Mental health and life insurance - what to expect

Life insurance aims to provide a cost-effective safety net for your loved ones, so they’d be looked after financially if you were no longer around to provide for them. Naturally, there are a range of factors that affect life insurance such as your physical health, but what about your mental health?

What do we mean by mental health condition?

When we refer to mental health conditions, we are speaking about a wide range of disorders that affect a person's thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.

These conditions can vary in severity and include:

• Anxiety
   

• Depression
   

• Bipolar disorder
   

• Schizophrenia
   

• Body dysmorphia
   

• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
   

• Panic attacks
   

• Paranoia
   

• Phobias
   

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
   

• Borderline personality disorder (BPD)

Can I get life insurance with a mental health condition?

Whether you’ve had a mental health condition in the past or are currently living with them, there are still a range of options available to you. In the majority of cases, having a mental health condition won’t affect your ability to secure a life insurance policy, however the cost of your cover may be higher.

For example, if you’re living with a milder form of depression for which you take medication, you can usually obtain a ‘regular’ life insurance policy, at the standard price.

However, if your circumstances are more severe, an insurer may (for example) ask to see medical records from your doctor before an application is accepted and possibly may need to increase the premium you pay.

Everyone’s circumstances and histories are different, so we would strongly suggest speaking to one of our professional advisers, who can research the whole market for you and make recommendations based on your current situation and needs – more on this below...

High risk disclosures 

If you’re finding it difficult to arrange cover due to your mental health condition through a standard insurer, at Cavendish, we can always look to finding a specialist company who may be able to help. We will always look to help you find the best life insurance policy for you, as we don’t limit your search and offer cover from across the whole market.

Be Honest

During the application process practically every insurer will ask you questions about both your mental health & wellbeing, as well as your physical health where they will typically ask for height, weight and whether you’re a smoker (now or ever before).

All of this is taken into consideration to understand your level of risk to the insurer and the likelihood of you making a claim. Once these factors are understood, your premium (monthly payment) can be generated.

No matter if you suffer from mental illness or a pre-existing medical condition, you need to answer the questions honestly. Incorrect answers could invalidate any claim being made on the policy, thus undermining the whole reason to purchase an insurance.

Some questions you’re likely to be asked

In the majority of cases, you may be asked to answer the following questions:

• Are you (or have you ever) taken any prescribed medication?

• When was (or has) your condition diagnosed by a medical professional?

• Have you received any professional psychological help?

• Have you ever had to take time off work due to your condition?

• Have you ever self-harmed and been hospitalised as a result?

• Have you ever attempted to take your own life?

Inherently, these questions are quite personal, so you may be more comfortable either applying online or by speaking in confidence to one of our friendly, professional and specially trained customer service advisors.

Secure a policy today

If you have other people who depend on your income and you don’t already have life insurance in place, the best time to buy a policy is right now.

Even without taking mental health issues on board, when it comes to buying life insurance, the younger you are, the less expensive it will generally be. The reason for this is as you get older, other (often physical) medical conditions are more likely to develop and if another serious medical condition arises, so would the costs of taking out a policy and even the possibility that you might be ineligible for cover at all.

Understand what policy is best for you

If you’ve already been looking at different options, you may have noticed that you could get a separate ‘single’ life insurance policy as an individual, or as a joint policy with your partner or spouse. Some people like the latter option as it’s typically quicker to set up, easier to manage and cheaper than you both having separate policies.

Single and Joint Life Insurance policies are similar, but with a few key differences:

‘Single’ Life Insurance covers just one person and if the policyholder were to die during the term of the policy, their loved ones would receive a payout. If you and your partner were to decide to take out two separate ‘single’ policies, then a payout could then be claimed for each policy if both policyholders die within the term.

‘Joint’ Life Insurance covers two people on a single policy and means there’s only one monthly premium to pay. Some people find this simpler to manage and you’ll only need to complete one application, but you would have to answer questions for both policyholders.

If one of the policyholders were to die during the policy term, their loved ones would receive a payout, however the policy would no longer exist for the remaining policyholder; meaning they would need to apply for a new policy if they wanted to still have cover in place.

It’s also important to know the difference between the two types of life insurance policies you’re most likely to come across, being ‘term insurance’ (the more common form of life insurance) and ‘whole-of-life’.

‘Term’ life insurance policies run for a fixed period of time (known as the ‘term’ of your policy) eg. 10, 15 or 25 years - and will pay out if you were to die during the term of the policy. There’s no lump sum payable if you live beyond the term.

With ‘whole-of-life’ insurance, the clue is in the name. Unfortunately, we all die one day, so as this policy is ongoing, it will pay out a lump sum whenever that day comes.

These policies are typically more expensive than term insurance policies since as long as you keep paying your premiums, the insurer will always have to pay out, whereas you may outlive a term insurance policy.

Speaking to an adviser – the human touch

The Cavendish Online team believe that the best way we can help support you if you have a mental health disclosure and are looking for life insurance is through speaking to an adviser.

Going through the online form can sometimes be a little too binary, a little too yes or no, without taking into consideration the finer details of the person sat behind the keyboard trying to complete their application.

So, what does a Cavendish Online insurance adviser do?

In short, our team of knowledgeable and friendly specialist insurance advisers will talk to you regarding your current situation and requirements. This conversation also typically includes a confidential and discrete overview of your medical and lifestyle information.

