Life insurance

[Megen_rossx]

Hi, I have chronic pericarditis and I’m only 24 and cannot get any life insurance, does anyone know any help or support with this.

[Hidden]

Unfortunately, my experience is that there’s no help or support available if you’re uninsurable. I started trying to get life insurance at 26 but was told I couldn’t be insured due to a combination of health issues. I’m now 38 and still not able to get life insurance, other than what I call the ‘no questions asked’ variety, more correctly known as a guaranteed acceptance policy. These are the same principle as the policies advertised on tv aimed at those over 50, but do also exist for people below that as long as they’re aged over 18. The available payouts often have a cap, and the policy usually needs to be in place for a year or two before they will pay out. These kinds of policies do tend to have high(er) premiums, in part because they know some of the people taking them out will have some form of health problem that means other insurance isn’t possible, and the risk/likelihood to insurers of needing to pay out is therefore higher. I’m also not sure what the stance from banks is regarding whether they’d accept one of these for mortgage purposes, but I would guess possibly not that favourable, so whether one of these would be suitable depends somewhat on the purpose of getting the insurance.

I know you say you’re uninsurable, but is that based on you searching yourself, or have you asked an independent financial advisor or other broker to search for you? IFAs can sometimes source policies for difficult to insure people/situations, although if they do find someone willing, it’s possible the premiums may be prohibitive. The other reason to approach an IFA is that being rejected for insurance can directly impact on future applications. Being rejected by an insurer or two can lead to others rejecting you on that basis, but using an IFA to source policies can prevent that from happening.

[Megen_rossx in reply to Hidden]

I have been doing it solo just online I have a couple I’m waiting to get back to me where they are speaking to the higher ups to try and see if I’m eligible as I explained my situation. Even tho I have a mortgage I got declined within my bank too. I never tried an IFA how do I go about this ??

[Hidden in reply to Megen_rossx]

The link below is to the citizen’s advice bureau’s page on financial advice, and about two thirds of the way down it lists places where you can source IFAs from. I was fortunate that my mum already knew one, but the links provided seem as good a place to start as any. Also, although it talks about fees, I’m almost certain that life insurance is one of the few areas where IFAs can still operate for ‘free’: they get paid via commission if you buy a policy rather than charging you a fee in advance. Assuming that does remain the case, if they ultimately can’t find anything suitable, it won’t cost you anything.

citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-...

[Megen_rossx in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much. You’ve been a really big help, I’ll try that. Thanks again I appreciate it

[Hidden]

Try an insurance broker.

[Clurmac]

I am a protection adviser and may be able to get you done we have a new insurer that specialises in getting people with chronic conditions cover. Let me know if I can help. Best wishes Claire x

[Mobiscum]

Hi. I am a former IFA so I know a little about this. Life assurance for someone with a chronic condition is not going to be easy but not necessarily impossible. Fist of all, forget on-line search and comparison websites - they are only going to accept standard risks. Try putting in a search term into Google like "impaired life assurance" (which is the technical term for a non-standard risk) as there are a number of specialist brokers who may well be able to source cover for you. There are firms that specialise in providing this type of cover but it will not be cheap as you do represent greater risk and this has to be reflected in the premium.