Life insurance with previous drug use

cool4door64

Hi First of all please dont judge me on this, I had a drug problem in the past whereby I used to do alot of cocaine, aswell as drink a lot, I have always worked to fund this. I know alot of people who dont consider themselves addicts who continue doing drugs but its not for me anymore i have learnt my lessons. I have never been hospitalised through drink or drug use or had any problems from it remarkably, these days I drink water more than anything and a night out involves alcohol free lager and no drugs :j

I am a completely different person today and I have a young daughter who is my world, so my past is behind me it is hindering my future in respect of life insurance I want to make sure if anything happens to me my little one will be looked after.

I am single father of one dont smoke and drink very little 2-3 units a week/fortnight if that, regular gym goer, and generally very healthy

I have been quoted £60 - £100 per month for critical illness and life assurance decreasing term to cover my property 31 years.

Does anyone know whether there is a specialist insurer? Also the place I am considering signing up with have stated that if I cancel one policy as they are separate I have to pay a admin fee of £100 this is over a 2 and 3 year period has anyone heard of this? They also said they can put any money into trust fro my daughter for free, and do a free will?

Any help or info on this would be appreciated

Thanks
Paul

ACG

I have done a few cases for ex drug users (part and parcel of living in a city i suppose).

Could you let us know:
When you last took drugs?
How much and how often did you take them?

When you stopped, did the GP have to provide anything to help? - This is usually a sign of addiction and will have an affect on whats available and cost.

Also (you may not want to answer on an open forum) but you have to answer whether you used any needles and again this will have an affect on how it is underwritten.

My first life policy i ever wrote was to an ex drug user who had used a lot of different drugs - some of which i hadnt even heard of.

A £100 admin charge is uncommon, but at the same time they are doing work for commission, if you then cancel that policy within 2-4 years a percentage of that commission gets taken back from them.

I wouldnt want to say whether £60-100 is cheap/expensive as i do not know enough about how much cover you want and the answers to the questions above but most brokers should be able to help with this if theyre happy enough to do the research.

cool4door64

Hi thanks for the reply

ok my BMI is classed as 37 as im 5ft8 and weight 17st.5 but that doesnt take into account my muscle percentage as im a regular gym goer

with regards to drugs never injected

last time i took cocaine was about 1 year ago and i had about half a gram which I had given up for 2 years before this and 3/4 years ago I was a continuous user i used to do 1 - 1.5 grams over a weekend every weekend and drink copious amounts of alcohol.

I have never had any issues from this that have resulted in being hospitalised or visiting my gp.

They are getting £651 commisssion anyway upon start of policy then 74p a month after.

The policy consist of 31 yr decreasing to cover mortgage should i die and covers 59 illnesses
£55,000 payout to daughter should i die also in trust till what ever age i state
Free Will
plus the critical life cover till im 70 which also cover my daughter and pays out £25k should she become ill

which sounds really good now I have written it down

ACG

£651 is presuming the policy stays in force for either 2 or 4 years - if it gets cancelled then some of that gets clawed back.

As for the BMI, your heart still has to pump blood around a body your size whether your a maccies lover sat on the couch all day or an england international rugby player (i used to work for a life office and found it crazy that they both get looked at in the same way as far as BMI is concerned - until they explained why).

I would probabyl ask for a copy of the research - which providers were used and what ratings they said they would apply.... for instance the cheapest policy may be with one company at standard rates but after underwriting they may add a 100% loading. The second cheapest company may not add any loading at all meaning after underwriting that is actually the cheapest policy - i realise i have just gone off on a tangent in techy terms, but even if you dont understand it atleast it should ensure theyre doing the full research.

cool4door64

made a mistake on this its actually

The policy consist of 31 yr decreasing to cover mortgage should i die and covers 59 illnesses
Free Will
plus the critical life cover till im 70 which also cover my daughter and pays out £25k should she become ill

still really good

Filip

Above post reported

Emma_Drewberry

Hi

There are a few factors to consider and no clear answers as all insurers view things slightly differently.

Firstly the insurer will ask whether you use illegal drugs or have in the past. If you disclose that you have they usually ask what you took, how frequently, when you took it last and whether there were any associated medical problems.

It is probably worth having an informal chat with an independent insurance broker and they can ring around on your behalf to find out how the insurer would view your previous drug use. You can do this without putting in an application and can speak to someone over the phone if it's easier.

Regarding the BMI, a BMI of 37 usually incurs an additional loading on premiums for life and critical illness cover. The amount will vary between insurers and also depends on your age. Yet again it is worth speaking with an adviser regarding this because some insurers may be better value at certain BMIs.

Putting the policy into trust allows the proceeds to be paid out quickly and avoids inheritance tax. Any adviser should be able to help you with this.

Overall I would recommend speaking to an independent advisers informally and getting a number of quotes so you can work out which is best for you. There are lots of brokers/ advisers around who don't charge a fee if you cancel your policy so it is worth bearing this in mind.

Hope I was some help. Good luck with getting it all arranged.

Emma

starrystarry

Firstly, well done on kicking the habit.

This probably isn't what you want to hear, but as an underwriter I wouldn't offer you any cover at the moment. I'd be looking for an absolute minimum of 3 years since you last took cocaine before I even considered it. Your history of cocaine use, in combination with excess alcohol consumption, is a big red flag I'm afraid.

Has your broker rung round the insurers to check what their underwriting decision would be?

cool4door64

Thankyou Emma you help and advice has been invaluable many thanks :beer::)

Emma_Drewberry wrote: »

Hi

There are a few factors to consider and no clear answers as all insurers view things slightly differently.

Firstly the insurer will ask whether you use illegal drugs or have in the past. If you disclose that you have they usually ask what you took, how frequently, when you took it last and whether there were any associated medical problems.

It is probably worth having an informal chat with an independent insurance broker and they can ring around on your behalf to find out how the insurer would view your previous drug use. You can do this without putting in an application and can speak to someone over the phone if it's easier.

Regarding the BMI, a BMI of 37 usually incurs an additional loading on premiums for life and critical illness cover. The amount will vary between insurers and also depends on your age. Yet again it is worth speaking with an adviser regarding this because some insurers may be better value at certain BMIs.

Putting the policy into trust allows the proceeds to be paid out quickly and avoids inheritance tax. Any adviser should be able to help you with this.

Overall I would recommend speaking to an independent advisers informally and getting a number of quotes so you can work out which is best for you. There are lots of brokers/ advisers around who don't charge a fee if you cancel your policy so it is worth bearing this in mind.

Hope I was some help. Good luck with getting it all arranged.

Emma

cool4door64

Thanks, the habit became something I thought I could control but then became every weekend then bits in between, I thankfully didnt get into the arena of dependency but through finding another addiction - the gym, and seeing what drugs had done to others, I managed to stop plus I was for the first time in my life given a purpose and responsibility, I was going to be a Father, I stopped before I decided to try for a baby, in a strange way that decision and my little one saved my life, I have friends I have tried to help out of their habits but they arent interested in helping themselves. I just hope my message is heard by my children :j

starrystarry wrote: »

Firstly, well done on kicking the habit.

This probably isn't what you want to hear, but as an underwriter I wouldn't offer you any cover at the moment. I'd be looking for an absolute minimum of 3 years since you last took cocaine before I even considered it. Your history of cocaine use, in combination with excess alcohol consumption, is a big red flag I'm afraid.

Has your broker rung round the insurers to check what their underwriting decision would be?

harrisdynasty8

hi,

Thanks for giving the opportunity

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