Income protection insurance with pre-existing condition

jennielouises

Does anyone know where I can get income protection insurance if I have pre-existing conditions? I have acid reflux and anxiety with depression and that has always stopped me getting income protection. It was o before as my employer offered it as part of the package but my new employer doesn't. I bring home more than my husband so I need to be covered if anything were to happen. I have critical illness cover but what if I couldn't work for something that wasn't on that list?

Is there anywhere that I could get insurance that just specifies I am not covered for those two conditions? So I could be for any thing else?

csgohan4

you need to try a broker, alot of the life assurance brokers also do income protection, look on the MSE guide for life assurance and the brokers

Mark_Jefferson

Agreed that going through a broker is the best option. I'm sorry to hear that you suffer from depression and anxiety, but be aware that any insurer will probably put a mental health exclusion on your policy. That means you won't be able to claim if your mental health keeps you off work as it's pre-existing, but you'll still be covered for a variety of other things, say a bad back.

Try Googling income protection for pre-existing conditions, as there are a number of insurers and brokers that come up on the first page that might be useful.

MataNui

It must be possible. I have income protection as an employee benefit and nobody has ever asked me to fill in anything about any possible pre-existing conditions.

dunstonh

MataNui wrote: »

It must be possible. I have income protection as an employee benefit and nobody has ever asked me to fill in anything about any possible pre-existing conditions.

Group schemes dont have individual underwriting. For people with group schemes, it can be a highly valuable benefit. Individual schemes are underwritten on the individual.

I know someone who stays with a lower paid job than you can get elsewhere because he values the group scheme to be more beneficial to him as he cant get underwritten on an individual scheme.

jennielouises

I got a call from Go Compare yesterday after putting in a quote on their website. They said I can get insurance that is not medically underwritten so I will just have those conditions excluded. That is what I wanted. I understand I won't be covered for what I already have which is just business sense!

The weird thing is though, I am also excluded for back issues. They seem to have grouped it with GERD and anxiety!!

Mark_Jefferson

A lot of this type of insurance offered on price comparison website without underwriting will exclude back issues as standard, because back issues are some of the most common claims on these policies. You might be better off going through an adviser who can find you a product that would cover you for a back condition (assuming you don't already have one), especially given how common back claims are, even if you still wouldn't be covered for conditions you have already.

I'd always check policies you buy from price comparison websites very carefully as they don't always pay out long-term (the best permanent health insurance [PHI] products will pay out right up until retirement if you're so ill you can never work again).

Also, check the definition of incapacity. 'Own occupation' cover means you'll be covered if you can't do your own specific job, whereas often inferior products may have what's known as the 'suited occupation' definition of incapacity, which means the insurer is entitled to ask you to do a job that's suited to your skillset, even if it's in a lower role, and will only pay a claim if you can't do that. Naturally, this can be quite subjective.

dunstonh

ey said I can get insurance that is not medically underwritten so I will just have those conditions excluded. That is what I wanted. I understand I won't be covered for what I already have which is just business sense!

That is called PPI. You may have heard of it with the missold PPI adverts and cold calls.

It is the worst form of income protection. It is typically an option of last resort for people who cannot get proper income protection. Remember that most comparison sites do not carry proper income protection plans. If they do, its just a handful. Most of them only retail the PPI version.

jennielouises

ah, ok. So how do I go about finding a broker who could find me the right insurance?

ACG

Dont go with a policy not underwritten at application if you can avoid it.
Can you imagine getting to the point of making a claim and finding out you are not covered.

As has been said, you will likely end up with a mental health exclusion but if you know that at the outset your expectations are set.

If you ask friends or family if they know any Mortgage of Financial advisors, they might be able to point you to someone. Otherwise have a look on the internet for a broker. Most will be happy to help I would have thought and it should be fee free I imagine as the brokers will receive commission from the insurer.

Mark_Jefferson

I've found a few by doing a Google search Income Protection Brokers if that's any help, but friends and family recommendations are a good place to start if you don't want to pluck one at random (can be hard to know which one to pick!)

A decent broker/adviser will offer you advice and go through all the ins and outs of the policy with you so you know exactly what you're getting and what you're covered for from the outset, e.g. how long do you want the cover to run for? How much cover do you need? How long can you wait before the cover kicks in (your deferral period)? These can all affect the cost of the cover, so it's probably worth a few minutes on the phone at the very least with this type of insurance to make sure you're getting the cover you need.

As mentioned, this is typically free of charge due to a commission or finders' fee from the insurer the broker gets for placing business with them, but it's important to get one that looks at the entire UK market so you know you're getting the best deal on offer for you.