For life insurance, high blood pressure is when you have a systolic and diastolic blood pressure reading over 140/90mmHg[2].
As mentioned, most insurers could offer you cover even if you have high blood pressure, and in some cases, it could be possible to secure cover at the standard rate.
The outcome of your application will depend on how well controlled your blood pressure is as well as other factors which we outline below.
If your blood pressure is higher than 180/110mmHg then this is usually the cut off point for securing life insurance, but other options may be available.
Continue reading to learn more about types of life insurance for those with high blood pressure.
Blood pressure readings
Knowing your current blood pressure reading can be helpful for your life insurance application, but it’s not essential.
If you don’t have use of a home monitor, you can get a quick blood pressure test at your local doctor’s surgery and at some pharmacies.
The table below shows the different blood pressure readings and ranges according to Blood Pressure UK. Systolic pressure is the first (or top) reading and diastolic pressure is second (or bottom) reading:
In the UK, more than 15 million adults have high blood pressure[3] and most adults in general have higher than ideal blood pressure[4].
High blood pressure is also one of the most common medical condition disclosed on life insurance application forms.