Can I Get Life Insurance with a Pre-Existing Condition?

In the interest of your already frazzled nerves: yes, it is possible to get Life Insurance with a pre-existing condition.

The fact you’ve typed a question that led you to this blog means you’re probably having a good long think about getting Life Insurance with whatever pre-existing condition you have.

I’m not gonna soften the blow here: it’s harder than getting Life Insurance if you were in full health.

If you think about it, it makes sense.

Life Insurance is one big game of risk

One of the questions I get a lot around these here parts is, “how does Life Insurance work?”

It’s a fair question. If you’re gonna be investing a chunk of your cash monies, you’re gonna want to know where it’s going and what you’re getting for it.

Despite how it’s dressed up by the insurers, Life Insurance isn’t actually that complicated. So, you buy a policy that covers you for a certain amount of time. If you follow the conditions of your policy (i.e. you don’t die in a stampede of bulls while bull running in Spain), your family will be paid a monthly sum or one big instalment of money.

That’s the amount of cover you’ll have bought when you signed up. Pay your premium, don’t do anything stupid, and your cover will likely be paid out to your family in the event of your death.

The tougher question is around how the amount of cover you can get is calculated and how much it will cost.

Enter: The Underwriter (who may or may not sound like a bad WWE wrestler from the ‘90s).

Underwriters are the lads who do the maths on every claim that comes in on insurance. They take into consideration factors such as your health, your family history, your age, and your occupation.

Your premium will get more expensive if you have dangerous hobbies or a dangerous job. Likewise, if you’re ill, your chances of dying are higher, so they’ll charge you more in their quest to keep making their billions.

In short: the higher the risk they think you are, the more expensive your cover is likely to be.

But there’s another kicker: some insurers will charge more than others.

Scoundrels. Blaggards. Thieves.

Call it what you will, but if you have a family (especially if you have young kids), Life Insurance is an unfortunate necessity. It’s up there with Wi-Fi and food.

Does that mean you have to roll over and accept whatever price the insurer gives you?

No, no it does not.

How to get Life Insurance with a pre-existing condition

Now, I’m not gonna tell you that you 100 percent will be able to get Life Insurance. Sometimes the risk is too high for the insurer and they’ll say no or postpone your application.

It depends on the type of Life Insurance you need, the illness we’re talking about and how severe the symptoms are.

The date of diagnosis is also key. If it’s a recent diagnosis, the insurer is likely to sit on the fence and take a wait and see approach. Once the insurer knows the score, for example how you’re reacting to treatment, they’ll give you your quote.

They’ll also probably need a report from your GP and you may have to do a medical. The medical isn’t as scary as it sounds – worst comes to worst, you’ll have to pee in a plastic cup.

The type of cover you want matters too. If you have MS, for example, you won’t be able to get Serious Illness Cover, but Life Insurance should be fine.

Realistically, any kind of serious health condition, issue, or chronic illness will limit Serious Illness Cover or Income Protection, so they’re probably not great options for you.

Not fair I know – but them’s the rules.

There’s one last ‘not fair’ to get through. An increase on your premium is called a loading and if the loading is too high, the insurer may exclude your possibility of adding convertibility/conversion or indexation to your policy.

Conversion is an add-on you can buy that lets you get another policy when your one runs out without having to supply medical information, which is dead handy. Indexation basically works as inflation protection.

If that happens, your best bet is to apply for the longest term you can get – at least you’ll have cover and it won’t be affected by any changes in your health.

Why a good broker is your secret weapon

Information is your secret weapon for getting a good deal on Life Insurance if you’ve got a pre-existing condition.

It’d be handy if they taught you all this stuff in school (instead, you get hours spent writing three page essays about soil biomes). Much like taxes, insurance is one of those things most people are familiar with, but they don’t know much about how it actually works – and they could be losing a chunk of change because of it.

Now, you could go and learn every last thing about insurance, or you could work with a broker (like me) who deals with ALL of the Life Insurance providers.

And it’s in your best interest to approach a broker before you go near any insurers.

I can’t stress how important this is.

If you approach a broker after you’ve been declined, postponed or had your premium increased then you have a problem as you’ll face this question on all subsequent applications:

‘Have you ever been declined, postponed or accepted on special terms by any insurer for life, specified illness or income protection cover?’

You’ll have to answer yes, and a yes raises a red flag.

The next underwriter will scratch their head, stare at their screen and think, “hmmm, why did the other insurer make that decision; what am I missing here?”

This makes it more difficult for you to get cover at the standard price.

Each underwriting department will take a different view of your medical condition.

For example:

• Insurer A may decline you forMultiple Sclerosis while B may accept you with a loading (increased premium).
• Insurer B may decline you because of your BMIwhile C may accept you with a loading.

A specialist broker will know which insurer will be most sympathetic to your pre-existing illness – which gives you the best chance of getting affordable cover with the least amount of hassle.

Over to you…

If you have a pre-existing condition and are worried it may affect your cover, please complete this short questionnaire and I’ll tell you exactly how it will affect your application. All our discussions will be in strict confidence.

I’m on 05793 20836 if you’d prefer a quick chat first.

Nick McGowan
lion.ie | making life insurance easier