Life insurance - declaration high cholesterol

Avalanche123

Hi, I wanted to ask a question regarding what do I need to declare when getting a quote for life insurance.

They ask if I had high cholesterol in the last five years. This is where it gets complicated. I had my liver tests done when I was pregnant (very recently) and they automatically did a cholesterol check. It came back high but the GP said it was to be expected as it is normal to have a high cholesterol level in pregnancy to feed the baby and this is not an accurate picture of my levels. He spoke to a cardiologist who advised to check the levels once I am 3 months postpartum.

Do I say I have high cholesterol? I imagine the best thing would be to wait for the follow-up test but I am worried it comes back high and then the premium will go up. But obviously, don't want to lie.

Thank you for any advice.

Sandtree

Yes, unless you want to risk it being considered a fraudulent application.

If/when they move to medical report stage then your GP should highlight the test was during pregnancy and postpartum test that shows it returned to normal

chrisw

I have high cholesterol held in check by taking statins and it makes no difference at all to my life or travel insurance premiums.

Avalanche123

chrisw said:

I have high cholesterol held in check by taking statins and it makes no difference at all to my life or travel insurance premiums.

Perhaps before the Covid era. A loads changed

TELLIT01

Do not lie on an insurance application.  It will come back to bite you in the event of a claim.  Far better to have a slightly higher premium but a pay out in the event of a claim, than to save a few quid on premium, then be refused payout and added to a fraud register.

Avalanche123

TELLIT01 said:

Do not lie on an insurance application.  It will come back to bite you in the event of a claim.  Far better to have a slightly higher premium but a pay out in the event of a claim, than to save a few quid on premium, then be refused payout and added to a fraud register.

Nowhere I was suggesting I would lie. All I am saying is that I was not diagnosed with high cholesterol as per Dr words, this is not an accurate picture.

Weighty1

Avalanche123 said:

chrisw said:

I have high cholesterol held in check by taking statins and it makes no difference at all to my life or travel insurance premiums.

Perhaps before the Covid era. A loads changed

Not that much.

Yes, you HAVE been diagnosed with raised cholesterol so it should be disclosed.  The online application may well ask if you have been advised to take medication as it's not unusual for GP's to say "oh, your cholesterol is a bit high" but it's not necessarily high enough to warrant medicating the patient.  In these instances the standard premium would normally be offered.

The issue you have is the fact that you are awaiting a postpartum check.  This could automatically cause the application to postpone since insurer's don't like to offer terms whilst outstanding tests need to be done.  

The best thing for you to do would be to use a broker rather than try and arrange cover yourself.  They'd then be in a position to speak to the underwriters who'd b able to advise if they can offer terms now or not.