Insurance Companies Improve Protection Insurance
A lot of trained financial advisors would agreethat Protection Insurance is crutial to most families, either as a safeguard in the event of premature death, prolonged illness, loss of employment (especially in the present economic climate), or cover for an accident.
Life Insurance is the foundation of all financial assurance for cover for a mortgage or to ensure a lump sum that is not taxable, in the eventuality of death. Unfortunately, a percentage of other Protection Insurance policies, do not do not have equivalentdo not have similar} sound qualities and have been branded as being miss-sold. Also, based on what we are now aware, critical illness cover has suffered because of startling omissions from insurance policies making it possible for insurers to reject a claim even if it is genuine.
However, a little faith was reinstated when Standard Life gave details on the conclusion of claims on Critical Illness Cover on their half yearly accounts.
Critical Illness claims were being turned down because customers did not make known their full medical background. As a result Standard Life says that in the last seven months the number of declined claims has reduced substantially from 6.7 per cent in the last year, to 2.3 per cent.
Why? We believe, not only Norwich Union but all of the insurers, because of destructive public relations, have been placed in a situation whereby they must reduce the number of claims that are rejected. Does this show how strong the press can be? Debateable perhaps – you may think we are cynical but we believe there are other issues that urged the insurers to make alterations. Lately, as a consequence of |bad press|dire media}, sales of Critical Illness Cover have fallen which in turn has visibly influenced the insurers profit. This is most likely to have been the vehicle to further change!
Scottish Provident, Friends Provident, Axa and Norwich Union have instigated some major alterations specially designed to decrease their rejection rates. To begin with, they silhouette clearly that all health disclosure, however minor a visit to a Doctor could have been, must be revealed. Scottish Provident, together with others will get a medically trained person to telephone every applicant to discuss all the details of their medical record. If the insurance policy then goes on risk, a number of policyholders are being told that it is vital that they give complete medical disclosure and they are allowed to add or correct any details on their application form.
The Insurance Company may then re-evaluate the risk and if it is thought to be increased the monthly payments will most likely be increased – which appears more reasonable and eventually more appropriate than paying the original payment then having a claim rejected as a result of non-disclosure of health facts.
This process should have been applied by the Insurance Companies a long time ago as the public’s concept of Protection Insurance has deteriorated by their somewhat ‘Off the ball’ approach. Without doubt, there is an obvious and essential need for protection insurance so we can hope that it is able to reinstate faith and then the recognition it rightly warrants.
