When you apply for life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection, you may be asked some detailed questions about your health.

That is the case for more insurers in the UK and if you are going for the full cover, that doesn’t come with a list of exclusions.

Sometimes, the insurer may also ask your GP for a medical report.

This can be a fairly routine part of the application process. However, there can be some surprising information contained within your medical records. This blog is not to criticise the work of the NHS, the work that they do is phenomenal, but we are seeing a lot of issues with medical data.

You might even read something and think:

“My GP record says what?”

It is not unusual for medical records to contain information that you were not aware of, information that is out of date, or even information that is simply incorrect.

This can potentially cause problems when applying for protection insurance. I have some examples for you in a bit.

Why would an insurer ask for a GP report?

There are several reasons why an insurer may request a GP report.

One is that you have a medical condition that they want to understand in more detail.

The insurer may also request a report because of something you have disclosed in response to one of the medical questions.

For example, questions can cover your entire medical history or specific time periods such as the last five years, two or three years, or even the last few months.

Conditions such as cancer, heart attacks, strokes and some mental health conditions are quite likely to result in the insurer wanting further information from a GP report.

Another reason can be the amount of cover you are applying for. For larger applications, a GP report may be requested even when there is not a particular health concern. The more insurance, the greater the risk for the insurer, so they want to make sure that they understand your health accurately.

What can actually be in your GP record?

Your GP record can contain a huge amount of information.

Some of it will be directly relevant to your health, but there can also be notes, historic information, test results, referrals, medication records and other entries.

There can also be information that you might not expect to be there.

For example, your records could contain a note about a future appointment that you did not realise was outstanding. 

This can become important because an insurer may postpone an application until an investigation or appointment has been completed.

There can also be information generated by computer systems or entered incorrectly, by accidently selecting certain automated codes when updating records.

And this is where things can become complicated.

What if there is a mistake in my medical records?

Mistakes can happen.

For example, we have seen situations where incorrect information about alcohol consumption has appeared in a GP report.

I supported somebody who was recorded as drinking five alcoholic drinks every day when, in reality, they drank around five drinks a year, just on special occassions.

That is a very significant difference.

The insurer understandably had concerns based on what they were told, but the information in the GP record was incorrect.

Once the records were corrected, the situation could be reassessed and we got life insurance in place. This was a great outcome, but it took time.

Medical records can contain significant errors

There have also been situations where errors in GP reports have had a much bigger impact.

One example involved a client that my co-MD Alan Knowles supported, who had previously had breast cancer.

She had been declined by insurers, and when we looked at the terms being offered, they appeared to indicate that her cancer had been more severe than we knew it to have been.

We requested further information and discovered that the staging and grading of the cancer had been recorded incorrectly in the information being sent to insurers.

Specialist letters from the client’s oncologist confirmed the correct information.

Once the error was corrected, the insurance could be reassessed on the correct medical information. This client had spent months being declined by multiple insurers and it was only because of our knowledge in terms of cancer and medical underwriting, that meant we could spot that something wasn’t adding up.

This shows why it can be important to understand what information is actually being sent to an insurer.

Sometimes it can be something as simple as one word

Another example involved someone I supported, with an electronic GP report where the word “diabetes” appeared in the record.

There were no other details supporting the diagnosis.

There were no relevant medications, blood test results or follow-up information indicating that the person had diabetes. It was one coded line in the GP report.

Yet the insurer was understandably considering the information they had received and had increased the premium. It might be frustrating, but insurers must give terms based upon the data infront of them. This is because the insurers don’t just take on the insurance risk themselves, they often spread the risk with reinsurers too and both parties have rules in place, to state that they must assume that a GP report is accurate.

Once the error was identified and confirmed with the GP, it could be corrected.

Without challenging the information, the applicant could potentially have ended up paying more for their life insurance than they should have.

What about alcohol?

Going back for a minute to alcohol consumption, this is quite a big area where GP records can cause confusion.

The recommended weekly alcohol limit is now 14 units.

The British Medical Association used to recommend a maximum 21 units, but it’s now been reduced to 14. This means that somebody may have discussed their alcohol consumption with their GP and been advised to reduce their intake.

That advice could then appear in their medical records.

The problem is that a future insurance application may interpret that information as meaning the person was drinking above the recommended level. What is really frustrating is that you could be drinking 18 units a week and the insurer has no concern about this, but it’s the advice to reduce that is the issue.

