The hard side of insurance...

For the last few years Mrs Stace and myself have had our life on hold.  No major purchases and no plans made.  Now we are starting to make plans again, and starting with the major purchases that we have delayed until now.

The car was one of those purchases, and a new kitchen is the next.  As the fixed period for the mortgage was due for renewal we decided to look at using that to do the work on the kitchen.  We needed to look for a new provider, as ours was just too expensive.  That part was easy.  Go to an advisor and ask about a new mortgage for our situation.  Simple.

But...  We needed a small life insurance to get the mortgage. And that is where the fun started.

I have been seeing a therapist for the last two and a bit years.  I am also taking medication on a monthly basis now. And am under medical control of a hospital long term.

Life insurance companies really don't like hearing this. So you have to get extra information from the therapist, hospital and my GP.  OK, I can do this, and I can see that they would want some kind of information as to why I'm doing all of those things.

Even when I had to run around last minute as they asked for the wrong information originally.

Still.  Everything came back green.  I am perfectly healthy and there is no reason not to insure me.  Woot.

Hahahaha.

When the insurance company took too long to get back in touch (considering they knew that my mortgage company was pushing for the insurance green light!) I called them back.  'You have all of the information?' 'Yes.' 'Great, so you can get the OK for the insurance out today so I can get it to my mortgage company?' 'Oh! No, we won't be insuring you'.

WTF!

It turns out that as I am likely to have an operation in the coming years they will not insure me, full stop - no matter what the different medical reports started.

So why the hell did they get me to run around for a week going from health care provider to health care provider for proof that I am healthy when it had nothing to do with the actual outcome!

I called my work (I work for an insurance broker) and the guys in the life insurance department worked they butts off trying to sort something out for me.  4 of the 6 that can provide policies in the time frame I needed said no immediately (due to the operation clause) - seriously WTF?  Whilst I can see that it does raise your chances of dying, it is nowhere near the statistical chance they attribute to it (unless it's true that 10% of people die having this surgery...).  But at least they were not wasting my time!

Two others said send us all of the information that was sent to the first company - we will, but against an increased price.

2 hours later one of the two were out as well, and Mrs Stace and myself were busy stressing out completely!

That was on a Friday afternoon and the last company would not give us an answer until Monday morning.

Tick tock

On the Monday I had leadership training, something I was looking forward to but had trouble staying with.

Then at lunch I got the call I wanted!  The last company had got back and they *would* insure me (I was expecting the opposite answer!) but against a premium that was 4x standard for the first 5 years, after which they assume the process will be over and it will fall back to the standard premium. I worked it out and the amount they are charging me in that first 5 years is 10% of the amount being insured!
 If they insure 10 people they have covered the cost of one person dying. Not counting the fact that they will be investing the money I pay them and making even more...

But, I'm not stressing about that!  We got the insurance and the mortgage advisor could stop trying to organise emergency measures that would allow us to take the house without me being insured.  That it is going to cost more is annoying, but in the grand scheme of things doesn't rate very highly.  Being refused full stop - that would be a different matter!

Ironically though... The Friday that this all happened I had to go to see the endocrinologist at the gender clinic so that I could start testosterone blockers.

I am 178cm tall.  Weigh 69 KG's dressed - putting me slap bang in the middle of the healthy BMI range.

All of my blood work came back perfect.

My blood pressure was 140 over 85 (seriously, after the day I had had with the insurance company how can it be only 140!)

The doctor said I was an extremely healthy person.

I just struggle to get life insurance :)