People with serious medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer & heart disease form a large proportion of our society and most are acutely aware of the importance of life insurance and are often keen to get cover in place to leave to their loved ones when they’re gone.
Is it possible to get life cover with bad health?
However if you have a pre-existing medical condition/bad health, it’s unfortunately a fact that it can be more difficult to get a policy in place. It can be more difficult to get a quote which can mean higher premiums. The fact that you have an existing health condition also means that insurers will see you as a higher risk and therefore this results in higher premiums.
Whilst it is hard to avoid increased costs, you can counteract the costs by shopping around and getting the best deal available on the market. Using a broker like Citywide will ensure that you get the best price you possibly can as we will shop around on your behalf.
What questions will the insurance companies ask?
When you are applying for life insurance, the insurer will look at your medical history and whether you’re currently on any medication. This may involve the insurance company writing to your GP or asking you to attend a medical.
Insurers have no access your medical records without your prior consent, however if you refuse this consent then you will not be able to take out the policy.
It’s vital to ensure that the answers you give to insurers are honest and accurate. If you make a false declaration, a policy you take out is likely to be rendered void and therefore should you submit a claim, no payout would result.
What type of policy might be offered?
After undertaking the necessary checks, the type of life policy you’re offered will depend on your condition and your other relevant personal circumstances. A quote you might get initially online would always assume standard medical health. Your health is obviously individual to you, so it would be impossible to give an exact price until your application has been assessed fully by an underwriter.
What is a policy with a loading?
A policy with a ‘loaded’ premium means that you pay an increased price to cover your increased risk. The loading is likely to increase with the severity of the condition. Each insurer will have their own way of categorising conditions.
What is an insurance policy with an exclusion?
With some of the more severe conditions you may find that cover isn’t available even with a loading, so insurers look to exclude the particular pre-existing condition from the policy
This could mean, for example, if you’ve suffered from cancer, you could put life insurance in place that wouldn’t pay out if you died from that cancer, but would if you died from another condition.
If you have a pre-existing condition and are worried it may affect your cover, please get in touch and we can tell you exactly how it will affect your application.
Citywide Financial
01 513 8710