Producer Hayes meets with a client to complete a life insurance application. After the client completes and signs the paper application, Hayes reviews the document in his office. He notices that the client left a question regarding recent hospitalizations completely blank. Furthermore, the client had mistakenly written the wrong year for their date of birth, scribbled it out, and wrote the correct year next to it without adding their initials. What is the proper protocol Hayes must follow before submitting this application to the insurer?
- Return the application to the client so they can supply the missing hospitalization answer and place their initials next to the corrected date of birth.Answer
- BSubmit the application exactly as it is, assuming the insurer will order an Attending Physician's Statement to resolve the missing information.
- CComplete the missing hospitalization question based on verbal statements made earlier by the client, and initial the date of birth correction on the client's behalf.
- DUse apparent agent authority to approve the date of birth correction since the intent is obvious, and leave the medical question blank so the insurer can officially waive it.
Answer
Return the application to the client so they can supply the missing hospitalization answer and place their initials next to the corrected date of birth.
When an application for insurance is incomplete or contains errors, the producer must have the applicant personally correct the issues. Any changes made to the application must be initialed by the applicant to prove they authorized the change. An agent cannot unilaterally alter an application or submit it with missing information.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Completing the Application