Crohn’s Disease & Life Insurance

We know that Crohn’s disease is different for anyone that has it, for some people it can cause some minor discomfort, for others symptoms can be stronger and require surgery.

No matter how the Crohn’s disease affects you, we are here to find you an insurer that is considerate of your circumstances.

Things we need to know:

• When were you diagnosed with Crohn’s disease?
• What medication do you take?
• Are you able to work?
• Are you due any surgery?
• Have you had surgery to remove part of the bowel?
• When was your last flare up?

Life insurance for people with Crohn’s disease can be available at standard rates, where the condition is considered to be quite mild. If you have had no recent flare ups and are on mild medication, there should be options for you to have life insurance at normal terms.

For people who are experiencing stronger symptoms of Crohn’s disease, it is possible that life insurance may be offered at non-standard rates (a premium increase). This could be due to the strength of medications that you take, or if you have any abscesses or fistulas that are affecting your standard of living.

If you are due to have any surgery to treat the Crohn’s disease e.g. fistula removal, fitting of an ileostomy or colostomy bag, then it is likely that your application for life insurance will be postponed, until you have fully recovered from the surgery. In this case you can arrange life insurance with a specialist insurer.

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.

Critical illness cover for people with Crohn’s disease can be available at standard terms, where the condition has been dormant for some time and light medication is in use.

The insurer will want to know if the Crohn’s disease affects your standards of daily living, and a good indicator of this is if you are able to work.

Where stronger medications are in use and the Crohn’s disease is more active, you may find that you are offered critical illness cover at non-standard terms. Some insurers may place an exclusion for Crohn’s disease on the policy, if they have it as a claimable critical illness.

If you are waiting from surgery due to the Crohn’s disease, you will need to speak with a specialist insurer to arrange your critical illness policy. 

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

Income Protection for people with Crohn’s disease is likely to be offered at non-standard terms. The insurer will probably offer you income protection at a higher premium than someone who does not have Crohn’s disease, or they may offer an exclusion for claims relating to Crohn’s disease instead.

This is because the insurer sees the Crohn’s disease as a condition that can progress and place you at a higher risk of making a claim for inability to work. The insurer will want to know if you have had any time off work due to the Crohn’s disease, how often you experience symptoms and how it affects you on a daily basis.

If you are offered income protection but it comes with a price increase that doesn’t suit you, you could look at Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Cover. This type of policy offers you income replacement for between 12 and 24 months, if you cannot work due to ill health or involuntary redundancy.

Accident, sickness and unemployment policies are arranged without detailing your medical history, so your Crohn’s disease will not affect your eligibility for the policy. But the policy will exclude any claim that’s related to your Crohn’s disease.

Are you going on holiday? We work alongside a specialist travel insurance broker that can fully explain what you are covered for, when it comes to the Crohn’s disease. Please visit our dedicated travel insurance page here.