Life insurance with suicidal past

WatsonL212

Hi all I'm hoping someone can offer any help or advice on this one. We have just bought a new property and therefore need life insurance.

My husband has no problems but unfortunately 16 years ago at age 17 I was extremely depressed and took an overdose. Although I have been on and off anti depressant medication for 16 years I have never had another overdose attempt or any other "sucidie" attempt or self harm incidents.

Both Aviva and legal & general (through direct line) have automatically declined my part of the application and I'm not sure where to turn.

It's very disheartening to think that something I did as a teenager is now having such consequences on my life. I was young and desperate for help at the time and now I feel I'm being punished for it!

Can anyone offer any advice of which company I might be able to go to to obtain life insurance?

Thanks

Savvy_Sue

Contact a broker? Just wonder if the Samaritans have any advice on their website (seriously).

Quentin

Mind has a number of insurers on its website that provide life insurance and travel insurance for those with pre existing mental health issues

csgohan4

don't take it personally but they risk profile everyone, someone who has had a suicide in the past is more likely to claim than someone who hasn't and that's statistics and fact.

Aretnap

It's not a reflection on you personally. A lot of the "household name" insurers are geared to providing cover for people with fairly unremarkable medical histories, and simply won't touch anything they see as out of the ordinary or high risk. However there are also specialist insurers who are more focused on the people who are not well served by the mainstream providers.

As above try some of the providers listed by Mind here https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/insurance-cover-and-mental-health/specialist-insurers-for-pre-existing-conditions/#.Wxmb8NDTU0M or speak to an independent financial adviser or a mortgage broker with access to the whole of the market (not a mortgage adviser in a high street bank) who will have dealt with people in situations like yours before and will have access to a wide range of providers.

System

csgohan4 wrote: »

don't take it personally but they risk profile everyone, someone who has had a suicide in the past is more likely to claim than someone who hasn't and that's statistics and fact.

But it's also a fact that people learn from experience - that's why insurance companies offer no claims discounts or better terms for those with appropriate training.

Weighty1

In many instance an isolated incidence of attempt suicide so long ago would not affect the premium at all. The continued use of anti-depressant medication may cause a premium loading, however, I'd expect many insurers would consider cover.

The reason declined decisions may be due to an abbreviated application system which some providers offer which tend to only accept the most "vanilla" cases. This can result, in some instances, in the same provider offering cover via an independent adviser rather than a tied broker.

Did Aviva and L&G write to your doctor? If so, I'd recommend you ask the surgery to view a copy of the report just to make sure the GP recorded information accurately. I once had a doctor write a report saying one of my clients had a brain tumour when they didn't! GP's don't always get it right 100% of the time.

I'd recommend speaking to a protection adviser of IFA, ideally one who deals with more unusual cases on a regular basis.

Savvy_Sue

I thought life insurance didn't always pay out on suicide anyway, is it also worth exploring a policy which excludes this?

Weighty1

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I thought life insurance didn't always pay out on suicide anyway, is it also worth exploring a policy which excludes this?

Policies almost always cover suicide, except within the first 12-months of the plan. It would simply be too hard for an insurer to ever determine if an event was suicide or not following an accidental death so they treat it as death due to mental illness rather than death from a physical illness.