Director urges caution on medical data loophole

The proposition director of Bright Grey and Scottish Provident said that while the current practice of requesting medical evidence can seem clunky and costly, the insurance industry should take into consideration all the options before latching on to a new way of working.

His comments come after Legal & General endorsed the use of subject access requests instead.

Mr Edwards said: “You may well agree that something has to change, but rushing in without thinking things through properly should be preserved for the foolish.

“It has been reported that some providers have decided to put their faith in an element of the Data Protection Act to obtain confidential medical records.

“By using subject access requests, providers can seemingly bypass the traditional method of gathering data and at a much lower cost. By exploiting this loophole, GPs are forced to provide the necessary information for as little as £10.

“As an industry we need to step back and think what is right, not only for customers but also the potential damage to the goodwill and co-operation that has been built up with GP surgeries up and down the country.”

Chris Wicks, director of Manchester-based Bridgewater Financial Services, said: “Getting medical evidence off GPs is probably the biggest cause of delay in getting cover into effect for clients. Anything that can speed this up can only be a good thing. The question is whether it will in fact do so.”