The PPP - High Cholesterol

High Cholesterol

Kathryn has been joined once again by co-host Matt Rann for an episode of the Practical Protection Podcast. This time, they are talking about high cholesterol and access to insurance.

High cholesterol is quite common in the UK, with 6 out of every 10 adults having it. Cholesterol is a fatty substance which can be found in your blood. There aren’t any symptoms of having high cholesterol, which means it can often go unnoticed for many years. The way it is found is through having a blood test.

There are ways to lower your cholesterol, such as by eating healthily and exercising regularly. Those who smoke, don’t exercise much or eat a lot of fatty foods tend to be the most at risk. It can also be passed down through the family too.

Kathryn and Matt are talking about how high cholesterol might play a part in the protection insurance terms that you’re offered. 

They start off by asking why insurers actually want to know about cholesterol in the first place. This is simply because it can put you at more risk of other conditions. When you have too much cholesterol, it can increase your risk of circulatory and heart diseases, including conditions such as a stroke, heart attack, or vascular dementia. Insurers work off statistics to make their decisions, so they will look at past research of people with high cholesterol to help them make a decision on the terms that they offer.

Kathryn mentions that when applying for protection insurance, a cholesterol with a reading of lower than 5 should generally be ok. If the reading is between 5 and 6 then it might be worth looking at a little bit more, and anything over 6 might be considered as being high. Matt also mentions that it’s very helpful if a customer actually has their readings to hand, as not all people do. This is because there are other factors to take into account too. 

Different insurers will use different underwriting manuals, which means all insurers might have a slightly different approach to high cholesterol. It’s for this reason that advisers such as those at Cura, will do presales and a great deal of research before choosing which insurer to apply with. You can find that the terms you’re offered can vary massively from insurer to insurer, even with all of the same details.

Familial hypercholesterolemia is a condition which can be passed down from your parents, and prevents the body from getting rid of fatty cholesterol. Matt explains how this might impact your application for protection insurance. He explains what you might expect when applying for life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection.

Kathryn then talks us through a case study, of a client in their 20s who was a non smoker with an average bmi too. Their medical history was generally ok, but there was a history of familial hypercholesterolaemia. This person was on medication for their cholesterol and their cholesterol was under 5. They themselves didn’t have familial hypercholesterolaemia, but they were trying to prevent this. We arranged a decreasing life insurance and critical illness policy covering them for £187,000 over 35 years with a monthly premium of £31 per month. We also arranged an income protection policy covering them for £1,200 until retirement age with a 3 month deferment period, for around £12 per month.

To catch what else Kathryn and Matt discussed, you can listen to this episode below or on the Practical Protection Podcast website.

Next time, Kathryn is joined by a special guest, Ruth Gilbert. They will be discussing trusts and payout planners which are available with some insurers.

Check out the Practical Protection Podcast website to listen to more episodes.

Remember, if you have listened to this as part of your work, you can claim a CPD certificate on the website, thanks to the podcasts sponsors Octo Members.

If you would like to know more about how to arrange protection insurance, take a look at Kathryn’s Protection Insurance in Practice course.

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