Is a medical absolutely necessary?
No. Most people do not require a medical. Normally an insurer will only ask for a medical if you have existing health issues that cannot be resolved by a report from your GP or if you have applied for an especially high sum of insurance.
In most cases the insurer is happy to make a final decision based on the information you supplied on your Application Form. However, they may decide that they need further information to be able to make a proper assessment of the risks involved in providing you with insurance. In that case, they have three alternative courses of action:
- The Insurance Company can contact your GP and ask for further information having first asked for your permission. This is the most likely course of action the Insurance Company will take.
- Alternatively the Insurance Company may send a medical representative to see you at home to ask some questions and make an assessment of your health.
- The remaining option is to ask you to go your GP or another Doctor for a medical.
Whichever of these routes is followed, the Insurer always picks up all the costs involved.
The problem is that if further medical information is required it inevitably slows down your application. But if you need cover quickly, for example to finalise a mortgage, there are things they can do to speed up the process.
Please remember that it’s vitally import that you tell the truth when you complete your application form. If you don’t disclose something, or you don’t tell the whole truth, any claim could be invalidated by your insurer.