The applicant may not even realise that this information is sitting in their medical records. When you change GP surgeries there is now usually an onboarding questionnaire and alcohol is often asked about. If you drink more than 14 units, the GP might say that standard guidance is to have less, just a general comment and they are not concerned about your alcohol consumption at all. But, depending upon how the notes are written, it can cause an issue when you apply for life insurance.

This is why it is worth being aware of what is recorded about you.

What about outstanding medical appointments?

Outstanding appointments can also cause problems.

If you are waiting for an investigation, referral or appointment, an insurer may decide to postpone your application until they know the outcome.

This is particularly relevant where the appointment could potentially identify an underlying medical condition.

We have seen that outstanding referrals relating to ADHD or tinnitus can result in an insurer wanting to wait for further information. The symptoms for both of these conditions can also be due to other things.

That can seem frustrating if you already know why you have been referred.

However, from the insurer’s perspective, they are trying to make sure that they have all of the relevant information before making an underwriting decision.

Routine appointments and tests do not necessarily result in a postponement.

Annual blood tests or mammograms may not cause a problem where they are simply part of normal ongoing monitoring. Annual checks for thyroid levels and diabetes are a good example here. The insurers will just generally want to know if you have attend the blood tests when you are asked to and what the results were.

It depends on the circumstances.

Your GP record can even contain information you didn’t know about

This is one of the reasons why GP reports can sometimes reveal surprises.

You might have attended your GP several years ago with a relatively minor symptom.

The GP may have made a note suggesting that you should have a follow-up appointment at some point.

You may never have been aware that this was still recorded as an outstanding appointment. We saw this quite a lot during the coronavirus pandemic and are still seeing the knock on of this now.

When the insurer receives the medical report, however, they may see it and decide that they need more information. 

This can potentially lead to an application being postponed.

What about electronic GP records?

GP reports are increasingly being provided electronically.

This can make the process much quicker and allows advisers and insurers to track where the report is in the process.

However, there is an important point to remember.

If you are given the opportunity to see and save a copy of your GP report before it is sent to the insurer, it can be a very good idea to save it.

That way, if something unexpected appears in the report, there is a copy available to look at. If you don’t save it, then if there are any queries about what the report contains, it can take quite a while to get a copy of it as you have to apply to the insurer to send it to you. This is usually through what is known as a subject access request and can easily take a month or more to be processed.

If you notice an error, it may be possible to ask the GP surgery to correct it.

Should I check my GP record?

It can be useful to know what information your GP holds about you, particularly if you are applying for protection insurance.

You do not need to be an expert in medical terminology. There are usually summary boxes at the start that list significant medical history, recent medical history and medications. A check of these is a really good idea.

Instead, you are looking for anything that appears to be incorrect, out of date or something that you simply do not recognise.

If something does not look right, you can ask your GP surgery about it.

Making the correction can sometimes make a big difference on the price of your life insurance, but more importantly, it’s to make sure that future medical professionals get a clear picture of your health and support you correctly.

What can I do if an insurer has received incorrect information?

If an insurer has received information that you believe is incorrect, do not simply assume that their decision cannot be changed.

It may be possible to obtain clarification or corrected information from your GP or another medical professional.

Specialist letters, test results or other medical evidence may also help establish what actually happened.

An adviser can then potentially approach the insurer with the additional information and ask them to reconsider their decision.

This can sometimes make a significant difference to the outcome.

Do I need to worry about my GP report?

Not necessarily.

GP reports are a normal part of the underwriting process for life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection.

In fact, having the report can sometimes be helpful because it gives the insurer more information about your health and can allow them to make a more accurate assessment.

The important thing is to be aware that the report may contain information you were not expecting.

And if something is incorrect, it is important to challenge it.

Speak to Cura Insurance

Medical underwriting can sometimes feel like a complicated process, particularly when an insurer asks for information from your GP.

If something unexpected appears in your medical records, it does not necessarily mean that your application is going to be declined or that you will automatically have to pay more.

There may be an explanation, an error that needs correcting, or additional information that can be provided to the insurer.

At Cura Insurance, we regularly help clients navigate medical underwriting and deal with situations where the information provided to an insurer does not appear to match their actual medical history.

If you are applying for life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection and your insurer has requested a GP report, or you have concerns about what your medical records might say, ask us.

.