What should I do if I urgently need Life Insurance in order to complete my house purchase?

In our experience, insurers accept about 1 in 3 applications as soon as they receive them, so you could well be on risk within minutes if you can make the application over the phone.

If your application is not accepted straight away because you have a questionable medical history or you are arranging a very large sum insured, then the options available to you depend upon the way the insurance company deals with these issues.

The delay will normally be related to some health query, in which case your insurance company or broker will need to either write to your doctor, or arrange a medical. In you are going through a broker, they maybe be able to speed progress along on your behalf.

In an extreme case when you really do need your insurance quickly, your broker may be able to place you on risk with a different insurance company that will accept you, an exercise that will cost you more, but at least you'll have the cover you need.