Monday, 10 September 2012

Is a Little Lie a Big Deal when Applying for Life Insurance?


Life insurance companies draw a very clear line when it comes to dividing the healthy from the non-healthy. Younger Individuals who have health on their side enjoy the best life insurance rates, while others struggle to qualify for the next best premium class. Then, there is the 5 percent of all applicants for life insurance who think they can qualify for a higher class by a little misrepresentation of facts. Fear of having to pay exorbitant rates for minor health concerns may drive a person to lay on an application form, but this is not a good idea for many reasons. 

Your application for life insurance may be rejected lying to your life insurance company is called Material Misrepresentation. This means that you have misrepresented facts that are crucial to the issuance of your life insurance policy. Underwriters of a life insurance company look at the details filled out in your application form. They also conduct an independent medical examination of your health through a company-appointed medical officer. 

These include routine tests such as a blood test, urine test, blood pressure reading, liver test, an electrocardiogram (ECG) or any other medical test may be considered crucial to their underwriting process. They also consult with your doctor and have access to your medical records and prescriptions. They check whether they information you have provided on your application form is accurate. If they have any reason to believe that you have misrepresented information, they can deny coverage.

Providing false information goes on your permanent record If you have been found to lie or falsify facts on your insurance application, this information will go on your records. Other life insurance companies also have access to these records. It will be difficult for you to get any kind of life insurance when the records show that you have misrepresented information and denied coverage by another insurance company. This may apply to all type of insurance, not just life insurance. When you lie on your application, you are putting your integrity at stake, not to mention your chances of getting life insurance coverage to protect your family.

Your family may not receive death benefits If they don't catch your misrepresentation of facts during the underwriting process, and you die of a medical condition that they suspect you already knew of when you applied for life insurance, your life insurance company will re-check your medical records. If they have found that you actually misrepresented the facts in order to qualify for life insurance or in order to get better life insurance rates, then they will not pay out any death benefits to your beneficiary.

Life insurance fraud, a serious crime an insurance company issues a policy under certain stipulations. If these stipulations are met, the life insurance company will honor its contract. Life insurance companies have anti-fraud systems in place to detect fraud, which means that it's highly likely that a lie on your insurance application can be easily discovered. If a life insurance company can prove that you have not met these stipulations, they can deny your family coverage. Depending on the terms and conditions of the policy, the insurance company may also file a prosecution case against you for attempted insurance fraud.

Honesty brings peace of mind Before you think its okay to lie-think about what you are doing very carefully. Is it really worth it? One little lie could cause you endless anxiety not knowing whether your lie will be discovered after death, and your family denied coverage. You'll never have the security and peace of mind that comes from honesty-that gives you the assurance that your family will be paid death benefits at a time when your loved ones need it to come through for them.

Better Ways to Lower Your Premiums than Lying! If you can't get a better premium rate class, you may want to consider lowering your coverage. Lower your coverage so that your premium payments are affordable. It may not fully cover your needs for life insurance, but something is better than nothing. You can assess your life insurance needs at a later stage in life and increase your coverage accordingly.

Have you shopped around for life insurance? Just because one life insurance company denied you coverage doesn't mean that all will do the same. 

Life insurance is competitive business. There are some life insurance companies that show more favor to people with certain health conditions than others. They assess your health risks in greater detail and if you are in otherwise good health, they may offer you more affordable premium rates. If you want to easily locate these companies all you have to do is fill out an online questionnaire on a life insurance aggregate website like AccuQuote.com. 

They have hundreds of life insurance companies on their database. Within minutes they can retrieve the best life insurance quotes for your specific situation. You can compare premiums, company ratings, and the terms and conditions of each policy. If you need personal guidance, you can call their customer service to speak to a professional adviser who'll give you unbiased recommendations.

If you really want life insurance to work for you, be honest on your life insurance application.

About AccuQuote:

AccuQuote is a leader in providing term life quotes to people across the United States. In 1986 it began operating with a single goal: to make the process of buying term life insurance as easy as possible for its customers. Their experienced professionals consistently deliver the most affordable term life insurance rates by comparing thousands of life insurance policies from dozens of top-rated carriers.

No comments:

Post a Comment