Arranging life insurance if you have Iron Deficiency Anaemia is quite straightforward. Here we will show you the way that an insurance company will assess your Iron Deficiency Anaemia so that you don't waste time applying to the wrong insurers for you and so that you secure the best price possible. We'll also show you how you can get £50 cashback once your life insurance policy is in place.
What is Iron Deficiency Anaemia?
Iron Deficiency Anaemia is caused by a lack of iron which affects the production of red blood cells in the body. The reduced production of red blood cells means that functions like carrying oxygen around your body are compromised. Fatigue, restless legs, itchy skin and sores are some of the symptoms that the condition can cause. Although Iron Deficiency Anaemia is a less serious form of Anaemia, it requires investigation to uncover the underlying cause.
Normally, a lack of iron in your diet or your body's inability to absorb the iron from your diet effectively will cause you to become iron deficient. However, it can also be caused by unusual blood loss through ulcers, heavy periods or endometriosis and pregnancy. The underlying cause for your condition will determine how your doctor treats you. Oral or intravenous iron supplementation, as well as dietary advice, are usually prescribed to treat and control Iron Deficiency Anaemia. Your doctor will also discuss treatment for the underlying cause if this is relevant. Testing your blood to monitor your iron or haemoglobin levels along with your full blood count will show if the treatment is working.
Will you get Life Insurance if you have Iron Deficiency Anaemia?
Yes, you are very likely to be accepted for life insurance if you have Iron Deficiency Anaemia. As long as your Anaemia has been investigated and the underlying cause has been determined, then you shouldn't have to pay any more than the normal cost for your life insurance.
Some life insurance companies will increase the cost for your life insurance if you have Iron Deficiency Anaemia, while others will not. It is important to select an insurer that will give you the fairest outcome for your circumstances.
If you are still undergoing investigations to establish the cause of your anaemia then it is more than likely that your application will be postponed until these have been concluded. Anaemia can take some time to stabilise with treatment so it does help if your blood tests show improvement with treatment when you apply for your life insurance. The longer it has been since you last suffered any symptoms caused by your anaemia, the better the terms that you will receive. Ideally, if you have been symptom-free for 12 months or more then you will be in the best position to arrange the cheapest rates for your life insurance.
What factors will affect the price of your Life Insurance if you have Iron Deficiency Anaemia?
Your application for life insurance can have different outcomes even if it is accepted. Importantly, the price that you pay can vary depending on which insurance company you choose to apply to. In this section, we explain the information you will need to gather and later we will explain the important role that this information plays when choosing the right insurance company for you, personally.
- The date of your initial symptoms and time since you last experienced them
- A description of all the symptoms that you experienced
- The treatment prescribed by your doctor
- The details of any planned tests or outstanding results from these
- Your most recent Full Blood Count (FBC) result
- The underlying cause identified by your doctor for your anaemia
- The effects of your anaemia on your daily life and any time that you have taken off work due to it
Will a life insurance provider write to your doctor about your Iron Deficiency Anaemia?
Not always. The underwriters (the people at life insurance companies who are responsible for assessing your application) need to understand the full details of your Iron Deficiency Anaemia. But, it doesn't matter whether this information is provided by you or your doctor. There are advantages to providing the information yourself because you'll save the couple of weeks that it takes for a report to be completed by your doctor and returned to the insurer.
The insurer will always seek your permission to do this. Also, if you decide to use a specialist life insurance adviser, (something we would recommend and explain how to do later on) knowing a lot of the key information upfront can help your adviser to eliminate the insurers who may increase your premiums or provide inadequate cover. There is nothing stopping you from applying to another insurance company if the terms offered are not acceptable to you but this will mean completing another application, which will take more time.
A good tip is to call your doctor's surgery to ask if copies of your blood test results and any other information about your anaemia can be shared with you. Remember that making complete and accurate disclosures to an insurance company will also prevent any dispute at the claim stage if needed.
How much does life insurance cost if you have Iron Deficiency Anaemia?
The cost of your life insurance is calculated using your age, your gender and your smoker status. This cost is referred to as your 'quoted premium' or the 'standard rate' for your life insurance. This is what you'll see if you've tried to look for prices online for your life insurance.
The amount of life insurance you choose (the sum assured); the amount of time you want the insurance to run for (the term) and the type of insurance you select will all help to determine what your final 'quoted premium' will be. You can select different types of life insurance depending on what it is for. For example, you might choose a decreasing term assurance policy to protect your repayment mortgage so that if you die before it is repaid, the remaining balance can be covered by a life insurance payout. It's important that you choose the right type of life insurance for your needs. You can read more about the types of life insurance available in our article 'Types of life insurance explained'.
If you have been diagnosed with Iron Deficiency Anaemia, your symptoms are mild and have been controlled for more than 12 months, you won't need to pay any more than the standard rate for your life insurance.
Selecting the right life insurance company for your diagnosis is crucial. We have found that Royal London, Zurich and AIG are companies that offer fair rates for Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA). However, there may be others that are better suited to you and enlisting some guidance is key to making the right choice here. Speaking to an independent specialist adviser* will help you save time and get the best price.
Can you get critical illness insurance or income protection if you have Iron Deficiency Anaemia?
Yes, it is possible to arrange both, critical illness insurance and income protection if you have IDA. These insurances will be assessed more rigorously than a life insurance policy because there is a greater likelihood of a claim. Again, if your symptoms are mild and controlled and your treatment is keeping your blood count and iron readings within a healthy range then you should have no issues putting this insurance in place. It is worth pointing out that for income protection (often referred to as sick pay insurance) any time you have had to take off work due to your diagnosis will impact the terms that you receive.
How to get the cheapest life insurance if you have Iron Deficiency Anaemia?
There are a number of ways to arrange life insurance; you can apply through comparison sites, directly with insurance companies or through your mortgage adviser. Having researched the various ways, we have found that the best way to arrange your life insurance is by speaking to a specialist life insurance adviser who has access to the whole market. We have vetted the services of LifeSearch* who are a specialist life insurance advisory company. The advisers are knowledgeable and have access to the entire life insurance market, so you can be assured that a thorough search is carried out on your behalf.
Earlier in the article we mentioned selecting the right type of insurance and this is something that an adviser will also help you to do, to ensure that your life insurance does exactly what you expect and need it to do. It is vital to put your life insurance into a trust so that you can nominate your beneficiaries, making the claim process quick and free of any potential inheritance tax. LifeSearch provides free advice for all of this and as a Money to the Masses reader, you'll be able to claim a £50 cashback reward for arranging your life insurance too. To get started, complete this form* to arrange a callback at a time that suits you.
If a link has an * beside it this means that it is an affiliated link. If you go via the link, Money to the Masses may receive a small fee which helps keep Money to the Masses free to use. The following link can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses and do not wish to qualify for the cashback referred to in the article - LifeSearch
