Bulimia & Life Insurance
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Bulimia & Life Insurance
We understand that having bulimia can be difficult to live with. Bulimia is, undoubtedly, a serious condition that can have a notable impact on your life.
But, having this condition does not make your insurance needs any less than someone else.
The symptoms can vary significantly from one person to the other and as a result, the availability of life insurance and the terms on offer vary too.
When you make an application for life insurance when you have bulimia, you’ll be asked for information about:
- Your height
- Your current weight
- Your lowest weight and how long it has been since you were that weight
- Any complications or secondary conditions associated with your bulimia
- Any mental health issues you have experienced
For people that have previously had bulimia but now have a stable and healthy BMI, you may be able to get life insurance with standard terms.
If you are still experiencing symptoms of bulimia and have a low BMI, you may need to apply to a specialist provider. Please do not be worried if that is the case, this is why we are here to take all the hassle away from you.
An insurance provider might ask to see a report from your GP; this is obtained at their own expense. This is done to give them a more official picture of your previous and current health. This doesn’t mean that they don’t believe what you say, it is just part of their internal requirements.
Whether your condition is now stable or you still have a low BMI, we can help to simplify the process of applying for life insurance for you.
Bulimia & Critical Illness Cover
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.
Applying for critical illness cover as someone who has, or who has had bulimia, means you’ll have to provide much of the same information as you would with life insurance.
This includes information about your lowest ever weight, current weight, height, and any mental health issues you have experienced.
Some insurers will require a GP report to confirm your medical history (which they should cover the cost of). This is mainly due to the fact that bulimia can lead to other medical conditions and they want to make sure that they clearly understand your health, before offering cover.
If you have recovered from bulimia and you have a healthy BMI now, you may be eligible for critical illness cover on standard terms. This means the same price and cover as someone that has not had bulimia
If you still have a particularly low BMI, you may need to apply with a specialist provider. this might mean that the critical illness cover that you are offered has higher premiums or there are exclusions on the policy claims set.
When you speak with us, we can talk you through all of this and simplify the process for you.
Bulimia & Income Protection
Income protection pays you a replacement of your monthly income, if you are unable to work due to ill health.
You may be able to get income protection when you have had bulimia, if your weight is in a good range, and you have not had periods of time off work due to your health.
The terms that you are offered will depend upon your current BMI, lowest body weight, current body weight, BMI and any complications as the result of your bulimia.
It may be that we need to look at a specialist insurer for your cover and we can help explain the options to you.
If you have a particularly low BMI currently and are still experiencing bulimia, you may not be able to get long-term income protection cover.
In cases like this, you may wish to consider Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Cover. This is a policy that essentially offers short term income protection (usually a maximum of 2 years) for those who are unable to work as the result of injury, involuntary redundancy or disability.
These policies won’t cover you in the event that you have a loss of income as a result of your bulimia or a related condition. But if that is not a key concern to you, these policies don’t require medical underwriting and are much simpler to arrange.
Bulimia & Travel Insurance
Bulimia can impact your travel insurance needs and application too. Speak to a specialist travel insurance broker who can help you to get the right cover based on your condition. Read more here.
Video Transcript
CuraVision The ABCS – Mr E – Eating Disorder Transcript
Hi, everybody, today I want to talk to you about Eric*. Eric came to us in his early 40s, and he wanted some protection insurance in place. So, with Eric, the reason he came to us is because for most of his life, he had had bulimia.
It started in his mid-to-late teenage years, and had finished, well, the symptoms had eased, and sort of finished, in the last five years or so. With the bulimia, he’s had a couple of months-worth of inpatient treatment at hospital, he’d done many years-worth of group therapy, and seeing a psychiatrist as well. And with the bulimia, he had some associated alcohol dependency. Now, the actual alcohol dependency itself had finished about 10 years prior to speaking to us, but for a good decade or so, he had been alcohol-dependent, which had led to some related neuropathy, and also to some cirrhosis of the liver.
What we were able to do when we were chatting to him, looking through medical records,
and obviously also liaising with his medical professionals, we were able to establish that his liver function tests were now at a normal level, which was obviously brilliant for him, and also really good when it comes to the insurances, that they were back to those normal ranges. Eric also, about a decade before speaking to us, had had a couple of suicide attempts, in regards to some really traumatic life events that he had experienced.
What I’m pleased to say is that we were able to arrange some life insurance for Eric. We were able to get him £300,000 worth of level life insurance over 26 years, for a monthly premium of around £73.
*Names are anonymised
What is Bulimia?
Bulimia is an eating disorder where people try to control their food intake and body weight. People with this health condition binge eat, and then purge immediately after, either by vomiting or using laxatives. If not treated, people with bulimia may develop other serious health conditions such as heart problems and kidney damage.
Also: Bulimia Nervosa
Linked with: Depression, low self-esteem, alcohol misuse, self-harm, anxiety, abnormal heart rhythms, heart problems, kidney damage, convulsions, muscle spasms, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Possible Effects on Lifestyle
Some people with Bulimia may experience some or all of the following symptoms and problems:
- Bad breath
- Binge eating
- Constipation
- Dental problems
- Frequent visits to bathroom after eating
- Irregular periods
- Isolation – not wanting to be around people
- Overcritical attitude to body weight and shape
- Overuse of laxatives
- Purging
- Scarred knuckles
- Sore throat
- Swollen glands
- Vomiting
Medications and Treatments
- Antidepressants
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Counselling
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Fluoxetine (brand name Prozac)
- Group Therapy
- Hypnotherapy
- Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
- Life Coaching
- Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)
- Occupational Therapy
- Refeeding
- Self help
- Vitamin and mineral supplements
Further Reading and Research
- www.nhs.uk – Bulimia
- www.b-eat.co.uk
- www.rcpsych.ac.uk
- www.mentalhealth.org.uk
- www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk
- www.nice.org.uk
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).
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Cura Financial Services has been rated 5 out of 5 based on 808 reviews.
Review by Emma on 1st January 2019
“I could not be happier with the service given by Alan and Victoria. The insurance required was complicated by mental health issues and the compassion, patience, willingness to help, and genuine care shown by them was second to none. They continued to offer options and answer questions which were quite extensive, and when exploring personal subjects they were so kind and understanding. Would whole heartedly recommend and will definitely go back to them in the future. Thank you.” - 5
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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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