Insurers will do anything not to pay out, right?

You would think from all the bad press that insurers get that the title of this guide would be true. But really nothing could be further from the truth.

Insurers hate to deny paying claims. Why? Bad press. The last thing that they want is bad press. Bad press = loss of customers. In many ways when an insurer pays a claim it can be seen as a win win for all of those involved, the insurer gets positive word of mouth and the claimant gets the money that they were expecting.

In 2015 the protection industry (e.g. life insurance, critical illness and income protection) paid out £3.6billion in insurance claims. That is 98.2% of all life insurance claims and a staggering 99.9% of all whole of life claims.

Now I know what you are thinking, what about that 1.8% and 0.01% that didn’t pay? This is normally due to significant non-disclosure.

One of the key reasons why insurers don’t pay a claim is because details in the original application have not been correct. It is important with the majority of insurers that you let them know of any changes to your circumstances (health, occupation, travel, pastimes) that occur between the time that your application is placed and the actual date that your policy starts. It may be frustrating if an insurer asks to see a GP report before they offer you the insurance, but we think it is one of the best things that can happen when you arrange insurance. If they do, you know that the insurer has an exact picture of your health when the policy is started which should make any claims that you make much easier to approve.

The other main reason that insurers do not pay a claim on policies like Critical Illness Cover and Income Protection is because people try and make a claim on the policy for something that they are not covered for. When you arrange these types of policies you are taking out a contract based upon the conditions, terms and definitions that the insurer offers at that date. If the insurer improves their contract at a later date you are not automatically given these better terms or services.

Reference: https://www.abi.org.uk/News/News-releases/2016/04/Record-amount-paid-out-in-vital-protection-insurance-claims

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