‍What’s this? Even Brendon got turned down by an insurance company?! Here’s how it happened and some takeaways for us all.

My insurance company just said “no” to me. I am not happy. I am a current client of theirs and I sell their products to my clients.

I have personal insurances in place, but, in my annual insurance review, my circumstances had changed enough that I needed a bit or a re-org. I have existing cover (by this I mean life, income protection, trauma and health covers) at a number of providers and I was going to consolidate these and save a little money.

But when I applied I was declined. 

The reason for this was to do with my medical risk. 12 years ago I had a "neurological event" that looked a bit like a stroke. After investigating, they found that one of my heart valves "leaked" a bit (in the trade, it’s known as a PFO) I have had it all my life and, at the time, the best medical advice was to let it be. It wasn't a major issue—apart from the fact it could let an occasional blood clot through and in to my brain!?! Time has moved on and it seems that the medical advice may be changing. So, due to this uncertainty, my insurance company doesn't want to take the risk.

My immediate response was anger. 

How dare they? Don't they know who I am!? As well as the fact that I run ultra-marathons and so am pretty fit and healthy! I thought I was a pretty good risk. However, I do understand their rationale and I am now looking in to my medical options.

As well as working with my GP and a referral to a cardiologist, I may well use an expert’s (best doctors in the world) second opinion service known as "Best Doctors" that comes with my insurance. My health insurance may get a work out in the months to come. 

Watch this space.

Finally, some take homes from my experience:

There are two times when an insurance company might say “no”. One is when it comes to getting the cover in place. The second is at claim time. Trust me, it is far better to get a “no” at application time than at claim time.

At the risk of turning my little personal anecdote in to a sales opportunity …  our job at Velocity is to get the best cover, at the best price, and to ask all the questions at the start to ensure that, at claim time, the money arrives when you need it most.

Brendon Ojala is a Registered Financial Adviser with Velocity Financial. No investment decision should be taken based on the information in this blog alone. A disclosure statement is available free of charge upon request.