Proof of age
Proof of age is required on all death claims and it is wise to state against any quote relating to the amount to be paid, that it is subject to the age having been correctly quoted.
Proof of age is important as all premiums are based on age. If the age was incorrectly advised then the wrong premium for the risk would have been collected. If this happened too many times then the life’s offices incoming premium may no longer reflect the risk.
Most life offices prefer age to be proven at inception of the life policy. This means that the age can then be admitted and avoids the risk of charging an incorrect premium and of having to have age proved at the time of a death claim.
Proof of age is less important for maturity claims and surrenders. In these two cases the fund built up should equate with any payments being made.
In the UK a birth certificate is the item used to prove age. Originals should always be requested and are not that difficult to obtain.
For those born outside of the UK proof of age can be more difficult. The birth certificate may not exist or have been lost. In some countries registration of birth is not a legal requirement and may not be customary. In these cases the life office will have to accept the best available evidence. That may be a passport, baptismal certificate, adoption certificate or naturalisation certificate.
For a married woman the marriage certificate will also be required to link the married name with the name appearing on the birth certificate.
If it is found that the life insured was older than stated then a common practice, although not the only practice, is to reduce the sum insured to the amount that the premium that was paid would have purchased had the correct age been known at the time. This would require recalculating any profits under a with profits insurance policy.
If the age was younger than stated the most popular approach is to calculate the life insurance premium that should have been paid and to then refund the difference. This practice is common but not adopted by every life office.