Pre-existing medical condition and life insurance

Swiftpebble92

Afternoon all!

We are just about to complete on our first house purchase but have thrown a bit of a curve ball in the last two weeks. Looking at mortgage/life insurance and I'm struggling to get my husband insured  

We have just found out he has a heart condition and needs surgery for it so referrals have been put in for a Valve replacement. This has come as a huge surprise for us and a worrying time for us both. It's not been the greatest xmas/new year we've ever had...

I've tried all the main stream providers and the comparison sites but no joy. Has anyone had a similar situation and can offer some leads for me for pre existing medical conditions? I can get insurance no problem so he'd be fine should something happen but me, not so much!

marcia_

 I managed to get insurance from legal & general after declaring epilepsy and a mental health condition. Had to go through their health declaration and wait and pay double what my husband does but im covered 

strawb_shortcake

My Husband hasn't been able to get life insurance post heart attack. Due to him smoking and family medical history his life and critical insurance was expensive enough before, if he could get it now it would likely be very expensive.

We haven't checked for awhile to see if the position has changed, however as we live on my wages, if he dies then I'm not really affected financially.

Once your Husbands diagnosis and treatment has completed it may be easier? 
Does your husband have any cover through work that would pay out should the worse happen? 

Swiftpebble92

He has a minimal benefit through work but wouldn't be anywhere near enough to pay off the mortgage. I'm getting quite anxious now about it to be honest... Think I may look into him paying extra into his pension with the money we would've paid for his insurance

This should be a very exciting time buying our first house but it's not turning out that way

Swiftpebble92

@marcia_

No mainstream insurer will touch him - I've literally tried them all

strawb_shortcake

Swiftpebble92 said:

He has a minimal benefit through work but wouldn't be anywhere near enough to pay off the mortgage. I'm getting quite anxious now about it to be honest... Think I may look into him paying extra into his pension with the money we would've paid for his insurance

This should be a very exciting time buying our first house but it's not turning out that way

It might be worth asking on the pensions board about that option, alternatively making sure you have a good emergency fund to only be used should the worse happen. 

I hope it all gets easier once he has his operation, it's a worrying time.

marcia_

Swiftpebble92 said:

@marcia_

No mainstream insurer will touch him - I've literally tried them all

 Have you actually phoned them rather than doing online quotes? That's what I had to do. 

MyRealNameToo

Swiftpebble92 said:

@marcia_

No mainstream insurer will touch him - I've literally tried them all

You need to be dealing with a proper Protection Broker, ideally you would have done that before getting any declines. These types of brokers have access to the proper underwriters and can discuss a case with them before formally applying. Some firms won't reverse a decline if a broker speaks to them afterwards even if they would have provided cover had the broker approached first. 

Online tools are for simple straightforward cases and are not appropriate for anyone with any level of complexity to use.

I was told that no one would touch me due to congenital issues but our broker got the business placed with a 50% uplift for the condition after an IFA got three declines. 

Swiftpebble92

Yes, I've tried all routes and everyone has said he is not insurable with his condition so I'm now going down the financial advisor route to see if we can do something with pensions/savings

kingstreet

Terms won't normally be offered until results of tests and completion of planned treatment have taken place.

Weighty1

As Kingstreet says, until your husband has had the surgery he'd not be able to get cover.

I've dealt with several clients who've had heart valve replacements and it's not always easy to obtain cover afterwards as it depends on how well the heart is performing following the surgery.  Normally there would be at least a 6 to 12-month postponement period after the surgery as well, just to ensure he's recovered fully or as much as expected and there's no complications from the surgery itself.  It also depends on what the issue was, your husbands overall general health, lifestyle factors such as whether he smokes or not and even his age as often insurers are more stringent on younger applicants than older ones.

Even if he can get cover, I'd expect premiums to at least triple if not quadruple from the standard premium which is being quoted.