This was a question asked of me today by a frustrated client whose disability application is in underwriting. He wanted to know why we asked a series of questions on the application only to then have the same questions asked by the medical examiner and then again in an interview by a representative from the insurance company.
While I understand his frustration and would be equally frustrated by being asked repetitive questions, I also understand why the insurance company does this. You have to first understand that you are passing a specific risk to the insurance company. As such, the insurer must do its due diligence to ensure that they understand the risk and then underwrite it accordingly.
I asked an underwriter why they repeat the same question, sometimes exactly as written and sometimes re-worded. This underwriter told me that quite often an applicant doesn’t always remember answers to some of the questions and the repetition serves to jog an applicant’s memory. Sometimes, an applicant won’t feel the answer to a question is relevant and will leave out some of the information. Most often, the applicant has no intention of deceiving the insurance company, but literally forgets the information or just doesn’t think the insurance company wants “all the details.” By asking multiple times, the insurance company usually gets all the answers they’re looking for.
My advice is to always answer all the questions honestly and to the best of your recollection. The insurance company will probably ask some or all of the questions again. Don’t take it personally or think that they don’t trust you – they do this with all applicants. By doing so, they can accept your risk of becoming disabled and insure you for it properly.