SkyWi customers still being reconnectedLocal voice and Internet service provider SkyWi Inc. said most of its voice and much of its Internet services in New Mexico was still down as of Monday. Get A Grip makes national franchise listGet A Grip Franchising LLC made the Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list of franchise companies in the United States. Venture capital-backed IPOs hit 30-year low in 2008Initial public offerings by companies across the country backed by venture capitalists hit a 30-year low in 2008, with just six for the year and none in the fourth quarter, according to a report by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association. December Ford sales down 32.4 percentThe continued economic slowdown drove Ford Motor Co.’s December sales downward 32.4 percent. (F)
and they will tell you that in fact yes, years and years of heavy drinking will be taken into account when calculating your premiums on your life policy. On the Life application form a questions asks about your alcohol and tobacco consumption. And as with all sorts of products, the underwriting is done at the point of your application.
You might think you can get away with not declaring the fact that you have been drinking excessively for a certain period of time. After all, no one is really going to know when you die right? And of course, you plan to cut down your alcohol consumption in the years to come. Yet a spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers says that it is best to tell the truth. If you die, the medical experts can often tell from the post mortem examination if you are someone who has been drinking for a time frame that extends back before you made your life application. They can refuse to pay out if you did not reveal the truth about your drinking at the time.
The spokesperson says: “The point here, as with any deliberate non disclosure, is there is a strong chance that if you do put down something that is not accurate on your application form and if you do have to claim on that policy, the company may say that your policy was rendered invalid because you deliberately failed to disclose something.”
However, if you develop an alcohol problem after you have made an application for Life you are most certainly entitled to a policy payment. He adds: “Your death might be related to some sort of alcohol consumption issue, in which case the policy will pay out. It is only things that are such at the time that you apply that are taken into account.”
Most firms ask you to disclose your average weekly consumption of alcohol, asking how many units of alcohol you consume each week. But this does depend on the individual company. Most look at the NHS guidelines with respect to deciding what is a normal and safe level of alcohol to consume and what is considered to be potentially dangerous. The firm will weight their premiums accordingly.
Direct Line company charges a 30-year old who does not drink monthly Life premiums of £14.88. For someone who does drink the payment is £15.37. Over the years, this can make quite a difference.
A spokesperson for the ABI says alcohol consumption is one of a number of factors insurers will look at when they are establishing whether or not to take on an risk and what the level of premiums for that person will be.
“From a public health perspective, there will be medical practitioners within companies who will have concerns about this issue,” he says. But he goes on to add: “The companies must look at that factor dispassionately as they do with all of the other factors that they look at when they are calculating premiums.”
Article Source: Articles Beyond Better
Life shop provides free and amazing articles based on life insurance to all uk residents.
Here are some more insurance articles...
