Over the years OneLife Insure has had many interesting characters contacting us regarding Life Insurance, such as Santa Claus, and Harry and Megan to name a few, but none scarier than Freddy
Kreuger.
Yes, Freddy contacted our advisors this week, looking for a protection plan to be put in place. He was a complete ‘nightmare’ of a customer, very rude and we knew he was withholding information to us regarding his health and lifestyle. Freddy … We have all seen the movie.
The importance of Full Disclosure
We highlighted the importance of full disclosure to Freddy and the reasons why he must answer his health and lifestyle truthfully when applying for Life Insurance. We told him:
- By providing full details of any medical history and his ‘interesting pastimes’ at the outset he
will remove any doubt that a claim will be refused for failure to disclose. - We want Freddy’s insurance to pay out – If he makes a claim on his policy, he will want the
claim to be paid. If the insurers find during the claims process that he withheld details at the
time of his original application, his claim may not be paid.
Freddy being Freddy, he was having none of this. He was giving the insurer false information and he was purposely omitting to disclose material facts. The insurer had no option to consider his
application as invalid.
On rare occasions, people, like Freddy, might not be fully truthful in their life insurance application to avoid paying a higher premium. Someone who has significant pre-existing health conditions are likely pay a higher rate than someone who is in good health.
Despite a fear of a higher premium, the best course of action is to truthfully answer Life Insurance application questions to avoid policy denial or cancellation during a claim.
If you are worried about paying a higher rate based on your health status, please contact our
advisors. We are here to help you tailor a plan to suit your needs and your budget.
Thankfully Freddy did not become a client of OneLife Insure… as for his neighbours. Our advice to
them is to contact us as soon as possible…. as One Two, Freddy’s coming for you!