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NHS waiting times and insurance...

ended 08. September 2022

Newspager Scott Taylor-Barr of Carl Summers Financial Services has just said this about another knock-on effect from record NHS waiting times announced this morning.

“NHS waiting times being so long not only have a direct impact on the health of the nation overall, they have other, less obvious side effects too. One of those is that it hinders people's ability to get insurance on their life and health, as most insurers will not agree to cover until any pending investigations, treatment or operations are concluded. As the waiting list times get longer, so does the time people have to go without the correct cover being in place. This means that people and their families are having to risk their homes and lifestyle by not being able to get the insurance that need at the time they need it, literally having to gamble their homes and futures that everything will be OK until they are able to resolve the situation.”

Got any thoughts? Whack them across sharpish.

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Imran Hussain
Director at Harmony Financial Services
The most significant causes of the record waiting lists are Covid and insufficient funding for the NHS. The problem is that there is no accountability when a medical report is requested for anyone who is looking to get insured. They could potentially be waiting months on end for a report to be returned to an insurer there needs to be a time limit such as 14 days, as surely it can't take months to send some basic information back. This has to change to ensure a swift outcome for clients.
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Mike Staton
Director at Staton Mortgages
I am a big believer in the phrase, "if you can't afford insurance, then you can't afford a mortgage". It is common knowledge that the NHS is in serious need of repair and people, especially homeowners, are playing Russian Roulette with their own and their children's lives by dismissing insurance as an "additional cost" when taking out the biggest debt they will ever have in their life. Most good life insurance policies come with fantastic benefits that can help provide care should the NHS be unable to provide treatment or the waiting list be too long. As a parent, I wouldn't dream of not having this protection for my children or myself, as I for one do not want to find myself crowdfunding to save my child's life because I didn't want to spend as little as £3 per month to protect them.
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Rob Peters
Principal at Simple Fast Mortgage
Vast NHS waiting times and poor GP back office administration is putting families at the unnecessary risk of not having vital insurance in place to protect them. If a client is awaiting the results of tests or investigations, it is unlikely any insurer will accept an insurance application. During this time the client has no cover, risking their families being stranded with large mortgage debts in the event of a death or serious illness, or having no income in the event of being unable to work due accident or ill health. These events could prove catastrophic. The longer the NHS take to provide results, the higher risk applicants have to accept. If a GP report is requested by the insurance company, it's just as bad. It often takes at least 8 weeks to get a GP report due to the huge delays with administration at GP surgeries. Something really needs to be done to address this issue.
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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
I have several clients waiting on test results to come back from the NHS. They are uninsured and have large mortgages and families that need the protection. The NHS waiting list is a huge concern at the moment and the government need to do much more to make a dent into it.
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Rhys Schofield
Brand Director at Peak Mortgages and Protection
Having just been through a 4-month rigmarole to get a suitable GP report for a client, only for the insurer to say no, I can say first hand that the system is broken. Legally, if a client was to put in a data subject access request this has to be responded to within a month so why is it acceptable to take longer for something as critical as making sure a customer is protected financially? There was even an example within the past few months of a broker whose client's report took over three months to come back. Unfortunately, the client passed away out of the blue leaving a family in dire financial straits. Personally I think the GP surgery should be liable in that instance for taking so long to action a pretty basic task.
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David Robinson
Co-Founder at Wildcat Law
Flexibility is the key as the computer will invariably say no. Many providers are pragmatic and provide access to underwriters for advisers. Where medical investigations are ongoing, it may be possible to put policies on risk with exclusions related to the investigations. The larger the policy, the more likely the insurers will look at being flexible. Online protection providers may not be able to provide this level of flexibility so if you have medical investigations ongoing it may be beneficial to speak to a specialist protection advisor.
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Paul Neal
Mortgages & Equity Release Advisor at First Choice Financial Services
When you are unwell, or diagnosed with something nasty speed is of the essence. The NHS do a wonderful job within their remit but speed is not something they are known for. This is where private health care is so important, if anything you are seen quicker which can make all the difference. But no insurer is going to cover you if you are already unwell, and if they will do they are likely to exclude anything you already have. Think of it as insuring a car after you've crashed it, unfortunaly its to late then.