One in 10 lie to insurers
Yesterday insurance firms warned policyholders they needed to be up-front with their insurers or risk being refused pay-outs when the time comes.
The Irish Insurance Federation (IIF), which represents insurers, said people who lied on application forms also bumped up premiums for honest policyholders.
“If people don’t disclose information fully on their forms then they get lower premiums than they ought to have and that has a knock-on effect,” said IIF spokeswoman Jennifer Hoban. “For instance, on life assurance, insurers do look carefully before paying out and may decide not to pay a claim (on death) because the person didn’t disclose the relevant information. Then you are dealing with distraught relatives who had expected there was money coming to them.”
Among the common failures of applicants for life assurance is omitting to mention they smoke. Non-smokers get cheaper premiums for the policies which clear the mortgage or pay out a lump sum for funeral expenses upon the death of the policyholder.
The industry was competitive so adults who could not get cover for their cars, homes or life under one insurer could find another would be willing to give them insurance, she said.
Yesterday the Government’s finance watchdog, the Financial Regulator, published the findings of a poll on how many people tell the truth when applying for insurance and loans.
Of the 522 adults, who represented the average Irish consumer, almost 10% said they sometimes or always failed to give full and accurate information. The remainder (91%) said they were always open. The watchdog’s consumer director, Mary O’Dea, said applicants could be tempted to lie or be economical with the facts to save money.
“Our recent review of the sales and claims handling of serious illness policies showed that a major reason for claims being declined was that consumers did not give full and accurate information when taking out this type of insurance,” she said.
www.itsyourmoney.ie and www.iif.ie
