Underwriting mental health

clock • 4 min read

Following The Guardian's article detailing instances of people with a history of mental illness being refused life insurance, Andrew Wibberley, director of Alea Risk, looks into the ways underwriters can overcome challenges that underwriters face.

I've been involved with the underwriting of mental health cases for over 15 years. In this time I've underwritten cases day to day, programmed computer rules to assess people with mental health issues and developed guidelines with a reinsurer that many insurers apply to their customers today.  First - a clear and absolute statement of fact - there is no difference in any of these processes for mental health to those for physical health. Whether or not there is exactly the same legal protection is irrelevant in the realities of insurance offices today. The process by which decisi...

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