Atrial Fibrillation & Life Insurance

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Atrial Fibrillation & Life Insurance

Atrial Fibrillation & Life InsuranceWe understand that for many people with atrial fibrillation, the condition may not be particularly serious. Many people are not even aware that they have the condition, with few or no obvious symptoms. 

But this is a condition that can have a notable impact on life insurance applications. And that’s where we come in. We have plenty of experience of helping people with atrial fibrillation to get the most appropriate life insurance.

For those whose atrial fibrillation is fully controlled and there are no secondary conditions, you may be able to get life insurance at non-standard terms (which essentially means higher pricing). The terms that you are offered really depend upon how the condition affects you. 

The insurers will want plenty of information from you, including:

  • Whether you have been experiencing things like chest pains, shortness of breath and fainting?
  • What treatment you receive for your condition?
  • How the condition affects your day to day life?
  • Whether your condition is fully controlled?
  • What your day to day health is like?
  • Whether you have any associated secondary conditions?

It might seem daunting to make an application with a condition like atrial fibrillation, but we’ll help you establish exactly what information you’ll need to provide and to secure the most appropriate policy.

If your day to day health is generally good, and you haven’t had to go to hospital because of the condition, then you’re more likely to be accepted for a near standard terms policy (small premium increase). The insurer will most likely require a report from your GP, at the expense of the insurer, not you! 

The insurer will be looking at your general overall health and results of any testing that you have had done, such as echocardiography and any underlying conditions that you may have.

For people that have stronger symptoms of atrial fibrillation and experience other complications, it may be that you are offered a higher premium increase, or we may need to approach a specialist insurer for you.

Critical illness cover pays out a cash lump sum of money, if you are diagnosed with a medical condition that is listed in the insurer’s claims set e.g. cancer, heart attack, stroke.

As with life insurance applications, critical illness cover applications will also ask for information about your day to day health, secondary conditions, if you have chest pains, fainting or shortness of breath. 

Again, the insurer will be particularly interested in how often you suffer these episodes. If the flare-ups of your symptoms are infrequent, you may be able to obtain critical illness cover with only a slightly increased premium. If the episodes are more frequent, usually 4 or more a year, then some insurers might want you to wait until this is more controlled and reduced, before offering the cover.

With any critical illness insurance application where an existing medical condition is disclosed, it’s really quite common for an insurer to request a GP report. This is to get a full picture of your overall health. You may find that critical illness cover is offered with exclusions to claims relating to the cardiovascular system e.g. heart attacks.

We take as much of the hassle out of the application process as possible for you, leaving you to get on with living your life! 

Income protection pays you a replacement of your monthly income, if you are unable to work due to ill health.

As with other types of policy income protection applications are likely to also require a report from your GP in order to obtain a general picture of your current state of health. The insurer will need to know the frequency of attacks and whether you have had to attend hospital due to the condition, and whether you have any associated heart disease.

If your atrial fibrillation causes regular flare-ups and/or you have underlying heart disease, it may be that you have had to have time off work as a result. This is something that the insurer will be looking for and this will contribute to their decision over whether they can offer you the insurance. 

Depending your individual circumstances, you may find that the premiums of the income protection policy are near to the standard level, or increased. 

If you find that the terms of income protection simply do not suit you then accident, sickness and unemployment cover might be more suitable for you. This policy will provide you with a monthly income replacement of 12-24 months if you find yourself unable to work due to long term injury, disability or voluntary redundancy.

This policy provides short-term income protection for between 12-24 months to replace your regular monthly income in the event that you are unable to work due to disability, injury or involuntary redundancy. Accident, sickness and/or unemployment cover is not medically underwritten which means that your atrial fibrillation will have no impact upon the acceptance terms of your policy. 

You must be aware though that whilst this is the case, any claim made on the policy will be subject to medical underwriting and pre-existing conditions are not covered by the policy. 

If you’re planning a break in the near future, then speak to a specialist travel insurance broker who can help you to get the right cover that takes your atrial fibrillation into account. Find out more by visiting our travel page here.

What is Atrial Fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation occurs when the heartbeat is irregular (arrhythmia) and does not fall within the average beats per minutes; between 60 and 100. The condition is caused by the upper chambers of the heart (atria) contracting at irregular intervals that stop the heart from being able to function efficiently. It is possible to have atrial fibrillation and not be aware of the condition.

Also: AF, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, persistent atrial fibrillation, longstanding persistent atrial fibrillation, permanent atrial fibrillation

Linked with: Ischaemic heart diseasehigh blood pressure, atherosclerosis, angina, low blood pressure, heart attack, cardiomyopathy, pericardial disease, stroke

Some people may experience some or all of the following symptoms and problems:

  • Dizziness
  • Effects to lifestyle are not always present
  • fatigue
  • Need for regular rest
  • palpitations
  • shortness of breath
  • Acebutolol
  • Acebutolol Hydrochloride (Sectral)
  • Acenocoumarol (Sinthrome)
  • Amiodarone
  • Amiodarone Hydrochloride (Cordarone X, Minijet amiodarone)
  • Aspirin
  • Atenolol
  • Betaloc
  • Bisoprolol fumarate (Cardicor, Emcor)
  • Bivalirudin (Angiox)
  • Cardioversion
  • Cathar ablation
  • Dalteparin
  • Digoxin (Lanoxin)
  • Dronedarone hydrochloride (Multaq)
  • Enoxaparin
  • Enoxaparin Sodium (Clexane)
  • Flecainide
  • Flecainide Acetate (Tambocor)
  • Fragmin
  • Inderal
  • Lopresor
  • Metoprolol
  • Nadolol (Corgard)
  • Nebivolol
  • Nebivolol Hydrochloride (Nebilet)
  • Oxprenolol
  • Oxprenolol Hydrochloride (Trasicor )
  • Pacemaker
  • Propafenone (Arythmol)
  • Propanolol Hydrochloride (Syprol)
  • Propranolol
  • Sotacor
  • Sotalol
  • Sotalol Hydrocholride (Beta-Cardone)
  • Tenormin
  • Ticagrelor (Brilique)
  • Verapamil
  • Verapamil Hydrochloride (Cordilox, Securon, Univer, Vera-Til, Vertab, Zolvera)
  • Warfarin (Marevan)

Common Questions

You’ll be asked a number of questions about your condition on an application and a very mild condition isn’t likely to cause too much trouble in terms of a life insurance application. You’ll probably find plenty of availability in terms of policies available.

If you were recently diagnosed, have had significant treatment changes or are awaiting investigations, some insurers will want to postpone your application until things have settled down. Don’t worry, there are plenty of options still out there its just a matter of knowing where to look, and that’s what we do day in day out. 

Client Reviews

Cura Financial Services has been rated 5 out of 5 based on 739 reviews.

Review by Rick on 1st November 2018

The most helpful and knowledgeable brokers I have used. Always kept me updated on progress and products available. Alan couldn't do enough to help me get the best suited policy for my needs. - 5 

You can read more of our reviews here.

Atrial Fibrillation & Life Insurance

Dr Kathryn Knowles Phd

Author
This page was written by Dr Kathryn Knowles Phd, an award-winning insurance adviser. To read more about Kathryn please see her bio here

Atrial Fibrillation & Life Insurance

Client Reviews

Atrial Fibrillation & Life Insurance

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