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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To lie on travel insurance application?

87 replies

Amoamasamat · 02/06/2017 22:12

Just bought annual travel insurance for the family. There were the usual questions about prior medical conditions. Thankfully we have none, except dh was diagnosed with depression several years ago and still takes a medium level dose of ADs. He's not now depressed thanks to the ADs but he is still being 'treated' i.e. receiving medication although hasn't seen his GP for a year. (He actually believes the ADs right an imbalance of chemicals in his brain and that he will take ADs for life.)

Without really thinking I ticked the NO box for mental health condition.

So, we lose our luggage, the airline goes bankrupt or dh breaks his arm doing a back flip into the pool - is our insurance null and void due to my lie? Unless a claim is mental health related, would the insurance company ever know?

OP posts:
Slimthistime · 03/06/2017 02:06

I'm in the same situation as your DH
Don't lie on the form
It isn't worth the risk
Plus if he gets ill and has a hospital stay he will have to tell them about his meds
Ring them, correct it, say you forgot because it's well controlled
My family forget im on meds all the time!
They will revise price accordingly.

cheesychops · 03/06/2017 03:02

Just call up & ask them to change it. Had to do this for my MIL as she forgot to tell me about (several) relevant conditions when I applied. They were fine &. It didn't cost much more.

And if you did claim you know the insurance would try to get out of paying if they could.

londonrach · 03/06/2017 05:37

Dont, any excuse they cancel the policy if you claim.

Supermagicsmile · 03/06/2017 06:37

Glad you are going to ring. :)

Charlie97 · 03/06/2017 07:11

Insurance companies have people employed to just find out who's lying so they can avoid pay outs. Chances are that if you're lying, they won't pay out. It doesn't matter the ifs and whys and what's

No they don't!

Just tell the truth it'll have no effect on your premium and doubtfully an exclusion.

AStickInTime · 03/06/2017 07:24

They do Charlie! My Dad has been an insurance claims inspector all his life. His job is to scrutinise cases to check on the details of it. Perhaps you just don't work in that department so you're not aware it even exists?

Also, they will get access to your GP records to check whether it matches the details on your claim. If it doesn't, it gives them the beautiful excuse to refuse to cough up. I've got a friend who had critical life insurance on her mortgage, and then developed MS, but got her claim turned down because she hadn't declared some benign lump she'd had removed 2 years before. It was nothing to do with MS but because she failed to disclose it, they were allowed to walk away and so did.

It won't be too much of a drama to declare it, especially if your Dh is stable. Ive got a serious medical condition myself and get medical travel insurance for the whole family for £150 annually or £40 ish per trip. You might not even need specific medical insurance for depression anyway, it's so common.

namechange20050 · 03/06/2017 07:30

It may not even cost you any more. I have a medical condition & it doesn't cost any more when I declare it. My husbands asthma means the premium goes up a couple of quid.

VintagePerfumista · 03/06/2017 07:33

Charlie97- yes they do. One of my best friends does exactly that. She works for a big insurance company and her whole remit is basically catching people out.

Badbadbunny · 03/06/2017 07:52

You have a cooling off period. Just cancel it and then apply again with the right information (and shop around using comparison sites if they charge more). Far less hassle and more certain/safe than trying to get the original one corrected.

wickerlampshade · 03/06/2017 07:53

I'm a GP. travel insurance companise regularly write to us for the full notes before paying out and you've probably given them the right to do this in the small print somewhere. Insurance will be void.

XiCi · 03/06/2017 07:58

Suspected fraud has always been investigated by insurers and rightly so, it costs the industry billions and is the reason why we as consumers have to pay high premiums. They are not however allowed to request your full gp notes, only those relating to the condition you are claiming for. This has been the case for about 5 years now.
I would definitely phone and let them know OP. If his condition is well managed on medication then there probably won't even be an increase in premium or exclusion but you need to disclose the condition to ensure you are fully covered.

