health on total permanent disability and waiver of premium.
Such a good outcome is not going to be available with every case. Some people will have insurance at loaded premiums, significant exclusions, or need to look at insurers outside the standard market. Melanie though, is a perfect example of ignoring the ‘computer says no’. It is very rare that we are unable to offer some form of protection insurance for a client, it’s all about having access to the right insurers and knowing where to look.
Things to think about:
- Don’t take no for an answer. Yes, you may need to accept that the initial insurer that you have spoken to cannot offer cover, but that doesn’t mean all insurers will decline.
- Research all of the insurers that you have access to, use services like UnderwriteMe to help you establish which insurers are potentials.
- Talk to underwriters, explain the clients circumstances, keep trying.
- If all else fails, call us. My company can arrange protection insurance for your client and you get a split of the commission. One, some commission is better than no commission, if you are getting no joy yourself. Two, your client gets the vital protection insurance that they need.
