Health & insurance question

We didnt have to get life insurance but we did get health and sickness cover to cover mortagage payments (although its still a couple of hundred short!) and i was refused because of being treated for depression (even though i only received counselling) and also because i had had "too many" kidney infections. I though this was crap so didnt go for it. H has his and i'm still looking into it.

We have a joint policy so if we are long term ill or unemployed we can claim money (£300 odd a month until we are 65) which we were strongly encouraged to get.

My H is type 1 diabetic and we managed to get life insurance for him (his friend is an IFA who sorted it all for us) it just carries a weighting that means we have to pay I think it's almost 100% more for his than mine. What we couldn't get was illness cover or chronic illness cover I think its called.

Have you got a mortgage advisor/broker? They may be able to advise or alternatively recommend someone to help

I used to be a mortgage advisor so i might be able to help (although I'm a bit rusty!).

Firstly, there's no enforcable legal requirement for you to take life insurance. Plenty of people don't and as a mortgage broker/underwriter/lender there's nothing you can do to force them, although for obvious reasons it's a good idea to take it.

Having one abnormal smear shouldn't stop you getting life cover, especially if you've not actually been diagnosed with anything. This may have an impact on your premiums (they may be 'loaded' so you pay more), or they may put an exclusion in place so you are covered except for if you die of x, but it shouldn't mean you can't get cover at all. If the provider wants more information on something they will usually write to your GP for a medical report or request you to go for a medical assessment then make a judgement based on this information. It might be one particular provider that has a policy not to cover you so I would definitely recommend shopping around and speaking to some other providers about their policy on it.

If you're looking at taking critical illness cover as well as life cover check the small print for the illnesses they actually pay out for. All policies and providers aren't the same and you need to make sure they cover for a good range of illnesses. I saw several clients who thought that because they had a critical illness policy they were covered for any illness which simply isn't the case - some policies only cover for maybe 10 illnesses whilst others cover for 40 so check carefully!

Hopefully that's helped!

We completed in November and are only just sorting out our life insurance now.

As far as I am aware, it is normal procedure to postpone an application if you have an ‘outstanding’ health issue. I did apply for cover for us back in November but because I was on the waiting list for a laparoscopy (minor exploratory surgery) they postponed my application until I had had the operation and been discharged.

You can insure your husband now, you’ll just have to have individual policies (better anyway IMO). Try not to worry about it and make sure you get it sorted straight after your next smear!

I had similar issues as you. We moved in March so switched insurance providers to get a better rate which would cover our new increased mortgage. After several abnormal smears and treatments, the scans also found ovarian cysts, so my new life insurer would not begin the policy til they discovered exactly what the nature of the cysts were. The policy still hasn't started because of all the faff of waiting for results. However I have 3 left ovarian functional cysts and they have assured me the cover will begin soon without further problems.

Can't you request an earlier smear? Or just wait it out for the next couple of months without life cover? Is it part of your mortgage you have to get? Ours only required building and contents. I would discuss the problem with your insurance provider and/or doctor and see if something can be put into place by July. The insurer might grant you some form of temporary cover so the mortgage can go through.

Thanks for all your help. We have the mortgage anyway but were recommended to take out life insurance as a good practice. We'll get a policy in hubby's name now anyway and, I'll shop around and see what other providers are saying also. If I still can't, it's not a deal breaker to wait the few months...

Thanks again!