Life insurance companies do share information with each other in some ways: Aviva's and Zurich's privacy notices both list other insurers, reinsurers and fraud prevention agencies among the organisations that may receive your personal details. Whether a particular decline or loading would reach the next insurer you apply to is a separate question, and one worth asking. Anyone wanting a free ring from an FCA-authorised broker, to hear how decisions like yours are viewed, can request one in the form on this page.

What do life insurers say they share, and with whom?

Aviva's privacy policy for individual protection insurance, covering life, over 50 life, income protection and critical illness policies (updated 9 July 2026), lists "Other insurers (either directly or via those acting for the insurer)" among the third parties it will sometimes share personal information with. Zurich's data protection notice (print reference NPL850117002) says that, where necessary, it shares personal information with the types of organisation it lists, and those include "other insurance companies".

Both are lists of the kinds of recipient, and they show that insurers do not handle an application wholly on their own. Zurich also says it collects personal information from other insurance companies, among other sources, to verify what it is told.

Within one group, Aviva also names its own group companies as a source of information about "previous claims, policies or quotes" you may have had with them. So what one company in a group holds may be drawn on by another.

If you have already been turned down or offered cover at a higher price, what to do after a decline and how loadings work cover the next steps.

Do reinsurers and doctors see your answers too?

Reinsurers are insurers' own insurers. Aviva lists "Our insurers or reinsurers" among those it shares personal information with, and Zurich lists "associated companies including reinsurers". A reinsurer is therefore a second company that may see the details of an application, even though you never deal with it.

Aviva also lists medical professionals, "if we need to access health records or assessments for the purposes of arranging and underwriting certain products". That is the insurer asking your doctor for reports, rather than one insurer passing your file to another. Medical questions for life insurance explains what applications ask and when a GP report is requested.

Do fraud databases record a decline or loading?

Insurers do use shared databases. Aviva says it uses "databases managed by credit reference agencies, insurance industry bodies, fraud detection agencies and other reputable organisations" and that it will "share Personal Information and undertake searches with other third parties, including other insurers, fraud prevention agencies, law enforcement agencies, public bodies and our regulators". The reason it gives is to verify identity and make decisions about products and claims.

Aviva describes one case in which it records something about an applicant: "If you give us false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we'll record this to prevent further fraud and money laundering and this may be shared with other parties." The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says on its fraud page (read 1 November 2026) that insurers "are becoming increasingly effective at sharing intelligence and information to fight fraud at every level". Insurers also fund the Insurance Fraud Register, which the ABI describes as a database of known insurance fraudsters shared across the industry. Whether any industry database would hold a record of your application is a point the broker can take you through when ringing back.

In law, the position for an ordinary consumer is graded. The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 sets a duty to take "reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation", and under Schedule 1 to the Act the insurer's remedy depends on whether a wrong answer was deliberate or reckless, or careless; what you must disclose when applying sets that out.

What will the next insurer ask you?

Whatever insurers share behind the scenes, what you have to tell a new insurer comes from its questions. The ABI's code on claims involving misrepresentation (effective from 31 July 2023) says that "Customers cannot be expected to provide information that they are not asked for", and that insurers "can expect customers to answer clear questions carefully, accurately and to the best of their knowledge and belief".

So the practical route is to answer each question on the form as it is put, and that includes a question about earlier applications if the form asks one. If you are unsure how a question about past applications will be worded, a broker who rings back once you have sent the form can explain it free.

Keep the earlier letter. It is the record of what you were told, and can a life insurance company refuse to pay shows why an accurate application matters years later, at claim time.

How do you find out what an insurer holds about you?

Ask. Aviva says it "can supply on request further details of the agencies and databases we access or contribute to and how this information may be used", and it can supply on request further detail of the insurers and reinsurers it passes information to. Zurich's notice lists the right "to access your personal information (by way of a subject access request)". Send the request to the insurer, using the contact details in its privacy notice.

If an insurer that has signed the BIBA agreement on access to protection insurance turns down a direct application because of a pre-existing medical condition, it may refer you to a specialist firm or a signposting service, and the agreement says "Permission must be sought and granted before customer details are transferred to a third party." So under that agreement, your details go on to another firm only once you have agreed.

Leaving your name and number in the quick request form here brings a phone call from an FCA-regulated broker about your own case, at no charge.

Frequently asked questions

Will a new insurer be told why I was declined elsewhere?

Published privacy notices say insurers may share personal information with other insurers, but they describe kinds of recipient rather than what is passed on in each case. Asking the insurer you applied to, as described above, is the way to find out what it holds.

Do reinsurers see my medical details?

Reinsurers are named in Aviva's and Zurich's notices as organisations that may receive personal information. Aviva says it can provide details of the reinsurers it shares with if you ask.

Can I see what a life insurer has recorded about me?

You can ask, using a subject access request, which Zurich lists among your rights, or by asking Aviva for details of the agencies and databases it uses. Send the request to the insurer's data protection contact.

Does a decline stay on a record for ever?

Zurich says it keeps personal information for as long as needed for the reason it was collected, and that this includes a quote you did not take up. Aviva says the period depends on your relationship with it and why it holds the information, and it will explain its retention policy if you ask.

What if I left a previous decline off an application?

The remedy depends on how careless or dishonest the answer was, and on how the insurer would have treated the application. The declined-cover page and the disclosure page take this further.

Where can I read more on underwriting?

The health and underwriting guides gather the pages on how insurers assess an application, and life insurance with medical conditions covers finding cover with an existing condition.

Sources

  • Aviva, Individual protection insurance Privacy Policy (last updated 9 July 2026), read 1 November 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Zurich Assurance Ltd, Data protection: your privacy is important to us (print reference NPL850117002), read 21 October 2026. zurich.co.uk
  • Association of British Insurers, Fraud (undated), read 1 November 2026. abi.org.uk
  • Association of British Insurers, Code of Practice: Managing Claims Involving Misrepresentation for Individual and Group Life, Critical Illness and Income Protection Insurance Products (effective from 31 July 2023), read 1 November 2026. abi.org.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2, read 21 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, Schedule 1, read 26 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
  • BIBA, An Agreement on access to protection insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions and disabilities (renewal effective 21 January 2023), read 21 October 2026. biba.org.uk