Life insurance for mortgage needed but family medical history not good!!

Yasmin26

Hi,
I need to get life insurance to cover my new mortgage, but although my health is good - I'm 48, both my parents died fairly young and both had cancer and other illnesses. My father died at age 56 of lung cancer caused by smoking, but my mother, as well as surviving ovarian cancer at age 40 had a list of illnesses caused mainly by her having a rare illness that was misdiagnosed for over 10 years.
Can anyone advise on a company that will help me without medicals, or having to contact my doctor please???:)

Annisele

Are you sure that you *want* a company that insures you without contacting your doctor?

Some companies do offer life cover without the policyholder having to fill in any forms (usually only to people over a certain age, and 48 is likely to be a bit young). However, that life cover is very expensive. It makes sense that it's expensive - as a business, if you don't require any medical questions, then your policy will be most attractive to people in very poor health, and you have to price your cover on the assumption that your average policyholder will be very unwell.

I'd suggest you go see an IFA, explain your predicament, and see what s/he suggests. For example, I'd expect quotes might depend in part on whether the rare illness that your mother suffered from is likely to affect you.

ACG

You wont struggle to get cover, but you may struggle without it having a rating initially.

That being said, if you were to appeal the rating saying giving the reasons above it could well the ratings down a little.

stephenni1971

There is no company on earth that will insure you without you providing medical information to them.

Thats said - a few issues for you to be aware of...

1. Many illnesses have no hereditary link and therefore having a family member with one of these may not affect you at all.

2. For some illnesses/conditions ( eg heart attack/stroke ) a family member suffering these later in life is unlikely to be much of an issue. IF it happened for example in their thirties them you would be expected to have your height/weight and cholesterol taken as a minimum. If these were out of the norm it's likely you would have to pay an additional loading on top of the basic premium.

3. Your mums ovarian cancer will have no effect on you at all.

4. Your dads lung cancer will be unlikely to affect your application.

5. You must speak to a professional. Use a website or bank and they will likely just take your info and bang in an application. The cheapest company for a standard case may not be the best for you taking into account your situation. A competent IFA would get all your medical details and speak to a number of insurers to get an idea of their position before submitting any applications.

For an example I had a female client with high BMI and blood pressure - of the fifteen companies I dealt with the one who had the HIGEST standard premium was actually the LOWEST when her situation was taken into account.

starrystarry

stephenni1971 wrote: »

3. Your mums ovarian cancer will have no effect on you at all.

4. Your dads lung cancer will be unlikely to affect your application.

A family history of ovarian cancer is relevant for life assurance, especially if the family member involved was young when diagnosed. There's a proven link to the BRCA genes.

Lung cancer usually isn't a concern, unless there's a very strong family history of it (e.g. several family members).