The PPP - Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders

During this episode of the Practical Protection Podcast, Kathryn is joined by Matt Rann to discuss eating disorders.

Eating disorders are much more common than you might think, with 1.25 – 3.4 million people affected by an eating disorder in the UK. This is split down to 10% being people living with anorexia, 40% having bulimia and the remainder being a binge eating disorder (BED) or other specified feeding or eating disorder (OFSED).

The average age for a person with anorexia is 16-17 and the average age for a person with bulimia is 18-19. These are such low ages, it’s important to spread awareness to try and raise awareness of eating disorders and develop ways to manage triggers for these conditions.

There are some key things to consider when thinking about eating disorders, such as not assuming a person would have a really low weight. An eating disorder could result in a person having a low BMI but that isn’t always the case.

A case study is also shared during this episode, of a man in his 50s who had been diagnosed with bulimia whilst in his 30s, which will be explained further down.

If you have listened to this episode for work, don’t forget to claim your CPD certificate here https://practical-protection.co.uk/claim-your-cpd/

Life insurance

Applying for life insurance might feel daunting, but we are here to help guide you through the applications in a supportive way. There are some common questions that you can expect from the insurer if you have had an eating disorder. Because the term eating disorder is quite generic, these questions might alter slightly or there could be some more condition specific questions:

• What condition were you diagnosed with?
• When was your diagnosis?
• What was your lowest weight?
• How long has it been since you were that weight?
• What is your current height and weight?
• Have you had any complications associated with the eating disorder?
• Have you experienced any mental health conditions because of this?
• Have you ever needed support from a community mental health team or ever been admitted to hospital?

If you now have a stable and healthy BMI, with no ongoing symptoms of your eating disorder, then it could be that you get life insurance with normal terms (no price increase). The insurers will be interested to see what your current BMI is, if your BMI is below 17 then the insurers might decide to increase the price of the policy or you may have to look into using a specialist protection insurer.

It’s very common for an insurer to request a medical report from your GP surgery, this is the case for a lot of different health conditions. This is paid for by the insurer and is so that they can get an overall picture of your health. 

Critical illness cover

The questions seen on a critical illness cover application are often similar to ones you might see on an application for life insurance. The insurer will want to know how much your eating disorder is still affecting your health or if there have been any lasting complications. 

You might be able to get critical illness cover with standard insurers, if you are no longer symptomatic and have been well for some years. If you have had recent symptoms of an earring disorder, critical illness cover will most likely to available from a specialist insurer or potentially through your employer too. 

Income protection

Having had an eating disorder in the past, or still having an eating disorder doesn’t necessarily stop your chances of getting income protection.

Again, the questions you come across might be the same as questions mentioned already and the insurer might also ask if you’ve had any time off work previously because of the eating disorder. 

Income protection is most likely available if you have recovered from your eating disorder over a few years. You will see a mental health exclusion on the policy claims set with most insurers. There are some policies that can be access that will not have exclusions but they have very specific eligibility criteria that is more related to your employment, rather than your health. 

Case studies

• A man in his early 20s came to Cura needing life insurance after taking out a mortgage. He had been diagnosed with Bulimia just a couple of years before coming to us and was on medication for this, he also had ongoing sessions with a counsellor. By the time he came to us, he had been stable for around a year with a regular diet. We arranged a life insurance policy covering him for just shy of £176,000 for 32 years with a monthly premium of less than £7.
• A woman in her late 30s came to us wanting protection in place as her family was due to grow. She had been diagnosed with anorexia and bulimia around 20 years before coming to Cura and had been symptom free for around 15 years. After being diagnosed she spent a year in the hospital and there had also been instances of self harm. We arranged £100,000 life insurance and £20,000 critical illness cover for her over 30 years and a premium of less than £24 per month.

Using a protection insurance adviser can really help if you’ve had a health condition or just think you need a little bit of help finding the right cover for you. It can be nerve wrecking talking about your health condition or experiences but we try our very best to make you feel at ease so that you can get the protection you need.

Resources

https://www.priorygroup.com/eating-disorders/eating-disorder-statistics

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/overview/

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The PPP – Mental Health In Life Insurance Week

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