Can I Get Life Insurance If I Am Ill 2024

Can I Get Life Insurance If I Am Ill 2024

Unhelpfully the answer to this question is sometimes yes, sometimes no. When you apply for life insurance, most insurers want to make sure that they have a good idea about your health before offering you cover.

There are many many health conditions that insurers are happy to consider for life insurance, a key determining factor is how much the condition affects you. It is a very complex area and hopefully I can give you some insight in this blog.

Time and Treatment

As well as looking at the medical condition that you have been diagnosed with insurers will also want to know when your medical condition started and the treatment that you are using.  Here are some examples:

• Cancer – insurers usually want you to have completed all treatment before they offer you life insurance. The exception to this is tamoxifen, where some insurers can consider your application for life insurance whilst you are taking this.  Cancer has a huge range of timeframes from diagnosis and end of treatment, to when most insurers can offer you life insurance. Depending upon the type of cancer, staging and grading insurers may be able to consider your life insurance application anywhere from 3months to 10 years.
• Heart Attack – when you apply for life insurance most insurers will want you to be between 6-12 months, since you had the heart attack before they can consider your application
• Stroke – most insurers will want you to be 12 months since your stroke, before they can consider you for life insurance, but there are times when they may be able to look after 6 months.

Outstanding Tests

Outstanding tests are one of the biggest issues that we are facing when it comes to arranging life insurance. The NHS is still catching up after the pandemic and waiting lists for some tests are now quite significant. Here are a few examples of the kinds of outstanding tests that can lead to postponements on life insurance applications:

• Diabetes – most insurers have good options for people living with well controlled diabetes and one of the ways that they check this is by asking for a person’s HbA1C reading. It’s quite likely that if this reading hasn’t been done in the last 6-12 months, that the insurer will want you to have the test before offering you life insurance.
• Pins and needles – pins and needles can simply be that you’ve slept funny and trapped a nerve a bit, but it can also be a sign of some serious neurological conditions and other things. If your GP has suggested that you have an MRI to check things over then most insurers will want you to have this test before they are able to offer you life insurance.
• Abnormal Smear – most insurers will want you to have had a repeat smear test that is normal if you have been shown to have CIN1 or CIN2, before they can offer you life insurance. If your test showed that you have HPV some insurers might be able to consider offering you life insurance without further testing.

Personal Independence Payments

Being in receipt of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) does not in itself stop you from getting life insurance. Insurers do not ask questions about benefits that you receive when you apply for life insurance. However, to be eligible for PIP you do need to have quite strong symptoms and your condition affecting your day to day living.

It is quite likely that if you have a medical condition that has led to you receiving PIP, that it’s a condition that will lead the insurer to ask your permission to speak with your GP to confirm the details about your health. Depending upon the way that your GP completes the report the insurer might learn of your receiving PIP, but this will not be a determining factor in whether you are offered life insurance. The insurer will assess your life insurance application based upon the medical condition you have been diagnosed with, medications and treatments that you use, and how it affects your daily living and ability to work.

It could be that you need to place your application with specific life insurance providers that will offer you the most competitive prices. This is most likely if you are unable to work due to your health condition.

Unemployment

When you apply for life insurance an insurer will ask you about your health and if you tell them about a health condition, they will sometimes ask if it affects your ability to work. If you have a medical conditions that prevents you from working or restricts how much you can work, then this can sometimes be considered by an insurer when assessing your life insurance application.

You can often still get life insurance if you are unemployed, but if it is your health that is affecting your ability to work, it’s essential to pick the right insurer for you from the start. 

Coughs and Colds

You might not think it but even a cough or cold could put the stoppers on your life insurance application. This has become even more relevant since the pandemic and covid became an issue. Insurers often ask if you have had a persistent cough for 4 weeks or more and if you have, they might postpone your life insurance application until you have had it investigated or it stops.

Our award winning advisers will talk you through your insurance options and help you get the life insurance that you and your family need.

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