Endometriosis & Life Insurance

I do not have endometriosis, but I know people that do, and from them I understand that this can be very uncomfortable. This is not simply heavy and painful periods, it is much more than that.

When you apply for life insurance, you may wonder what you are going to be asked, how much detail you are going to need to go through. That really depends upon the type of life insurance that you want. To get the most choice of what could be on offer, it’s likely that you will need to go through some medical questions.

Here are some examples of things we would need to know to help you:

• When were you diagnosed with endometriosis?
• When did you last have symptoms?
• Whereabouts in the body does the condition affect you?
• Do you take any medication?
• Have you needed any surgery?
• Have you experienced anxiety or depression?

For many people that are living with endometriosis, life insurance will probably be available at standard terms. This means that having endometriosis has had no bearing on the price of the life insurance.

There may be times that applications for life insurance on the standard market, could take a little longer to arrange. If you are due any outstanding tests or surgery, then a lot of insurers will want to have these completed before they can offer you the life insurance.

Please do not worry if this is the case as there are a number of alternative options that we can look at including life insurance that is funded by your employer and some specialist life insurance routes.

Critical illness cover pays out a cash lump sum of money, if you are diagnosed with a medical condition that is listed in the insurer’s claims set e.g. cancer, heart attack, stroke.

Critical illness cover for people living with endometriosis should also be quite straightforward to arrange. Insurers are often quite accepting that this is a manageable long-term condition and offer you the cover. If your endometriosis is well controlled with medication and you are not outstanding any tests or surgeries, then critical illness cover could be available at standard terms with some insurers.

If your endometriosis has led to endometrial hyperplasia and cancer of the uterus, then it is likely that some time will need to taken to research will need to done to check what options are available to you. It may be that your application for critical illness cover needs to be placed with more specialist insurers.

Income protection pays you a replacement of your monthly income, if you are unable to work due to ill health.

When you apply for income protection the insurers are going to want to know if you have had anytime off work due to the endometriosis. If you have, that is not an automatic no, the insurer will simply want to know when and how long for. 

There will also be interest in how often you have symptoms, if you have needed any surgeries and the parts of the body that the endometriosis affects you e.g. the fallopian tubs, bowels, lungs etc.

It is possible that for some people living with endometriosis that there will be options for income protection at normal terms; no price increase or exclusion. This depends upon your individual circumstances and the insurers that is possible to place your application with. It may be that some insurers will increase the premiums or place an exclusion on the policy, which is why we are here to step in and find you the best option.

There are times that full income protection may not be available. This is most likely if you are due outstanding tests or surgeries. We can look into some short-term income protection in the form of Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover instead. 

This policy is non-underwritten meaning that your medical history has no bearing on you being accepted for cover. The insurance offers protection for 12-24 months but most will not cover you for pre-existing conditions.  

We suggest that you speak with a specialist travel insurance broker, who can talk through the different options available to you. You can visit our dedicated travel insurance page here.