Getting Life Insurance after a critical illness

Nicolejan

Hi, looking for advice please. My husband had a heart attack in March and had a small critical illness payout. It was a joint life insurance/critical illness policy so now we have no life insurance. Would my husband be able to take out life insurance now or would he only be able to get an over 50 plan which anyone can get? If he can, any recommendations which company to go for please?

dunstonh

There are specialist insurers that will take on high risk cases.  However, they will be very expensive for obvious reasons.  In many cases, they will be prohibitively expensive with such a recent illness.

Over 50s plans are an option of last resort.   Sometimes savings can be a better option

Weighty1

He *may* be able to get lie insurance but probably not for a few months.  Most life insurance companies will offer cover to someone following a heart attack (except L&G) but they will normally postpone cover til at least 6-months or 12-months following the attack.  The end terms will be dependent on which vessel was blocked, the subsequent treatment, the degree of the blockage in other vessels and things such as blood pressure and cholesterol control.  It won't necessarily be very expensive, but you should expect an increase in the premium of around 100-150%.  ie. a £20/month premium comes back as £40-50/month once underwritten.

The above is very much dependent on a relatively decent overall level of health otherwise.  For example, if your husband is also diabetic then all mainstream companies will decline and he'd need to go down a specialist insurer route which would be far more expensive.

Nicolejan

He doesn't have any other health issues and no blockages as it was a clot that caused his heart attack.
Any idea of the specialist companies I can contact please or where to go for advice?

Weighty1

Nicolejan said:

He doesn't have any other health issues and no blockages as it was a clot that caused his heart attack.
Any idea of the specialist companies I can contact please or where to go for advice?

The blood clot normally arises due to a partial blockage rupturing.  There are other issues which would be seen as relevant such as whether he is a smoker and his body mass index (BMI).