What causes delays and can delays be reduced?

The most common cause of delay is enquiries about your health.

STEP 1 of 2
Type of cover
Life Insurance       Mortgage Life Insurance
 
Cover Level (£)

Number of years
Do you want:  
Critical illness cover
Family income benefit
 

Hot Topics

Is it better to have a Guaranteed or a Reviewable premium?
In the medium to longer term we believe that a Reviewable policy will cost you more than a Guaranteed policy. On the other hand Reviewable policies do have the advantage of a lower premium at the outset and this appeals to many people, especially if budgets are tight.
Could you end up paying more for insurance than someone else the same age?
Yes you might, because your age is only one of many aspects the insurance company takes into account when determining your premium.
If my premium is “Rated”, what does that mean?
If your premium is “Rated” it means that the insurance company will only agree to insure you if you pay a higher premium than the one they originally quoted. This happens because, following receipt of your Application and any follow-up information they required, the insurance company believes you to represent an above average risk. (In extreme situations they will simply decline to insure you.)
Will your Mortgage Lender charge a fee if you buy your Life Insurance from someone else?
No! By law mortgage lenders are not allowed to charge a fee if you buy elsewhere.
When Does My Cover Start?
Once your insurer has accepted your Application, your insurance cover can start straight away.
But other things can cause delays too. For example, some customers forget to sign and return important documents without which they cannot be insured.

Let’s start with the easy part first – things you can do to reduce delays! After your Application has been sent to the insurance company there are a number of letters you may receive. The following three letters are the ones you are most likely to receive.

ALL OF THESE LETTERS REQUIRE A PROMPT REPLY FROM YOU:

  • If you have completed an Application over the phone, you will receive a letter from the insurance company enclosing details of the answers you provided over the phone and asking you to confirm that the details are correct. Please check the details carefully. This letter may also ask your permission for your Doctor to provide the insurance company with confidential information about your health. If you do not answer this letter you Application will be put on hold.
  • If your premium is over £50 per month you will receive a letter asking you to provide proof of your identity. (This is a requirement under UK Law.) The letter will explain what documents they need to see – photocopies will be OK. If you do not answer this letter your Application will be put on hold.
  • Sometimes you may receive a letter asking you to sign and return your Direct Debit. Your insurance cannot start until you have replied to this letter.

So what else can cause delays?

The initial quotation provided will assume you are in good health for your age, you have a generally healthy lifestyle and neither your occupation nor your hobbies represent a risk to your health.

Then, if you wish to proceed, you’ll need to complete an Application Form for the insurance company. This Form collects more detailed information about yourself to enable the insurance company to confirm whether the initial quotation stands or whether they want more information before making a final decision.

In our experience, once the insurance company has your Application, about 1 in 3 are accepted immediately. You can then be placed “on risk” within minutes.

If there is anything on your Application that needs to be looked at by one of the Insurance Company’s specialist Underwriters then, quite honestly, delays are inevitable. If, having considered your Application, the Underwriter is happy to approve your Application, then the delay will typically be up to two weeks.

However, in perhaps 1 in 7 cases the Underwriter will decide that he/she needs more information about you. Health issues are the most common area of concern but your job or even hobbies can prompt the insurance company into wanting more information. If it’s a query about your job or hobbies etc, you will receive a supplementary questionnaire in the post which you will need to complete and return.

With health queries, the Underwriter may decide to write to your Doctor for information or to ask you to have a very quick “mini-medical”. Alternatively, he/she may ask you to have a full medical. (Incidentally, the insurance company picks up the entire cost of all these medical reports.) In our experience, the insurers asks 1 in 10 of applicants for additional medical information – so if you get asked don’t be alarmed it’s fairly common.

However, medical reports do slow down the application procedure. Doctors are particularly busy people and are not renowned for their speedy response to insurance company’s requests for information! Delays of 6 to 8 weeks for medical reports are not unheard of.

Of course, if you want to arrange the insurance now but delay the starting date for a few weeks, or maybe a month or more, then that can easily be arranged. Better to get it sorted out now than wait and find out there’s going to be a delay.

Frequently Asked Questions related to the above topic.
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