Life Insurance and Mental Health

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It’s Mental Health Awareness Week 2018. While some national weeks come and go with a little humor (Pie, anyone?), Mental Health Awareness Week is something which covers a more serious topic. Thankfully, it has seen a great increase in social acknowledgment in the recent past.

It’s easy to feel that a history of mental illness means that life insurance and its associated protections – critical illness cover and income protection – are out of reach, but that’s far from the reality.

Tell the Truth – The First Rule

No matter what your past, it is imperative that you tell the truth when making an application for life insurance. Failure to disclose relevant information at that early stage can result in an unpaid claim when it matters most.

It can be very difficult to discuss your past with a stranger on the phone, especially when that past may include personal moments regarding your mental health. At Quick Quote Protect, our advisors are discrete and sympathetic to your situation, working with you in order to get you the most suitable cover.

While there are some topics that must be covered in order to get you the best quote and pick the right insurer for your personal situation, our team are professionals who will not judge or pry, and are happy to take the time it needs for you to share the pertinent details.

All your information is confidential and never passed to any third party without your express permission, as detailed in the new GDPR guidelines.

The Impact of History

Of course, your medical history, both physical and mental, has an impact on the terms of your policy – an insurance company is a business offering a service, and they need to minimise the risk they are taking. However, even a complicated history need not be a barrier between you and comprehensive life insurance cover.

Exclusions

An exclusion is a specific situation not covered by your life insurance policy. For example, someone who regularly partakes in bungee jumping might be offered life insurance with bungee jumping as an exclusion. This would mean they are covered if they died in any other way, but the insurance company wouldn’t take on the risk of them dying through a bungee-related accident, as the chance of it happening is considerably greater than usual.

Exclusions are not a hard ‘no’ on your life insurance, but a way for the insurer to work with you to find a sensible solution to your needs.

Different companies may offer different exclusions – our specialists will be able to help you find the right insurer for your personal circumstances, based on your specific history.

Price of Premiums

Of course, the main way the insurance company can alter a policy to fit your needs and history is to adjust the cost of your premiums. While a history of mental health issues may increase the size of your monthly premium, the adjustment may well be less than you think - our advisors will be able to analyse the market and determine which insurance companies may be able to offer a better price.

Again, being honest is important here as it will help our advisors find you the best possible deal.

Time Off

If you have taken time off from work due to mental health issues, this can have an adverse effect on your insurance premiums, but not all insurers are equal, and some will be much more forgiving of this than others.

While some companies will consider time off due to illness as a negative historical factor at all times, some others will ignore it if the time off was more than a few years ago. Again, it is worth discussing this with our advisors in full as they will be able to help you get the best deal.

Suicide Attempts

Like time off, documented previous attempts at taking your own life will impact your life insurance – although with our advisors’ help it shouldn’t be too great a stumbling block. Insurance companies are more understanding than they may seem and are often on your side to help.

Additional Products

Life insurance is not limited to just the basic cover. With a wide spread of additional products, from critical illness cover to income protection and more, there’s plenty to discuss with our advisors when you call. Life insurance is there to help you feel less under pressure with finances (one of the greatest causes of stress and anxiety) and finding the ideal package could well take one of the largest worries off your shoulders.

Take a look at the range of different types of cover available or ask our advisors for more information.

Treating Mental Health with Respect

You may be one of the millions of people currently suffering from anxiety or stress today. At Quick Quote Protect, we want to help. By taking some of the huge pressure of financial security from you with a solid life insurance package, we can make sure that you are able to relax a little more, knowing that your family will be financially taken care of should anything happen to you. The term insurance policies and critical illness cover that we can offer will be there to help you and your family through whatever difficulties you face in the future.

Whether it is Mental Health Awareness Week, or just any other day, for confidential financial advice, and to get a full understanding of the life insurance products that are available to you, give our advisors a call today.