Hepatitis E & Life Insurance

We understand that being told you have hepatitis E can be a bit of a surprise. You may be unsure where and how you got hepatitis.

When it comes to getting life insurance, you may find that you need to talk about having had hepatitis E. You may not have to. It all comes down to the insurer and some specific bits about your health.

In order to help you to get the right policy, we’ll need to know a few key things. These include:

• When were you diagnosed with hepatitis E
• What were your symptoms?
• What treatment did you need?
• Have you been left with any lasting liver damage?
• Have you fully recovered?

Life insurance for people that have had hepatitis E will generally be available at normal terms, if you have fully recovered. 

The insurer will want to know if you have had lasting symptoms or damage to your liver.

If this is the case or you still have hepatitis E and are undergoing treatment, there is a potential that life insurance may be offered at non-standard terms. This will most likely be at a premium increase.

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 that have had hepatitis E and fully recovered, should be available at standard terms with many insurers.

It could be more tricky to arrange critical illness cover, if you have any lasting damage to your liver. This is because it may mean that you are seen to be a higher risk for making a claim on the policy. This may not be the case, but it’s a good idea to be prepared that the insurer will probably want to have time to consider your application.

If you still have hepatitis E, critical illness cover may need to be arranged with a specialist insurer.

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

Income protection should be available at normal terms for people that have had hepatitis E and have fully recovered with no lasting complications.

The insurer will want to know if the condition, or any other illness, has caused you to have time off work within recent years. This is quite a standard question and is a good indicator for the insurer, of your overall health. 

When you apply for income protection you ideally want a policy on an ‘own occupation’ definition. This means that you can put apply for a claim if you are ill and cannot do your specific job duties.

If you still have hepatitis E, or find that what you are being offered for income protection doesn’t feel right, there are other options. One of these is Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Cover.

This type of policy can repay your income for 12-24 months if you are unable to work due to ill health (disability and long-term injury) and involuntary redundancy.

Having had or currently having hepatitis E, will not affect the premiums or your eligibility for the policy. Most of the policies will not cover claims for any pre-existing medical conditions that you have.

Holidays are meant to be fun, relaxing and carefree. One way of helping you to get that, is to make sure that you have a quality travel insurance. We work alongside a travel insurance broker that can make sure that you get the right insurance for your needs. Find out more by visiting our travel page here.