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10-second summary: 10-second summary: Yes, you can often get life insurance or mortgage protection with kidney disease. But the insurer you apply to first matters. Different insurers can offer very different terms for the same condition, so it pays to check your options before making a formal application.
So, you’ve got kidney disease, and now you’re thinking:
“Right, that’s me uninsurable. May as well cancel the mortgage application and move into the shed.”
Not so fast.
In many cases, mortgage protection is possible. It just depends on what you’ve been diagnosed with, how stable things are, and which insurer you apply to.
And that last bit matters more than most people realise.
Insurers don’t just see “kidney disease” and make a decision. They look at the detail.
Two people with “kidney disease” can get completely different outcomes.
Not all insurers assess kidney conditions the same way.
One might decline you, another might offer cover with a loading, and another might postpone.
But once you’ve been declined, postponed or accepted with a loading, that doesn’t disappear.
Every future application asks if you’ve ever been accepted on special terms.
Which means applying to the wrong insurer first can limit your options.
Getting accepted by an insurer isn’t the goal.
Getting the best possible terms from the right insurer is.
Here’s a good example of why choosing the right insurer matters.
A client in his early 50s came to us looking for life insurance.
He had been diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) in 2019 after cysts were discovered during investigations for an unrelated issue.
The condition affected both kidneys and was hereditary, but his kidney function remained good. His most recent eGFR was 74, with previous results of 83 and 81, and his creatinine was 101.
He had never been hospitalised or taken time off work because of the condition and remained under regular review with a nephrologist.
Polycystic kidney disease can affect life insurance terms because insurers will consider both your current kidney function and the possibility that it may deteriorate in the future.
Rather than simply applying to the cheapest insurer and seeing what happened, we approached several insurers first to establish how they were likely to assess the medical history.
The difference was significant.
| Insurer | Indicative decision |
|---|---|
| Insurer A | +200% |
| Insurer B | +200%, with a maximum 10-year term |
| Insurer C | +150%, subject to satisfactory kidney function and other medical results |
A +150% loading means the insurer charges an additional 150% on top of its standard premium because of the additional medical risk. If the standard premium was €40 per month, a +150% loading would make it €100 per month
All three insurers were prepared to consider cover, but Insurer C offered the most favourable potential terms.
We were able to identify the insurer most likely to offer the client the best terms before making a formal application.
That meant avoiding unnecessary paperwork with insurers that had already indicated they were likely to charge considerably more or restrict the policy term.
Having kidney disease doesn’t automatically mean you can’t get life insurance.
But which insurer you approach matters.
Different insurers can look at exactly the same medical history and arrive at very different decisions. With PKD, details such as your eGFR, age at diagnosis, creatinine, blood pressure, urine results and whether your kidney function is stable can all influence the terms you’re offered.
That’s why, where there’s a significant medical history, we prefer to look at the details first and establish which insurer is likely to offer the best terms before making a formal application.
If you’ve got a kidney condition, you won’t be quoted the same price as someone with a clean bill of health.
There’s no point pretending otherwise.
This is the question everyone really wants answered.
In simple terms, insurers increase the price by applying a loading.
If you’re currently on dialysis, I’m sorry, but none of the insurers in Ireland will offer life insurance or mortgage protection.
Your option in that situation is usually a mortgage protection waiver from the bank.
If you’ve had a kidney transplant, things can change significantly.
You may have been declined before, or assumed cover wasn’t possible.
After a successful transplant, insurers may consider you again, but only once things are stable.
Most insurers will want to see at least 12 to 24 months of stability, with no complications and good follow-up results.
Even then, premiums will be higher.
In kidney transplant cases, insurers typically apply a per mille loading.
In simple terms, this is an extra cost per €1,000 of cover.
Here’s what that actually looks like.
If you take out €200,000 of cover:
Over a 20 or 30-year policy, that difference can add up to tens of thousands.
Expect detailed questions. This is normal.
They may also request a GP report or medical screening.
If you’ve had recent tests, we can often use those to speed things up.
You can apply directly online if you want.
But if you apply to the wrong insurer and get declined, that decision follows you.
Which makes the next application harder.
We approach this differently.
We check your situation across all insurers first, on a no-name basis, before anything is submitted.
That way, you’re applying once, properly, to the insurer most likely to give you the best outcome.
If you want a straight answer based on your situation, start here:
Complete the kidney questionnaire
Complete the kidney transplant questionnaire
It takes a couple of minutes, and we’ll tell you exactly what your options are.
Editor’s note: This guide was originally published in 2017 and has been updated for 2026 to reflect current underwriting practices across Irish insurers.
Written by Nick McGowan, QFA RPA APA
Nick is a qualified financial advisor and founder of Lion.ie, a multi-agency Irish life insurance and income protection brokerage based in Tullamore.
He’s been helping people secure fair, transparent cover for over 15 years and was named Protection Broker of the Year 2022.
If you’d like straight answers without the sales pitch, learn more about Nick here.
As Ireland's leading life insurance broker, we specialise in comparing the rates and policies from the top five Irish life insurance providers and offering the very best value quotes to suit the individual needs of our clients. Our expertise lies in finding a suitable insurance plan for those with specific needs, be it a particular illness, occupation or claim history, we've got you covered in every sense!
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