Applying for Income Protection when you have Crohn's disease

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When you apply for Income Protection Insurance most insurers will want to know information such as

your occupation
your age
your salary
your smoker status
any medical conditions that you have

An Income Protection application for someone with Crohn’s disease will be reviewed by the insurer in more detail than someone without the condition.

Underwriting Process

The application for Income Protection will follow a standard procedure, in that you will place your application with the insurer and it will enter an underwriting process. When you have Crohn’s disease this will then result in the insurer asking to see a report from your GP regarding your present state of health.

This is arranged at the insurers expense and bar extending the application timeframe, it should not have much impact upon yourself. The insurer will send a medical questionnaire to your GP that will include questions related to your condition such as the severity of your symptoms, if you have had extended periods of time off work, the medications that are in use and treatments undertaken, and if there are any other secondary conditions present. The insurer will be particularly interested in any recent flare-ups that you have had, hospital admissions and steroid usage.

Once the insurer has this report back from your GP it will be reviewed alongside your application details by a medical underwriter. At this point you will either be offered terms of cover or declined Income Protection.

Medications and Treatments

Certain medications and treatment are treat more favourable than others when it comes to Income Protection. For example, Azathioprine (AZA) and similar medications are not generally liked by insurance providers at the moment. Similarly medications such as Pentasa can cause concerns to the insurance provider.

At the moment insurers tend to look positively towards those with Crohn’s disease who have had surgery to treat the condition and are not on any medication.

Policy Terms

There are a number of different Income Protection policy terms that may available to someone with Crohn’s disease. Insurance providers will generally want to set the claim deferment period to a minimum of 3 months (13 weeks). This will mean that in the event that you are unable to work, you will need to be signed off work for a minimum of 3 months before a claim will be considered.

For those who have had surgery to treat the Crohn’s disease and are not taking any medication for the condition, it is possible that your may be offered Income Protection at non-standard terms (a premium increase).

In most other circumstances Income Protection will be offered with an exclusion for any claim related to your Crohn’s disease. Whilst this will certainly not sound ideal, it will still allow you to place a claim for Income Protection for any one of a number of different medical conditions. It is also possible that in some circumstances Income Protection cover will be declined.

It is important that you place your Income Protection application with an insurer who offers the most favourable terms to those with Crohn’s disease. Choosing the right insurer could make a big difference as to whether you get an exclusion, policy premium increase or are offered terms at all for Income Protection.

Alternatives

For those who are declined Income Protection due to their Crohn’s disease all is not lost. It is worthwhile considering Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover. This type of policy is not medically underwritten at the application stage so your Crohn’s disease will have no bearing on the policy acceptance terms. Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover offers 12-24 months of short-term income replacement in the event that you are unable to work due to injury, long-term disability or involuntary redundancy. Whilst your Crohn’s disease will not impact upon the policy premium or acceptance terms, any claim that you place will exclude any inability to work due to the condition.

If you are interested in Income Protection and want to know more about the policies, policy options, insurers and what is available to you with your current employment benefits, then please feel free to speak with one of our insurance advisers on 0800 567 7450. Alternatively please feel free to request a quote.

Categories: Income Protection, Health

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Applying for Income Protection when you have Crohn’s disease

"Alan and his team were great! Alan helped get me cover where my own company could not (I work in financial services too!) Would highly recommend and will come back in the future."

"Krystle was fantastic throughout and managed to knock almost 50% off my current life insurance premium."

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