UKC

Looking for some advice please...

I'm a junior doctor who climbs occasionally. I'm trying to sort out income protection but having real difficulty with underwriters due to having climbing as a hobby. They don't mind my scuba diving hobby (4-6 dives a year) but for the climbing they are trying to increase my monthly premium by 100%!

By occasionally I mean: 4-6 weekends/days out a year in the UK/maybe Europe, Lead a VD if I have to, Second to HVS, Mainly single pitch: Stanage/Bowden/Lake district, some 2-3 pitch multi-pitch, always on a rope.

Looking for recommendations for companies that do income protection policies for people with real lives!

In reply to mauritanianpixie:

I've used Zurich and it doesn't seem to have bumped up my premium. I did use a broker though...

In reply to Doms1:

Thanks, I've got a financial advisor looking at options so i'll ask him to look at Zurich.

In reply to mauritanianpixie:

Scuba financial services.

They have access to more specialist underwriters.

In reply to mauritanianpixie:


Try these

http://www.sportsfinancial.co.uk/

I used them for my life insurance & considering my circumstances, age etc, no problem.

In reply to mauritanianpixie:

I'm a consultant who climbs a lot ! I could not get any , and was told I'm uninsurable!
Oh well.

In reply to mauritanianpixie:

Might be worth trying these guys: http://www.summit-fs.co.uk

In reply to mauritanianpixie:

I'm a consultant who climbs a fair bit too. I didn't declare climbing on the basis that if I get an oesophageal carcinoma, whether I climb a lot is irrelevant. I also have to accept that if I fall I won't be covered. Too important not to have; I pay £215 a month.

In reply to mauritanianpixie:

Do you need cover? Or maybe as one poster above suggested, accept you might not be covered when climbing.

In reply to Allovesclimbin:

Oh dear, That doesn't bode well!
(I suspect you might be my old consultant from days gone by when NTGH had an A+E)

In reply to Toccata:

I don't think I declared climbing when I signed up as student to the dreaded wesleyan. I guess now I was just a bit worried that if i didn't declare it would make it invalid. But if all it means is they won't cover for climbing related injury/time out that is a different matter. I will investigate further!

In reply to olddirtydoggy:

Yeah, i'm coming round to the conclusion that me accepting the risk is low and therefore not being covered might be better than trying to convince them!

In reply to mauritanianpixie:
If you're only climbing 4-6 days out / weekends a year, I'd probably not worry that I wasn't going to be covered in the event of climbing activities preventing me from earning.

In reply to mauritanianpixie:
Do you really need income protection as a junior doctor? I don't recall any of my colleagues having it, despite Wesleyan visiting on several occasions. If you did break something climbing, then the NHS sick pay should cover enough recovery time. Obviously things are different if you're earning more as a consultant, or have a lot of income from self-employment.

In reply to mik82:

Presumably the OP is expecting to get it all his payments back when the next miss-selling scandle arises. Or maybe he likes giving money away - can I have some please?

In reply to mik82:

Presumably the OP is expecting to get it all his payments back when the next miss-selling scandle arises. Or maybe he likes giving money away - can I have some please?

In reply to Toccata:

Does that actually work? Not declaring?
I was under the impression that if you didn't declare something then they could say your insurance was invalid and not pay out, regardless of whether it was directly relevant to your claim. If you're forking out £215 a month I assume you have thoroughly checked this?

In reply to mauritanianpixie:

Hi,

I have it through Avia and they were fine with climbing. I had to answer additional questions but they were fine with all European climbing under 5000m.

My cover is not large, just enough to pay the mortgage and get by on. It kicks in after 2 months, so the premium is really reasonable.

In reply to mauritanianpixie:


Summit are partnered with the BMC and specialise in insurance for climbers. The person you talk to will be a climber who understands that there is a difference between alpine soloing and a few days out at Stanage.

I had tried numerous other insurers first who all added exclusions and/or hiked premiums right up due to the "Extreme" routes I was climbing where it was clear that the people I was dealing with at the other insurers had no understanding of the types of climbing that I do (primarily bouldering and single pitch sport with no mountaineering or winter climbing).

In reply to Hooo:

Non-disclosure will invalidate your policy. There are workarounds but professional legal and financial advice should be taken.

In reply to mauritanianpixie:

I've had a quote in the past for income protection from Summit FS as a climber and instructor, with stuff like Alpine climbing, skiing and Continental ice included without issue.

Si