Working at Heights & Life Insurance

Working at heights is something that UK insurers usually want to know about when you apply for life insurance.

With things like life insurance insurers are always wanting to see if there’s anything that you do that could increase your risk of a claim. Some insurers see working at heights as more risky than not.

Our advisers will find the right insurer for you and your work by asking:

• What is the average height that you work at?
• What is the highest height that you may work at?
• How often will you work at this height?
• Will you be working in the UK or abroad?

Life insurance for people working at heights can sometimes be available at normal terms. This means no price increase or exclusions relating to your work.

Some insurers can be a bit cautious if you work at heights of 40 feet (12 metres) or more. This can mean that your premiums are increased, which is why it’s essential to find the right insurer for you.

Our advisers are here to find the best life insurance policy for you, get in touch for a no obligation quotation.

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 working at heights might be looked at a bit more strictly than life insurance. This is because there can be a higher risk of you being diagnosed with one of the claimable conditions e.g. traumatic head injury, total paralysis, loss of a limb etc.

This can mean that some insurers will increase your policy premiums or maybe include an occupation exclusion to the policy. The occupation exclusion will mean that if you are diagnosed with a critical illness whilst you are at work, that a claim could be turned down.

Not all insurers will do this but some can do and our advisers will search the insurance market to find the best critical illness policy for you.

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

Income protection for people working at heights might be available depending upon your job role. Insurers are looking at the risk of something happening that will stop you from doing your job. Working at heights means that you need to be physically fit, which means that you are likely to be healthy, but it probably also means that it won’t take much for you not to be allowed to do your work.

This massively varies across job roles. For example there are a lot of health circumstances that would prevent a pilot from being able to fly, that might not stop a builder going up some scaffolding. It’s all about the risk of you making a claim.

That being said insurers do take on board the significant health and safety procedures that you must follow, and they do take this into account when considering your income protection application.

Our advisers are trained to find the right insurer to match your work and your needs.

If you need to go travel abroad for your work and you will be working at heights outside of the UK, it’s a really good idea to make sure your travel insurance matches your work. If you would like to get some quotations please visit our dedicated travel page here.