Motor insurance

There is no national policy with regard to motor insurance for people who experience mental health problems. The Association of British Insurers say the decision is up to the individual insurance companies, who may exercise discretion about whether or not they provide insurance or only offer it at a higher premium.

It seems that if the DVLA approve the driving licence then an insurance company may agree to insure the individual involved; they may, however, charge a higher premium depending on the circumstances.

Complaints

When to make a complaint

Complaints about insurance can be made to the Insurance Ombudsman Bureau (IOB), which is now part of the Financial Ombudsman Service, which has stated the following principles on mental health issues:

• Cancellation of a holiday through anxiety, depression or mental illness should be treated in the same way as other illnesses.
• Cancellation of a holiday by parents through their son or daughter suffering a mental breakdown should be compensated for because the policy was in respect of them and not their son or daughter.
• Where a person took his own life and, at the time of doing so, there was no doubt that 'the balance of his mind was disturbed', he remains covered by the insurance.
• Policyholders are only required to disclose information about a pre-existing condition if there is an opportunity to do so.

For details of how to contact the Financial Services Ombudsman, please see the 'Useful contacts' section of this factsheet.

Legal redress

You may also wish to seek advice about possibly taking out a case against an insurer under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

If you decide upon this route, you will need to seek legal advice from a solicitor who specialises in disability legislation. The first step is to establish with the solicitor whether or not the law can help you and whether or not your case is likely to succeed.

Mind has a list of solicitors who specialise in disability; for more information contact MindinfoLine. The Law Society can also advise on suitably qualified solicitors (see 'Useful contacts' for details of both organisations).

Recent initiatives

The Manic Depressive Fellowship's (MDF) Travel Insurance Scheme

The Manic Depressive Fellowship (MDF) set up the first travel insurance scheme for people with mental health problems (specifically manic depression). The organisation liaised with brokers to arrange travel insurance for people who are MDF members.

The MDF has outlined the importance of helping insurance firms understand that many people diagnosed with a mental health problem are not high risk clients.

The Rethink Advice Service has issued a factsheet on travel insurance and keeps a list of insurance companies and brokers who try to help customers with mental health problems.

See the 'Useful contacts' section at the end of this factsheet for information about how to contact the Manic Depression Fellowship and the Rethink Advice Service.

Ivan Massow Group's 'Survivors' Project

Ivan Massow is former chairman of Mind's enquiry into mental health and social exclusion. 'Survivors', his latest initiative follows an approach from internet site Loonscape.com, which is collating case studies of alleged discrimination by financial service providers.

The Ivan Massow Group has discussed with financial service providers how to provide a range of tailor-made services, particularly life insurance, for people with mental health problems.

Massow Survivors specialises in providing insurance and other financial services to survivors of transplant, major surgery, cancer and mental health problems. It provides advice to people who otherwise would find themselves rejected or facing huge premiums for their insurance because of their condition. See 'Useful contacts' for information about how to contact the Massow Group.