Asthma and life insurance

Yes, you can get life insurance if you have asthma, and people do so every day.

However, depending on how severe your asthma is, some insurers might decide not to offer you a policy. It’s important to shop around and find the policy that works best for you.

Asthma can affect your life insurance in a few ways.

First, the insurance company will look at how serious your asthma is and how well you manage it. If your asthma is mild and you don’t have symptoms often, it might not make a difference to your premiums. But if your asthma is severe or not well controlled, the insurance company might see you as a higher risk, which could mean higher premiums.

In some cases, they might not cover asthma-related issues or, in rare situations, they might even decide not to offer you a policy.

It's important to tell your insurance company about your asthma as soon as possible. Insurers use information about your health to calculate the potential risk of providing cover and to work out how much your premiums should be. 

Being open and honest about your asthma helps you get the right policy and avoids problems later on.

If you’re unsure about your existing life insurance policy options, it's always worth speaking with your insurance provider. If you're wondering about a new policy, it might be worth consulting with your financial adviser. If you don't have a financial adviser, you can find one at unbiased.co.uk. Please be aware that you may need to pay for this advice.

You can also find out about our Life Insurance Plan.

Your insurer will need to know when you were diagnosed, how severe your asthma is, how often you have symptoms, and what treatments you’re using, e.g. prescribed inhalers, oral steroids, etc. They might also ask if you’ve ever been hospitalised because of your asthma and if you have any other medical conditions. 

Underwriters will also consider the following factors when assessing an application from someone with an asthma diagnosis:

• Smoking status
• Presence of other respiratory or cardiovascular conditions
• If the condition has caused time off work or stopped you from following your normal daily activities.

Sometimes, they might ask you to have a medical exam or get a report from your doctor to get a clearer picture of your health. The more accurate your information, the better the insurance company can assess your application and offer the right cover, so it’s really important to be upfront and tell them everything they need to know. 

Here are some tips to help you get the right policy for you:

• Shop around for the best deal and compare quotes from multiple insurers to find the best prices and terms that could suit your needs.
• Provide complete and accurate information about your asthma, to avoid problems with claiming in the future.
• If you’re over 50, you could consider an over 50s life insurance plan. These plans often don’t require medical information, though the cover amounts are typically lower. For example, our Over 50 Life Insurance requires no medical checks or questions and provides lifelong protection. If you die for any reason after the first 12 months of having the policy, or if you die because of an accident within the first 12 months, we'll pay out the full cover amount. If you die within the first 12 months, and it isn't an accidental death, we won’t pay out the cover amount, but we’ll pay a sum that’s equal to the premiums that have already been paid. This is not a savings or investment product. It will only pay out on a successful claim. Also, if premiums aren’t paid when they're due or if the policy is cancelled, the plan will end and you will get nothing back.