Health declaration

The state of health of the person or animal to be insured determines whether the policy can be granted. It is therefore important that you fill in the health declaration carefully.

The health declaration is a questionnaire about the state of health of the person or animal to be insured.Please contact our customer service for an offer and they will provide you with the health declaration.
 
The insurance you applied for will become valid automatically after the health declaration has been processed. Possible pre-existing illnesses  or past medical examinations can affect the scope of the insurance coverage granted to you. In certain cases, we may refuse to grant the insurance altogether.
 
Despite this, it is usually possible to obtain insurance, even if the person or animal is not in full health. You should always submit the health declaration, even if you are unsure whether you can be granted insurance.
 
We process your health information entirely confidentially. Only our experts specialising in health declarations can access the information you give. It is important that you do not terminate any existing policy until you have received a decision that a new policy has been granted.
 

Please note the following when answering the questions in the health declaration: 

 
  • The questions have a separately defined period from which the information is requested.
  • Report all illnesses, symptoms, defects and injuries asked about in the questionnaire. 
  • Read the questions and follow-up questions carefully. 
  • Also report any illnesses, symptoms, defects, injuries or accidents which you have previously reported when applying for the insurance, or for which you have previously filed a loss report or otherwise reported to Pohjola Insurance or another insurance company. 
  • We do not ask the names of hospitals/clinics in the health declaration for personal insurance customers. We only ask for this information if necessary .   
  • An individual illness, symptom or injury only needs to be reported once unless otherwise specified in the question.
  • If you notice  after submitting the health declaration that some information is missing, contact Pohjola Insurance Customer Service.  
  • If you provide us with inaccurate or incomplete information, Pohjola Insurance has the right to change its decision to grant you the insurance. If you submit an insurance claim, we may also lower the amount of the compensation or reject it entirely. 
  • By answering all questions in the health declaration accurately and truthfully, you will also speed up the processing of your insurance application. 

Health declaration – FAQ

When purchasing certain insurances, you may already have questions about the health declaration. Because of this, we are sharing our answers to frequently asked questions. If you still have questions about the purchase of the insurance and the health declaration, you can contact our customer service.

 

Health declaration for personal insurance

Who needs to submit a health declaration?

Each person to be insured over the age of 18 must fill in the health declaration themselves. The health declaration of a minor is filled in by the child’s guardian. The mother fills in the health declaration of an unborn child. 
 

When do I need to submit a health declaration? In other words, when is my health information requested?

A health declaration is required for the purchase of most personal insurance policies. You will be asked to fill in a health declaration if you are buying an insurance policy such as life insurance or health insurance that covers illnesses.
We ask for your health information if, 
you are applying for insurance for medical treatment expenses caused by illness or for death or disability
you are applying for insurance for only  injuries, and you are over 74 years old 
you are applying for traveller's insurance, and you are over 80 years old, the amount of compensation of the Daily Allowance Cover is more than 100 euros a day, and the travel interruption and/or cancellation cover exceeds 20,000 euros, and the traveller's disability and/or death cover exceeds 300,000 euros. 
 

Do I need to be fully healthy to be insured?

The insurance provides protection in the case of illnesses but does not cover the costs arising from existing symptoms, illnesses, defects or injuries. 
 
In the health declaration, we assess your current state of health. After submitting the declaration, we will let you know if we can grant you the insurance. 
 
Sometimes, we can grant the insurance but not in the scope you applied for, or we may raise the insurance premium. We can also exclude an existing illness from the scope of the Health Insurance, or grant you Life Insurance with an increased premium, for example.
 
Unfortunately, there are situations in which we cannot grant the applied policy at all. In such cases, one possible solution is an insurance policy with less coverage. If we cannot grant you insurance that covers illnesses, we recommend that you still take out insurance that covers accidents.
 

Is my personal information safe when I fill in the health declaration?

The information you submit to us will be processed in the strictest confidence. Only our experts specialising in health declarations will see the health information of the person to be insured or of the pregnant mother.

From how long a period do I need to report illnesses and injuries in the health declaration? 

The questions have a separately defined period from which the information is requested. The period may vary, depending on the question. 

Do I also need to report doctor's visits for a common cold in the health declaration? 

Answer all the questions in the health declaration carefully. If a question does not exclusively concern a separately defined illness, and the period asked about in the question also includes visits to the doctor for a common cold, you must also report these visits.

Do I need to submit a health declaration for travel insurance? 

You do not generally need to submit a health declaration when applying for travel insurance. You need to submit a health declaration when the insured person is over 80 years of age, or the insurance sums of the covers are significant.

Can I prohibit the insurance company from asking for my information from health care providers? 

When applying for voluntary insurance of the person, submitting your information is always voluntary. However, if you do not provide us with the information asked for in the health declaration, we cannot process your insurance application.
 
In the health declaration, we will ask for your consent to ask for additional information from your health care providers. If you do not consent to this, we cannot process your health declaration or grant you the insurance. 

How do I report the health information when applying for an insurance for an unborn child? 

When applying for insurance for an unborn child, we ask for the mother's health information. You can apply for insurance cover for the child using the child's health information after the child is born.
 

Health declaration for animal insurance

What is a health declaration for a pet?

A written health declaration is required for an animal to be insured, based on which we grant the insurance. It is important that you provide us with accurate information.

Can the insurance be granted if the animal is not in full health?

The insurance provides protection in the case of illnesses but does not cover the costs arising from existing symptoms, illnesses, defects or injuries. 
 
In the health declaration, we assess the animal's current state of health. After submitting the declaration, we will let you know if we can grant the insurance. 
 
A new insurance policy can be granted even though the animal is not in a perfect state of health. In this case, an individual exclusion clause can be included in the insurance. The insurance provides protection in the case of illnesses but does not cover costs arising from existing illnesses, defects, injuries, symptoms or medication.
 
Sometimes, we can grant the insurance but not in the scope you applied for. Unfortunately, there are also situations in which we cannot grant the insurance at all. 
 
 

For which animals is a health declaration required? 

When applying for insurance for a dog, cat or horse, you need to submit a health declaration  for the pet.

Who submits the health declaration for an animal to be insured?

The health declaration for a dog or cat must be submitted by the policyholder or a person aged 18 or over living in the same household who is most familiar with the animal's state of health.  
A horse that is rented or under care can be insured by the horse's owner or keeper. The policyholder must fill in the health declaration for the horse. 

When do I need to submit a health declaration for an animal? In other words, when is the animal's health information requested?

You need to submit a health declaration for an animal if you are applying for animal insurance or veterinary expenses insurance for a pet. 

From how long a period do I need to report the animal's illnesses and injuries in the health declaration for an animal? 

In general, the animal's health information must be reported for the animal's entire lifetime. However, the questions may have a separately defined period from which the information is requested. 
 
Life insurance is granted by OP Life Assurance Company Ltd. Animal and health insurance is granted by Pohjola Insurance Ltd.