Epilepsy

Life Insurance with Epilepsy

Life insurance with Epilepsy

The reality of having Epilepsy for most sufferers is that they need to be certain when buying Life Insurance that their cover will not exclude their condition. They also want to pay a fair premium. 

If you have only recently been diagnosed, you will find that insurers want to see a period of stabilisation, so they can fairly asses your risk. At Pulse, we do not have a set timeframe for this, but look for some indication of stability before we can usually find cover.

 

Mild and Well Controlled Epilepsy (Petit Mal)

It is often thought that all Epilepsy sufferers will see their Life Insurance premiums increase, cover restricted or be declined by many insurers. Where Epilepsy is petit Mal (no loss of consciousness) and well controlled /managed by medication with attacks less frequent than forty to fifty over a year, many mainstream insurers do not impose any special terms or rates.

  • If your Epilepsy is mild and/or well controlled and you have no other significant medical conditions, you may well not need specialist cover.
  • It is often worth checking if insurers are willing to offer you full cover at standard rates before seeking a specialist quote – find out more
  • If you have been declined cover before, seen your attacks become more frequent or severe or become less controllable or been diagnosed later in life, you may need to talk to a specialist like Pulse.
  • Generally, it is always worth checking if you can get standard cover first.

 

More Frequent or Less Well Controlled Epilepsy (including Grand Mal)

For those with more frequent petit Mal Epilepsy (i.e. more than weekly attacks) OR those with Grand Mal Epilepsy and attacks more than monthly on average – cover may be available from mainstream insurers at non-standard rates.

 

Very Frequent or More Uncontrolled Epilepsy

For those who suffer more frequent or severe attacks than detailed above OR wherever hospitalisation or  emergency treatment is needed, you may find most if not all mainstream insurer will decline.

Pulse specialise in taking your Epilepsy and other specific conditions and needs into account and finding you Life Insurance cover, if it is available.  

We use our knowledge and experience to find a solution in many cases when other Life Insurers have declined to quote.

 

Medical Conditions causing or alongside Epilepsy

If you have Epilepsy and no other medical conditions at all, this section is not relevant for you.

There are some conditions which can cause or where co-existence with Epilepsy can cause additional challenges or risk. Sometimes the additional risk of combined conditions can see other insurers decline to offer Life cover.

Pulse Insurance specialise in cases where combined conditions need and benefit from individual underwriting consideration.

This may include strokes, brain tumours and severe head injuries, for example..

In all cases, if you have multiple conditions whether directly related or causing your Epilepsy, please ensure you tell us about all of them. In some cases, you may find it easier to complete each of our specific enquiry questions for each condition. Or you may prefer to detail everything at once when answering your primary condition questions.

To complete multiple conditions, select your first condition and when that is complete, you will have the option to add more one at a time till you are ready.

The following conditions are known to present alongside Epilepsy: –

These are amongst most common conditions affecting those with Epilepsy, but anyone with any other significant conditions should ensure they provide details of these alongside their Epilepsy. 

Your application with Pulse Insurance will always be individually considered by our experienced specialists based on the specific details you provide.

If you are at all unsure how to proceed, please get in touch with our friendly Pulse Team. 

 

Why Pulse Insurance?

  • Pulse Insurance have been focused on finding unusual cover since 1998
  • We strive to offer a caring and sensitive service
  • We are knowledgeable insurance professionals who work as a team
  • We provide a personal service to guide you through
  • If we cannot help, it will not be for the want of trying or know-how

While finding cover for everyone is not always possible and the premium will be higher to reflect increased risk, we like to think we are rather good at helping people find the cover they need.

In most chronic Epilepsy cases, we can offer indicative premiums and/or a sense if cover will be available or not early on; so you can decide to proceed or not.

 

Being Transparent

It is always important to declare your Epilepsy and any other medical conditions completely.

 

Your Personal & Medical Details

Everything you disclose about your Epilepsy to any life insurer or life agent should be treated with sensitivity and appropriate levels of privacy.

 

Your Epilepsy 

Every person with more severe Epilepsy knows that their condition, their triggers and their treatment will be in some way unique to them. The nature of medication and frequency of use and nature of any attacks varies from one person to the next. Other aspects of your lifestyle can impact your risk and the cover available.

Your Pulse underwriting specialist will look to gain a detailed picture of your condition and you should take care to disclose everything.

 

Requirements for more information

Occasionally our initial enquiry may not gather enough information to make a definitive decision, our insurers may ask for more in depth information regarding your Epilepsy and/or any other conditions. Sometimes the details you can provide may allow them to reduce the premium they seek.

As you have a medical condition, it is possible that underwriters will need to seek a Doctor’s report or for you to undergo medical examinations, blood tests or other tests that will confirm your health to allow them to quote an accurate premium and confirm cover details. The costs involved in obtaining the medical information are usually paid by the underwriter, but if not, you will be informed before they are requested.

Pulse will never sell your details to anyone. We will use your details to provide the service you have asked for according to the permissions you grant us– read our Privacy and Data Protection policy in full.

 

Medical Reports

If you have any recent or relevant medical reports, these can enable underwriters to provide a more accurate indication.

Please send these either to [email protected] or post them to us.

n.b. Do not worry if you don’t have any medical reports as they are not usually needed to give an indication of cover / cost.

It may be necessary anyway for separate specific medical reports to be sought if you decide to proceed with an application.

 

If you have any queries, please give a member of the team a call on 01280 841430.

 

Additional Covers

Pulse may be able to offer covers beyond everyday Life Insurance to give you the peace of mind and protection you desire.

The reasons you may need life cover may be simple or complex, but having the right cover brings peace of mind for you and your family.

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