The impact high blood pressure will have on your ability to secure life insurance will depend on the severity of your condition and how well you’re managing it.
Your application will be assessed taking the following information into account:
- Family history of heart conditions
- Date of diagnosis
- Your weight
- Your BMI
- Any treatment/surgery
- What medication you’re taking (if any)
- Any related health conditions
- Smoking status
By knowing this information, insurers will get a better idea of what your condition is like and will be able to calculate the risk of insuring you.
If insurers can see that you’re handling your condition well, with a blood pressure reading under 142/80 mmHg, you may be able to secure life insurance on standard terms.
If your condition is more severe (anything over 177/106 mmHg) you may be referred to a specialist insurer or may even be declined.
At Reassured our specialist impaired risk team have found cover for 45% of applicants declined elsewhere.
Below you'll find a list of the different life insurance policies and how high blood pressure is likely to affect them.
Term life insurance
With term life insurance you’re covered for a specified period of time and if you pass away within this period a pay out is made to your loved ones.
Term life insurance is available with level or decreasing terms.
Level term life insurance provides a fixed pay out amount, whereas with decreasing term life insurance your sum assured will reduce over time.
With any form of term life insurance, you’ll need to provide medical information at the point of application.
This means you’ll need to disclose your high blood pressure.
Depending on the severity of your condition and the steps you’re taking to manage it, you could experience higher premiums.
Whole of life insurance
Whole of life insurance offers lifetime cover, meaning your loved ones are guaranteed a pay out.
You’ll need to provide medical information at the point of application and you’ll need to pay premiums for the rest of your life to keep cover in place.
For these reasons, it’s likely whole of life could be a costly option for someone with high blood pressure.
Over 50s plan
An over 50s plan provides guaranteed acceptance to UK residents aged 50 - 85.
What makes an over 50s plan different is that you don’t need to provide any medical information.
Instead, your premiums are calculated using your age and level of cover only.
This makes an over 50s plan an ideal option for those with high blood pressure as you won’t have to disclose your condition.