C8H10N4O2 · 03/06/2017 09:15

I'm a GP. travel insurance companise regularly write to us for the full notes before paying out

And presumably to be compliant under the data protection laws you supply only the relevant notes to the claim being made under the travel policy not the supply full history?

Small print buried in the policy does not count as consent.

C8H10N4O2 · 03/06/2017 09:17

and not supply

oh for an edit buton

BWatchWatcher · 03/06/2017 09:17

Insurance companies definitely have entire departments devoted to fraud.
Better be honest.

C8H10N4O2 · 03/06/2017 09:20

They are not however allowed to request your full gp notes, only those relating to the condition you are claiming for. This has been the case for about 5 years now.

Strictly speaking they were in breach more than 5 years ago as well, however it was about 5 years ago that the laws were tightened up and some of the worst loopholes closed to stop wholesale PII fishing exercises (not just by insurers)

specialsubject · 03/06/2017 09:31

Its OK, folks, op is convinced and will call the insurers. No issue in advising of a mistake before the policy starts, I did it recently for a different insurance.

wickerlampshade · 03/06/2017 10:43

They are not however allowed to request your full gp notes, only those relating to the condition you are claiming for. This has been the case for about 5 years now.

they still do though.

Original poster
Amoamasamat · 03/06/2017 12:00

Update:

I phoned the insurance company this morning and told them. The adviser said they can't amend the policy now it's taken out but as I'm within the 14 days cooling off period the easiest thing to do is cancel it and reapply - so policy is now cancelled. I can reapply with the same company but we'd only be allowed to take out their posh level higher premium policy instead of the bog standard economy level one. Seems a bit of a palaver for a couple of European city breaks but hey ho, you've all persuaded me to make sure we're strictly honest!

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed on this thread. it's been really interesting to hear from medics and insurance specialists about what goes on behind the scenes.

Thank you Flowers

OP posts:
C8H10N4O2 · 03/06/2017 12:20

wicker they still do though

Oh I'm sure they do hence my comment assuming you only send them directly relevant data or ask for a more specific request (which is your responsibility as the business holding the data). You are in breach if you do not do this and then send out more data than is required to satisfy the specific claim. Be aware that these rules will be significantly tightened again next year.

I don't know the details of additional responsibilities under medical ethics etc, that is outside my area of expertise.

HellonHeels · 03/06/2017 13:16

OP I have depression, declared it on the form and had no problem buying the economy-level policy. Suggest you have a shop around on moneysupermarket or gocompare.

FuckingDingDong · 03/06/2017 20:42

She works for a big insurance company and her whole remit is basically catching people out.
There's a difference between catching people out and fishing for information which bears no relevance to a claim.

FuckingDingDong · 03/06/2017 20:47

I'm a GP. travel insurance companise regularly write to us for the full notes before paying out and you've probably given them the right to do this in the small print somewhere.
Presumably you tell them to go and do one, as it would be unlawful for you to provide any sensitive personal data unrelated to the claim, as per the Data Protection Act?

FuckingDingDong · 03/06/2017 20:49

Even if its in the small print, that would not count as informed consent. Oh, silly me - the NHS doesn't worry about consent before sharing information anymore.

WrongShui · 03/06/2017 21:12

It raises the premium but in our experience only slightly and they might exclude certain per existing conditions.

It's absolutely not worth the risk of lying. Just call them and say you checked your docs and realised you have made an error. They
will adjust and reissue.

WrongShui · 03/06/2017 21:18

Presumably you tell them to go and do one, as it would be unlawful for you to provide any sensitive personal data unrelated to the claim, as per the Data Protection Act?

If you have given written permission in the policy terms and Conditions (signing to say you agree) for the insurance company to access your medical notes then there's no data protection breech. The policy will just state "in event of a claim" and won't be specific. you have to give permission to get the insurance. The system is not fair but it is sadly legal.