Full Disclosure Is Necessary When Claiming Life Insurance

Recent research undertaken by the insurance firm Norwich Union suggests that consumers in Britain need to be more thorough when filling out forms for life insurance in order to avoid claims being rejected. According to Norwich Union, British consumers are most likely to leave out information about any treatment they may have received, current treatment being received or whether or not they have suffered from depression.

Norwich Union claims that, while 2005's figures were down from that of 2004, the firm still had to reject one in ten life insurance claims due to non-disclosure by consumers. According to Tony Jupp, chief underwriter at Norwich Union:

"It is vital that people take a deal of care and attention when completing these forms as the information they provide will form the basis of any life policy that they are offered. If applicants don't share with their insurer information that is requested, it is likely that they will have invalidated their policy and if they make a claim, it might be turned down."

He added that such situations would make it more difficult to obtain life insurance cover from an alternative insurance company.

The survey comes a month after insurance provider Bright Grey announced findings that two fifths of people in Britain believe that life insurance premiums are the most important type of insurance cover to posses. However, the research carried out by Bright Grey also found that, when it came down to it, consumers were more likely to buy other types of insurance. In fact, nearly three quarters of the people surveyed claimed that they had purchased home insurance cover, while two thirds claimed to have bought travel insurance for their holidays abroad. But only one in ten respondents claimed to have purchased insurance against loan payments.

Roger Edwards, product director at Bright grey, stated that buying life insurance was "key when it comes to planning properly for the future," and asserted that for many consumers, "financial savvy seems to have gone out of the window when deciding what life insurance to buy". Indeed, this lack of information at the decision-making stage tends to deter many people in their hunt for life insurance. There are however various resources which allow life insurance seekers to compare the life insurance policies on the market and making full use of these resources is increasingly necessary in order to make the right choice.

Martin McAllister is a freelance online journalist. He lives in Scotland.