Lupus & Life Insurance

We understand that being diagnosed with lupus can be worrying, but that with effective treatment and medication, it is possible to live a full and rewarding life. Our job is to find an insurer who will listen to your story and offer you the best insurance possible.

Things we need to know:

• When were you diagnosed with Lupus?
• What type of lupus do you have, SLE or DLS?
• What are your symptoms?
• What medications do you take?
• How does the lupus affect your daily living?

Life insurance if you have lupus can often be arranged in most circumstances so please don’t worry. The insurer that you apply to will want to see a medical report from your GP, in order to establish how much the condition affects you before they offer policy terms. Lupus Life Insurance is often available but the policy terms will depend on the type of lupus you have (e.g. Discoid Lupus Erythematosus or Systemic lupus erythematosus).

When assessing your application insurers are likely to increase the premium that you will pay for life insurance above the basic premium. A higher premium is more likely for people living with SLE,  however it will depend upon the strength and frequency of symptoms. Insurers are also likely to offer more favourable terms to non-smokers than smokers combined with lupus.

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 lupus can sometimes be available on the standard insurance market but it is rare. This will depend upon the type of lupus (DLE is treat more leniently than SLE), the type/duration of medication and the frequency of symptoms. For SLE you would need to have had the condition be dormant for a number of years to be considered. Where it is available, it is likely that any offer of Critical Illness Cover will come at non-standard terms in the form of a premium increase.

If you find that you cannot access Critical Illness Cover on the standard market due to your lupus, then you can apply to a specialist insurer for the cover. However, it is worth noting that the critical illness policy will come with an exclusion for any claim related to your lupus.

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 lupus can sometimes be offered. If you suffer from DLE (Discoid Lupus Erythematosus) then any potential terms are likely to be more favourable than for people with SLE (Systemic lupus erythematosus). Some companies may look to put an increase in premiums on the plan and some may look to exclude lupus from the policy.

For sufferers of SLE obtaining Income Protection may be more difficult. Some insurers may consider cover so long as you are not had symptoms for some time and/or are not requiring medication. Some providers may look at cover with a longer deferment, e.g. 6 months. This is the amount of time that you have to wait from being unable to work due to ill health, before the insurer can consider a claim. It is worth bearing in mind that if you apply for an Income Protection policy, you should aim to get cover under an ‘own occupation’ definition, that gives you the strongest claims criteria.

You may decide to apply for Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Cover as an alternative to Income Protection. Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Cover provides a short-term monthly income replacement and is not medically underwritten, though existing medical conditions are excluded from the claimable conditions.

Are you travelling abroad? We work with a specialist broker who can help you understand how travel insurance works with your lupus diagnosis. To find out more visit our travel insurance page, here.