Following this, the adviser will carefully research the whole market and make recommendations for your cover, tailored to your needs. Your adviser will also be able to provide you with an indication of how providers might assess your application, based on the information provided.

These recommendations, quotes and underwriting indications will be presented to you in a concise and comprehensive report, which your adviser will talk through with you in simple, jargon free language.

As your point of contact throughout the entire process, your adviser will be with you every step of the way both before and after the application has been submitted. Giving you the support that you need, when you need it.

Let’s break it down in a bit more detail...

The initial discussion/getting to know you

Our advice team appreciates that not everyone will feel comfortable discussing their medical and lifestyle histories over the telephone without some support. Though please note that if you wish to proceed and apply for cover, we will need to speak to you directly.

We are more than happy to work with you to get the information we need to conduct our initial research and put together some quotations for you. There are several different ways that we can support you, to get the relevant information required.

Let’s talk at a time that works for you

We are more than happy to book in calls in advance. Please let us know a good time to talk to you while your support system is available, and we will try our best to accommodate this wherever possible.

Approaching your disclosures with kindness, professionalism and care

The Cavendish Online advice team are friendly and professional, with a wealth of experience of dealing with a multitude of medical and lifestyle disclosures. We will always endeavour to support you and your needs when we are talking about potentially sensitive matters.

If at any time you need to take a pause in the conversation or would prefer to send additional information following the call via email (for example); we understand.

We can initially talk to a partner/close family member

To get the ball rolling, we don’t necessarily have to talk to you directly. If your history isn’t something you are able to/want to talk about, then we are more than happy to talk to someone else that knows the details before putting together your options for you.

We could talk over email

If you are more comfortable writing down your answers than talking over the phone, then please let us know and we can facilitate this. We are more than happy to communicate via email if you’d prefer to answer questions in your own time and at your own pace.

We may be able to accept a specialist letter

If you have a specialist letter that outlines your medical condition, we could share them with the insurers to help get a faster (and potentially more accurate) indication of how they might treat your application for cover.

We always require your explicit consent to share your information with the insurer. We would need to share your information with the insurers, however none of your information is shared with 3rd parties, unless requested as part of regulatory, legal or criminal investigations.

The Research

We will do the research for you

Our advice service is whole of market, so the team have more options available than most comparison websites – including our online quote and apply system!

The suite of insurance providers that the advisers can access may include those who generally have a different underwriting approach to mental health. For example, some insurers will take into consideration your individual circumstances and additional context surrounding your disclosures when making their decision – your adviser can inform you of who is best for your situation.

Recommendations tailored to you

Your adviser will recommend the policies and providers that indicate the best combination of premium and underwriting terms (I.e. will there be any increase in premium, exclusions or limitations on the policy), based on your current situation and the research that they undertake on your behalf. They will also try to factor in any added benefits included with the policy.

TIP - If you have already purchased any form of personal protection product (life insurance, critical illness cover, Income Protection etc.) we would recommend you take a look at your policy documents to see if there are any services you or your loved ones might be able to utilise.

Common added benefits are virtual GP services and telephone support lines (ranging from bereavement, to legal, to nurse second opinions) - though these do vary from provider to provider.

We can discuss your various options

Our service offers a comprehensive review of all your options and potential areas of need. After your initial chat with your adviser, your adviser will contact each insurer on the market to see what is available to you currently. We will then condense our findings into a concise, jargon free report, and will arrange a follow up call to talk through the best options we have found.

In some circumstances we may not be able to find medically underwritten cover for you initially. However, there may be an option to secure non-medically underwritten cover through specialist providers. Oftentimes some protection is thought to be better than none whatsoever.

In addition to this, since insurers change their stances from time to time, we will be back in touch after a year to see if anything has changed. If an insurer could consider cover after a period of time (i.e. cover could be offered in 6 months) shorter than 12 months, then we will be in touch sooner!

Different ways to submit the application

If completing the application form over the phone with your adviser isn’t for you, we can find out if any of the insurance providers able to offer you cover can send you an electronic application form to complete instead.

Once an application is submitted

If you do choose to proceed with an application, we will continue to support you and communicate clearly and effectively whenever we have any updates for you.

Keeping you informed

Your adviser will be in touch to let you know when your application for cover has been fully underwritten and explain what the outcome is to you in clear language. If you have any questions about terminology, or what you are covered for, you can contact your adviser directly and they will be able to help.

If your chosen insurer is unable to offer you cover, your adviser will explore alternative potential options and help to arrange further applications where required.

Reviewing your cover

One of the benefits of taking out a policy through the Cavendish Online advice team is that they will contact you on an annual basis to ensure your cover is still suitable for your needs. Wherever possible, we will arrange for you to speak to the same adviser annually as we appreciate how important ongoing relationships are to building trust and understanding both now and in the future.

Should you ever have any questions regarding your policy, at any stage, we are here to help – and always happy to do so!

Get a quote online

Once you’ve given this information some thought, it’s then really easy to arrange and compare online life insurance. Simply enter your details into our site and we’ll ask some questions to generate quotes so you’ll be able to see what policy works out best for you.

Prefer to phone?

Sometimes, people find it easier to just pick up the phone and speak one-to-one with one of our insurance specialists, who can guide you through the process and support you in choosing the best cover for you and your family.

To find out more, you can call us on 01392 436193 

(Monday to Thursday 9am – 5.30pm, Friday 9am – 5pm)