When Insurance Doesn't Pay Out

So this is the not so good side of insurance, when a policy does not pay out when you expect it to. Trust me though, this is not the norm. Quite simply, insurers want to pay out on these insurance policies, they do not want the bad press!

Earlier this month I highlighted how 98.2% of life insurance paid out in 2015, and 99.9% of all whole of life insurance policies. This is a huge amount and it is worth repeating that in 2015 the protection insurance industry paid out £3.6 billion in claims.

There are a number of reasons why a protection insurance policy may not pay out. Here are some of the main reasons:

Non-disclosure – this is when the insurer did not have the correct details about your health, or other circumstances, when the policy was put in place. The key point here is material non-disclosure, i.e. would the insurer have offered you the insurance if they had known your accurate details. It is then up to the insurer to determine if they will pay the claim. It is very important that you tell the insurer of any changes to your health or circumstances, that occur between your application submission date and the date that the policy actually starts.

Know what you are covered for – it is essential that you know exactly what you are covered for. Take Critical Illness Cover. You are covered for cancer, but less advanced cancers may not be eligible for a claim payment; some insurers offer partial claim benefits for specific low severity cancers.

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