Applying for personal life insurance through an adviser follows a clear sequence. Your adviser works out how much cover you need and which insurer suits you, and sets this out in a Statement of Advice. Once you agree, the application goes to the insurer, who contacts you for a tele-underwriting interview (usually 30 to 60 minutes of questions about your health, family history, work and hobbies), sometimes followed by medical checks. You don't pay any premium until you accept the insurer's offer.

In this video, McKern financial adviser Shahin Tehrani explains the possible outcomes: cover at standard rates, cover with a premium loading (you're still covered, but pay more), cover with an exclusion (claims for that condition won't be paid, for example a mental health exclusion if you've seen a psychologist), or a decline. You can choose not to accept an offer if the terms don't suit you.

In this video

0:00 From needs analysis to Statement of Advice

0:30 Tele-underwriting

1:08 The possible outcomes: standard, loading, exclusion or decline

General information only, not personal advice.