Suicide Attempt & Life Insurance
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Suicide Attempt & Life Insurance
We know that there are many reasons that can cause someone to attempt suicide and that no matter the circumstances, it is important that you are listened to, when you apply for insurance. We take the time to discuss your situation with you and speak to insurers on your behalf, to make sure that you get access to the best insurance that you can have.
Things we need to know:
- How many times have you tried to attempt suicide?
- When did you try to attempt suicide?
- Details of any underlying mental health condition.
Life Insurance after a suicide attempt is possible. There a number of factors that will affect the type of insurance policy you can go for. It can be useful to explain to the insurer if there was a specific trigger for your actions e.g. traumatic event, mental health, etc.
It is important to note that most standard Life Insurance policies in the UK will pay a claim for suicide after the policy has been in place for 12 months. With that in mind, combined with a history of suicide attempts, in many circumstances any offer of Life Insurance that you receive will be at non-standard rates. This means that the insurer will increase the monthly premium that you pay for Life Insurance, to offset the perceived added risk of there being a claim.
If your suicide attempt was recent (within the last few years), standard insurers may postpone your application, and you may find that you need to speak with specialist insurers for Life Insurance who can offer cover with an full term exclusion on suicide.
Suicide Attempt & Critical Illness Cover
Critical Illness Cover can be available after a suicide attempt, depending upon the amount of time since the event occurred. The insurer will want to know if there was a trigger that caused the event, such as a mental health condition (bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia) or a traumatic situation, and how many times you have tried to attempt suicide. As with Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover after a suicide attempt will typically be offered at an increased premium, however rates do become more favourable the more time that has passed.
Recent suicide attempts will generally lead insurers to postpone your application for Critical Illness Cover, at which point specialist insurers will need to be applied to.
Suicide Attempt & Income Protection
Income Protection after a suicide attempt may be available, if the event was a number of years ago. Again, insurers will want to know how many times you have attempted suicide and if there was specific trigger. If you have a mental health condition that led to you attempting suicide, the insurer is more likely to assess your Income Protection claim based upon your specific mental health diagnosis. Income Protection may be available with a mental health exclusion to the policy, this is more likely than a premium increase.
If the suicide attempt was isolated and there are no ongoing mental health conditions, you may find that after a number of years, Income Protection could be available at standard rates.
Get an Income Protection Quote
For those who have a mental health condition and find that long-term Income Protection that is on offer doesn’t suit their needs, Accident Sickness and Unemployment Cover may be worth considering. This short-term Income Protection policy will pay a monthly income replacement for between 12 and 24 months, if you are unable to work due to disability, long-term injury and unemployment cover. Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policies do not take into account your medical history when you apply for the cover, so your history of suicide attempts will not affect your eligibility for the policy. However, any claim that you place will exclude claims related to any existing medical conditions that you have.
Suicide Attempt & Travel Insurance
Are you going on holiday? It is important that you arrange travel insurance before you go. We would suggest that you speak with a specialist travel insurance broker, who can find the right policy for you, with your history of suicide attempts. For more details, click here.
What is a suicide attempt?
Suicide is the act of taking your own life. For some people, suicide can feel like a last resort following difficult events in their life. Mental health, job security, relationships ending and physical, emotional or sexual abuse, can all lead to a person feeling suicidal.
Also: Suicidal thoughts, suicidal ideations, self harm
Linked with: Mental health disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), schizophrenia, alcoholism, drug use, anorexia nervosa
Possible Effects on Lifestyle
Some potential problems experienced by individuals who have attempted suicide include:
- Act recklessly
- Anxiety
- Dietary changes
- Low mood
- Low self esteem
- Self harm
- Social withdrawal
- Too much or too little sleep
- Uncontrollable emotions
Medications and Treatments
- Anti-depressants
- Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
- Counselling
- Crisis Prevention Team (CRT)
- Hypnotherapy
Further Reading and Research
- www.samaritans.org
- www.rethink.org
- www.mind.org.uk
- Alcoholism
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Bipolar
- Borderline personality disorder
- Depression
- Drug use
- Mental health
- PTSD
- Schizophrenia
By clicking on the link(s) above you will be departing from the regulatory site of Cura Financial Services. Cura Financial Services is not responsible for the accuracy of the information contained within the linked site(s).
Common Questions
Yes you can. Insurers understand that things can happen in life, that can make someone feel like living is too much to cope with. You may find that some insurers are not able to offer you cover until a certain amount of time has passed since the suicide attempt, but there are specialist policies available that you can put in place relatively quickly, even if you have been refused life insurance elsewhere.
Yes. Insurers are going to want to know about your mental health and how it affects you on a daily basis. Don’t worry though, if you are not able to get life insurance on the standard market, there are specialist policies out there for you.
It depends on who you speak to. To be honest, some insurers will immediately decline your application for life insurance, but not all. Most insurers will want to know when you last attempted to attempt suicide, if you take any medication or have sought any therapies. It can be useful to explain to the insurer the reason that you tried to attempt suicide e.g. undiagnosed bipolar disorder, a traumatic event, emotional abuse, but it is not essential for you to go into this detail if you do not feel comfortable to. If your suicide attempts were quite recent, you will most likely need to speak to a specialist insurer for life insurance.
Client Reviews
Cura Financial Services has been rated 5 out of 5 based on 810 reviews.
Review by Paul and Lucy on 25th January 2017
“Very helpful staff with great communication. As someone diagnosed with Bipolar and previous suicide attempts I had almost given up looking for life insurance. Thanks to Cura we obtained a reasonable quote and now have peace of mind for the family. Thank you so much!” - 5
You can read more of our reviews here.
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Dr Kathryn Knowles Phd
Author
This page was written by Dr Kathryn Knowles Phd, an award-winning insurance adviser. To read more about Kathryn please see her bio here
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