Blindness & Life Insurance

We understand that when you are blind, accessing insurance is not a particularly accessible experience. Websites and insurance documentation are not often setup for screen-readers or other talking softwares. 

Whilst you are able to speak to somebody and discuss your insurance needs, the ability to take away information that you are able to review at home is quite restricted. We have introduced ReciteMe software onto our website, to provide a more accessible insurance journey for you.

Things we need to know:

• Do you have partial sight loss, or are you fully blind?
• Were you born with your current level of vision?
• Is your vision loss due to a specific event or medical condition?
• Have you had any surgeries?

When you are blind, many insurers should be able to offer you term life insurance at normal rates. It’s a good idea to get a comparison of life insurance quotes, so that you are able to decide which insurer is right for you. It is often tempting to go for the cheapest insurance cover but many insurers now offer access to additional support services (that do not cost the Earth), that can be worth considering.

There are a number of things that the insurer you approach will want to ask you about, these are known as risk factors. The life insurance company will want to know about things like your height and weight, smoker status, any pre-existing conditions, your immediate family medical history and what you do for a living.

If your vision loss is due to another medical condition, the insurer will ask you some more details about that. It is likely that the cause of your vision loss will be of far more interest to the insurer, than the vision loss itself. We suggest that you look at other pages on our site, to see how any other medical conditions that you have will be assessed for life insurance.

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.

Blindness is a claimable condition on many critical illness contracts, which is why if you are already blind or have significant sight loss, the insurer will place an exclusion on the policy. This may seem frustrating, but the insurer will not want to offer you a policy that includes this as a claimable condition, when you could claim on it as soon as the policy becomes active. 

We understand that this could be frustrating and already starts the conversation about this insurance type on a negative, but there are many benefits of this policy that are important to still consider.

Just like life insurance the insurer is probably going to ask you about the cause of your vision loss, when this happened or if you were born this way and if you have had any surgeries. If your blindness is caused by another condition, then the insurer will want to know further details, before they are able to consider any terms of insurance that they can offer.

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

When you are blind or have partial vision, most income protection policies will have a blindness exclusion. This means that if you are unable to work specifically due to your sight loss, then the insurer will not pay a claim. 

For some this may not be a concern, as you are already working in an environment that is adapted to your sight loss, and do not foresee that your vision will be a reason for you being unable to work. 

For others with partial vision, this may not seem ideal as you are concerned about protecting your income, if your vision loss progresses. We think it is a good idea to speak to an adviser who can talk through what will be available for you and your specific circumstances.

Are you going abroad? It is important to make sure that you arrange your travel insurance with an insurer that is fully able to support your needs, in the event that you need to make a claim. If you need help arranging your travel insurance, please visit our dedicated page here.