Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week 2022

Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week is a chance for people to raise awareness and help those living with the condition, to feel more confident about talking about it.

Multiple sclerosis can be difficult to live with and not always that easy to talk about, which is why #LetsTalkMS aims to encourage people to speak up and find their voice.

It’s estimated to be over 130,000 people living with multiple sclerosis in the UK, with nearly 7000 of those being newly diagnosed each year (MS Society). That’s a huge number of people, and lots of voices to be heard!

Another aim of this awareness day is to fight for improvements for those living with multiple sclerosis. Having support from your family and friends is great, but knowing there’s a whole support network of people in a similar situation can make you feel much more confident. As well as the MS Society, there are many other charities and organisations such as the NHS, who provide lots of information and support.

Access to insurance

Managing director Kathryn hosted an episode of the Practical Protection Podcast focusing on multiple sclerosis and insurance, give this a listen below:

Life insurance

Having multiple sclerosis can make things such as applying for life insurance seem like a daunting process, and you might be worried about what the outcome might be.

There are a few common questions which you can expect on an application form:

• What type of multiple sclerosis do you have?
• When did you receive a diagnosis?
• What symptoms do you experience?
• When was your last relapse or symptoms?
• What medication do you take?
• Do you use any mobility aids?
• How does multiple sclerosis affect your daily living?
  
  

Though questions may vary slightly, the above are pretty common. If your condition is well controlled then there are some insurers who might offer you cover without the need for a medical report or any medical evidence from your GP. More often than not, the insurer will request a medical report from your GP (with your consent). The report is paid for by the insurer and we then check the process of its completion. We like to think of medical reports as a good thing as it means the insurer has a clear picture of your overall health.

It’s best to be prepared that your premiums are likely to be slightly higher thanthe basic rates, it’s hard to give an exact price as this will depend on your circumstances and the insurer that’s used.

Critical illness cover

It is a little bit more difficult to arrange critical illness cover having multiple sclerosis but there are some insurers who will offer you cover. Quite often this is only available if you haven’t had a relapse for a number of years, and you have relapsing remitting MS.

The insurers generally want to see that there have been no changes to your MRI scans for at least 3 years. They are also quite keen to know where the lesions are located within the brain to make their assessment, all of this is covered in the report from your GP.

The insurer will have similar questions to those mentioned above, they will want to know how it affects you on a daily basis and if you have developed any other conditions because of it. If you’re offered critical illness cover then it’s quite likely to have an exclusion on the policy for multiple sclerosis and possibly blindness too. 

Looking into a specialist insurer might be a good route to go down to find the cover that you need.

Income protection

Though the industry is changing and improving constantly, there’s actually quite limited options for income protection for people living with multiple sclerosis. If this is something you want or need then we would usually suggest using one of our specialist advisers, who will be able to fully explain any options you might have for this type of cover.

Case studies

• A man in his mid 30s came to Cura needing protection as he had a young child to provide security for. He had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis around 6 years before coming to us. Though he didn’t have any symptoms, he did take medication for this daily. He also had another medical condition for the insurer to take into account. We arranged a life insurance and critical illness policy with a monthly premium of less than £53. This covers him for £50,000 for 31 years. This policy came with an exclusion for multiple sclerosis and any disease or disorder of the central nervous system, and did not include total permanent disability.
  
  
• A woman approaching 60 needed protection in place as she had a mortgage. He had been diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis around 20 years before coming to us and did experience ongoing symptoms. She occasionally used mobility aids, had physiotherapy and worked full time. She now has a life insurance policy costing just less than £60 per month. The policy had a term of 7 years and a benefit amount of £50,000.
  
  
• A woman approaching 50 came to Cura needing protection insurance to provide her with some financial security. She had been diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis around 5 years before coming to us. She took medication regularly and used a wheelchair when she was out of the house. We secured terms for life insurance, covering her for £57,000 for close to £48 per month, over 15 years.
  
  

Having a health condition can make you feel uncertain about what the future might hold. Putting protection insurance in place can really take away some of the financial worries that you might have for your loved ones, and offer some much appreciated security. We know that no two clients are the same, and our advisers are on hand to help every step of the way.

Resources

https://www.mssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/our-evidence/ms-in-the-uk

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/multiple-sclerosis/

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