Hi all, I posted a couple of weeks ago but I have more info now. I was diagnosed with transverse myeltius or undiagnosed in general as the neuro put just over 2 years ago. Not had a diagnosis of ms yet. Me and my boyfriend have just applied for a mortgage and got asked the usual questions have u had ne health issues, time off work sick etc. I replied no to all of these as I was scared that the mortgage would be refused and that I would get massive premiums etc. I’ve asked to take out income protection which is where if you are off sick you get £1000 a month paid out for two years. Today I’ve had the questionnaire from them asking to confirm if all my original statements were true and of course their not. So if ever I have to make a claim I pretty much know now that I would never get the monthly pay outs like I would have done. I didn’t take critical illness as this bumped the mortgage payments up by £130 a month cannot afford that. I feel like a complete liar now and I’m going to pay for an income support policy I can never claim on. I don’t have a diagnosis so how much have u lied really? How much can they legally check with my doctor if they did? Can they legally check how much time I had off sick from work when all this happened overc2 years ago? I’m getting worried by it all.
Rethink your position ASAP please, it is fraud if you were asked about your medical history and you didn’t disclose TM. You are also putting your partner at risk of fraud & potential future financial implications.
Sorry to sound harsh, but this is quite a serious matter.
Sonia x
Income protection policies, whilst important, are not normally a requirement of a mortgage application and are completely stand alone. Being less than 100% honest on an income protection (or ANY health/life) application would basically invalidate any future claim - even if it is unrelated to MS. I would be honest now for the insurance…chances are they will bump up the premiums or exclude anything related to your symptoms. They may even reject the application until you have a firm diagnosis. But there is no point paying out for a useless policy! The mortgage should not in any way be affected by this (trust me, we’re going through the process for an extension on our house and not once have they needed health information!) Your boyfriend could still take out insurance without a problem, so at least you’ll have some protection. Critical illness is near possible to get with MS, even before diagnosis is firm. Hope this helps. Don’t worry though, it’s not worth stressing over. Just be honest now or cancel the application entirely and start again (insurance, not mortgage!) X
And they can check EVERYTHING with your GP in the event of a claim - been through this for my critical illness claim. They try anything to not pay out…luckily for me I’d been very honest!
As Choccyholic has pointed out, your mortgage application won’t be affected - I’ve worked in the industy for 22 years and have NEVER seen health questions on a mortgage application - but any insurances you have signed up for will be. You have to separate them as they are two totally differen things. The quote for critical illness insurance wouldn’t have bumped up your mortgage payment - just the overall amount you’d be paying each month in relation to your house purchase.
It’s best to come clean now because there is no point paying on a policy for ten years and they decline any claim because you weren’t honest. And they will. They rely pretty much completely on your disclosure - it’s only afterwards, they call up your medical records and look for incidents of non disclosure and it doesn’t even have to relate to what you’re claiming for. For example, a case was featured on Watchdog where a lady with MS tried to claim on a critical illness policy and they declined it as she hadn’t declared a period of anemia she’d had. They are that harsh.
Hi
It is important to separate the insurance and mortgage issue. The mortgage lender really couldn’t care two toots about your medical situation. They award mortgages based on your income and ability to pay. They will ask questions about how much other debt you have not how much time off work you have had. Insurance companies on the other hand are VERY interested in your medical and employment history. In the event of a claim they will go to extraordinary lengths to find ways of wriggling out of payment. Inaccurate or dishonest answers are an absolute gift to them – and if they can prove fraud so much the better. Choccyholic is right – they can find out all sorts from your GP and you will have to let them contact the GP or they simply won’t pay out.
I seem to remember that you used a mortgage advisor and I think this is where the confusion has arisen. I’ve been through this process and you fill in and sign so many forms you don’t know what’s what. If you ask for a copy of the actual mortgage application form (the one that went to the lender) you will see no health questions. There will be an employment section because they need to check your income is what you say it is but that’s all.
The questions that you were asked about your health etc were asked by the mortgage advisor in preparation for the insurance he wanted to sell you. The fact that you told porkies about your health here will not affect your mortgage.
I would cancel the income protection right away and start again with a different company – telling the truth this time. The mortgage advisor will probably be very assertive and slick but stick to your guns. Do not go ahead with this policy. You will pay money in but find yourself with a world of trouble if you try to claim. If you have already had an offer from the mortgage lender so much the better – you can deal directly with them. The mortgage advisor is just a go between – your agreement will be with the bank or building society.
Jane
IF your undiagnosed it could be that you actually get better true?
You should have answered that you had a neurological problem it doesnt mean you would have had to pay more. TM isnt necessarily a disease that is ongoing, some people only have one attack.
IT always pays to be honest, as you will end up paying a big premium which might never get paid out.
Perhaps you could ring the company and say you have been told you COULD have TM, but never been diagnosed, and it hasnt affected your working life, and although you havent mentioned it originally, you felt you maybe should have…
I dont know i just think honesty is the best policy really.
Hi,
Choccyholic and Tweacle Tart are dead right, you need to come clean otherwise you’ll spend your entire mortgage period looking over your shoulder with your fingers crossed behind your back - is it worth it? Insurance companies can do medical history checks but not usually without your written permission much like the DVLA [correct me if I’m wrong] the only thing is:- what if you deny them this? I realise you must be a little scared about the position you’ve gotten yourself into and I suppose another option is to get some professional advice on this from maybe an Independent Financial Advisor, but it seems to me the sooner you ease your mind the better.
