Henry Wood
Protection Specialist
Our team of protection advisers help clients navigate through the maze of protection options and are best placed to find the most appropriate cover to limit the impact should something go wrong.
Henry Wood, associate protection adviser at SPF, recently assisted a client with an extensive medical history who had taken out a mortgage through SPF. They required life insurance to protect the mortgage and to ensure that their family could continue to live in the property unencumbered in the event of their death.
After speaking with the client and having taken down details of their medical history, Henry carried out a full broking exercise where he spoke to several insurers to ascertain how they would underwrite the client.
Due to the complexity of the client’s medical history, Henry received a wide range of responses from insurers, each of whom have different underwriting philosophies:
| Insurer | Standard Premium | Rating | Underwritten Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £67 | 100% | £134 |
| B | £73 | 75% | £128 |
| Guardian | £76 | None | £76 |
| C | £77 | Decline | N/A |
| D | £82 | 50% | £123 |
| E | £83 | 75% | £145 |
Guardian, whilst almost £10 more expensive per month than the cheapest insurer initially, were the only insurer to indicate that they would offer standard underwriting terms when presented with the medical information.
Henry therefore applied with Guardian who then arranged for the client to attend a medical examination and obtained further information from the client’s GP. After all this additional information was underwritten, Guardian presented Henry with the final terms: standard premiums.
This case study highlights the advantages of using a broker and the importance of sharing information with them to help them obtain the best cover. In this scenario, had the client looked online, or had withheld information during the initial call with Henry, they most likely would have applied for the cheapest cover with a monthly premium of £67 initially. However, after underwriting, this premium may have risen to £134.
This would have resulted in premiums that are £58 more expensive per month, which is an additional £696 over the course of a year. Over the full policy term of 31 years, this could have cost the client an additional £21,576 when compared to the solution Henry was able to achieve with Guardian.
