Tell The Insurers Everything When You Apply For Life And Critical Illness Insurance.
You can't afford to be anything less than 100% honest with your insurance company. The last thing you want is for the agent to find out you failed to disclose a medical issue or that you lied on your life insurance application, and then drop your coverage.
To make sure this doesn't happen, tell them everything when you apply for life and critical illness insurance. Here's how:
1) Be honest about any health issues, even if they're not relevant now. You may be putting down something like "No." on one of the application questions — but it could turn out that they determine it's actually yes after reviewing your medical records. The best way to avoid any issues is to tell the truth from the very beginning.
2) Always complete the application truthfully. If you make a mistake, you'll want to be able to correct it immediately. (Some companies may not let you correct a mistake on other applications, but they will allow you to make changes on this one.) So, fill out the application honestly.
3) Check every box on the application. While some life insurance agents will try to encourage you to lie by checking unnecessary boxes on your application, it's actually more important that every box is checked. Because if a box is unchecked, the company will assume you're hiding something.
4) Make sure your doctor gives you a complete medical history. When you call your doctor, try to get everything from them — from any problems with medications to hospital visits (even if they are related to something that's not a big deal). Your insurance company may find out about those issues anyway, so let the doctor know you want everything on paper.
5) Make sure your physician is forthcoming. A lot of doctors don't want to disclose bad news about their patients' health. They'll tell the patient something like: "You're fine. There's nothing wrong." If you're going to lie on your application, it's important that your doctor is honest.
6) Tell the truth about your family history of cancer and heart disease. You don't want the company to take that into account, you know, because they do background checks for a reason — to find irregularities.
7) Don't lie about how much life insurance you need. Think of it this way: the company has to know everything about you before they will issue you insurance. If they think there's a problem that needs to be corrected, they won't be able to issue coverage if you don't tell the truth first.
8) Don't lie about your income. If you think there's a chance you might lose your job, tell the company that. They'll work with you if they know up front that you're not making as much as you thought.
9) Tell the company about any pre-existing conditions and/or incidents that led to claims in the past. Even if the current claim isn't directly related to an incident in the past, it's better to be upfront about it because they may figure it out on their own and drop your coverage if you don't tell them everything up front.
10) If something on your application changes, make sure to update it right away . For example, if one of your kids suddenly becomes ill after you've applied for coverage, it's better to contact the company right away and let them know — not wait until after they've issued a policy.
11) Contact the company if you think you need more life insurance. If something happens that increases the amount of coverage you need — such as a career change or a major medical problem — call the company and tell them. They'll work with you on an increased policy if necessary.
12) Avoid using your mobile phone to take photos that are later sent via text message. Most companies will simply delete the photo messages as unreadable, which means you'll never know if the photo was really received.
13) If you've had a recent checkup or have gotten medical treatment, make sure to tell your agent exactly what the doctor said. Don't just give them a list of medications. Be prepared to give details of any office visits and include anything new that you discovered in your health checkup.
14) Take notes during your health checkup with your doctor or nurse: what did he or she say? Ask for clarification about any potential issues. Also take notes about any advice or recommendations. If your health checkup is more than just a formality, make sure to ask your doctor about any potential changes and take notes in detail.
15) Don't lie about accident/injury claims. You're under no obligation to disclose all the details of your accident or injury claim, but you'll want to be honest with the agent when making an application. So, if you've been involved in a car or truck accident, tell them — even if it occurred before your life insurance application was filed. This information may help you get coverage faster if you have an injury that requires medical treatment.
16) Remember to check in with the agent every 6 months . If you're in good health, this should be a breeze. If you've had a recent medical exam, or have been diagnosed with any diseases, or have been involved in an accident — update the company right away.
17) Let your agent know if you're about to change jobs, if your income will decrease or if you may be out of work for a while. The company won't want to insure someone who's not going to be around for long. And that's more likely to happen with people who are out of work due to layoffs or who switch jobs frequently.
18) Don't lie about your race or sex when it comes time for underwriting. The insurance company will contact the Social Security Administration and/or your employer to verify your race and sex on your application.
19) Don't lie about the amount of coverage you already have in force. When answering a question on the application about how much coverage you have in force (whether it's term life insurance or cash value), if you tell an agent a lower number than is actually true, he or she will have to ask for proof. And if you forgot to remove the proof of prior coverage after filing, chances are your agent will notice and won't be happy that you lied in the first place.
20) Don't lie about other insurance policies currently in force.
Conclusion
You've now read about 100 of the most common lies that insurance agents think you'll make when filing an application. Sure, some of these examples will never actually happen to you. But if you're like most people, you'll forget your cell phone at home once in a while, or tell the agent something like: "Oh, I ran out of gas today" when really your car had a flat tire and was towed. You're bound to use at least one of these lies on your application at least once — so just remember that the big lie is not always the best way to go.
Also, if you're interested in getting more information and advice about applying for life insurance, I can help.