Good luck.
Jennymac
Thank you for all your comments. The other thing i could do is just keep the policy and obviously pay the £40 a month on it but never make a claim even if u have one.
[quote=“app666”] Thank you for all your comments. The other thing i could do is just keep the policy and obviously pay the £40 a month on it but never make a claim even if u have one. [/quote] Why would you do that? Just cancel it! If it’s not “on risk” yet, I highly doubt there will be any kind of charge.
If the policy hasn’t been signed and sealed yet, there’s absolutely no point going ahead and committing fraud - which you haven’t YET - by signing to say your previous statement was true and complete. Why would you want to pay out £40 a month for a policy you’d never be able to claim on? You might just as well tip your money down the nearest drain! If you would be taking out a joint policy, there’s a real possibility even your partner wouldn’t be able to claim, if he was the one to get ill, if it turned out one of you had relied on a false statement when taking out the cover. They would treat the whole thing as fraudulent, if you’d taken it in joint names - not try to separate out his part from yours. A false declaration by one party voids the whole thing. It’s most unlikely it’s a condition of the mortgage to have the insurance, but I bet your broker wants you to, so he can land the commission. The lender’s not going to care, because THEIR insurance, in the event you can’t pay, is they can repossess the house, and get their money back that way. So why would they mind whether you take insurance? They’re protected regardless. You probably don’t even have to admit why you no longer want the insurance. If it’s not compulsory, many people would accept that saving £40 a month would be reason enough by itself. Presumably, your bf being insured in his own right would work out cheaper, so he might still want to go ahead with just him. Then at least one of you would still be protected, even if you are sadly the one most likely to get ill. Tina
Cause I’d rather do that than come clean!
you do not need to give a reason why you want to cancel only that you have changed your mind. You could look for another policy elsewhere for your partner just in his name and it could work out better value too.
As I said, don’t come clean! You don’t have to give reasons for deciding not to buy something - it’s completely up to you. The insurance is just an optional extra. The most likely reason for someone choosing not to go ahead would be simple cost-saving. Don’t dig yourself deeper, because once you sign to confirm your earlier statements, and to proceed with your application, you WILL be acting fraudulently - which so far, you’ve stopped short of…just. Tina
Do you think the best thing to do is for me and my partner to cancel both of our income protection policies before their in place, and for us both to do it rather than just me as that may get alarm bells ringing? Shall we just say that we have found a better deal elsewhere? What is the likelihood of me being able to get it from a different company having had this tm attack over two years ago? So if I cancel these policies that won’t affect or raise alarm bells with the bank that we’re going to mortage for?
As the policy is not yet in force, you have every right to cancel without questions. Even if it is in force, you have cancellation rights. I hope I’m allowed to post this link because it’s very useful… Cancelling an insurance policy - Home
No, their not on risk yet, their at the stage of us accepting and then going on risk when we have exchanged. I think we are going to ask for this life cover and income protection insurance to be taken off. I’ll just have to make do with nothing as like you said I have a pre existing condition, but my partner will take it out elsewhere. But we are both going to ask for this to be removed otherwise it would look strange is just removing one of them.
It’s none of their business if you cancel before buying. It’s no different to getting to the till in a shop, and then deciding you don’t want something. You don’t have to give any explanation, and why would it set “alarm bells ringing” if you haven’t entered into any contract yet? You have the opportunity to quit BEFORE you’ve done anything that may be against the law, as you haven’t actually tried to purchase a policy, based on false information. If you go ahead and purchase the policy anyway, you will be moving into fraud territory. None of it has anything to do with the bank. I do wonder, though, whether you should be getting a mortgage at all - or at least with this broker - as you do not seem to understand at all what you are purchasing, and that the health questions have nothing to do with your mortgage, and are not asked by your lender! If your broker hasn’t made this clear, I do wonder if he is ethical, and acting in your best interests. You should not be under the impression getting a mortgage is conditional on also buying payment protection insurance. It’s two separate products, and lenders are no longer allowed to insist you also buy their insurance. This has been the case for years. The only exception, as I think somebody mentioned right at the beginning, is if you were buying an endowment mortgage, which IS a kind of insurance policy, where you pay only the interest on the loan, and the endowment is supposed to generate a lump sum to pay off the capital at the end of the term, with the potential for some left over. However, I doubt you’ve been offered one of these, as they’ve fallen into disrepute in recent years, with a lot of borrowers facing a crisis at the end of the term, as it became obvious their endowment hadn’t raised enough money to pay off the loan… Tina
If the policy has not been signed and sent off it is just at proposal stage and you have no obligations and can walk away. Even in a policy has been set up you will have cooling off period which is usually 14 days. I think you would be better to have savings of say 3 to 6 mths mortgage amount. However your advisor should be able to discuss your options, they have to give ‘best advice’ . As a risk amount your policy would be loaded - they would also ask for copy of your medical history. I had minor gynaelogical issue at the time when i took out critical illness 8 yrs ago and i pay more premiums. Since then j have had 2 c sections and now neurological issues so if i was getting it now then it would be extortionate. Good luck x
Tina is right, you do not need income protection to get a mortgage. It may be something that is discussed with your broker but certainly not compulsory.