Stickler Syndrome & Life Insurance

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Stickler Syndrome  & Life InsuranceWhen you are diagnosed with stickler syndrome there is a lot to take in and learn about your health. You are already likely to be very aware of different symptoms that you can experience, but you now have a name for what you have been living with, which can be so useful in planning for the future.

When you speak with one of our advisers we will chat to you about your health, so that we can research and find the best insurer for you. We are going to ask you things like:

  • When were you diagnosed with Stickler syndrome?
  • Do you take any medications?
  • Have you needed any eye surgery?
  • Do you need any mobility aids?

The insurer will want to know details like this so that they can determine how strong your symptoms are. This will then help them to assess your life insurance application. It is quite likely that most insurers will ask you for permission to speak with your GP. This is so that they can double check that they know everything about your diagnosis before offering you life insurance.

This can sometimes take a bit of time, but we often think that it is quite a good thing. By asking to see this report the insurer is getting a clear picture of your health from your GP, which means that it’s very unlikely that there will be a debate about them not understanding your health if there ever is a claim.

For many people living with Stickler Syndrome it is likely that your life insurance application will be offered at non-standard terms. This means an increase to the policy premium. We know that doesn’t sound great and whilst it doesn’t make it any better, life insurance is generally very very cheap, so any increases are usually not as bad as people are expecting.

If you have been declined life insurance in the past, please be assured that we have access to many insurers and can potentially look at specialist insurers for you if need by. Our advisers are here to help you every step of the way.

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.

Critical illness cover for people with Stickler syndrome is often not available in the standard insurance market. Any application for critical illness cover that you place will be reviewed by one of the insurance providers senior underwriting members, to establish if they can offer the policy to you. You will have the greatest chance of getting critical illness cover if your condition is considered to be mild.

We do have access to some specialist critical illness options for you, that we can consider. There are specific eligibility criteria to access them and our advisers can quickly help to determine if you can get these policies.

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

Income protection for people with Stickler syndrome will not typically be available on the standard insurance market. With income protection policies insurers do often put exclusions to the policies claims set. For your condition it is likely that they would be excluding claims relating to your eyes, but as Stickler syndrome is a connective tissue disorder it can effect everywhere in the body. This can make it quite hard to find a policy that doesn’t have an exclusion for most places in the body.

Your income protection application will be assessed by a member of the insurers senior underwriting team to see if they are able to offer terms of cover. Your application for income protection is more likely to be considered if your symptoms are mild and the condition has not impacted upon your ability to work.

There are some specialist options for income protection that we might be able to look at, that are arranged through your employer. Our advisers will be able to let you know if you are eligible for these options.

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As an alternative you may wish to consider accident, sickness and unemployment cover that provides between 12-24 months of short term income replacement in the event that you are unable to work due to disability, long-term injury or involuntary redundancy.

Accident, sickness and unemployment policies are not medically underwritten which means that the cover can be put in place at a standard premium. However you should be aware that any claim that you place on the policy will exclude inability to work due to pre-existing conditions including the Stickler syndrome.

GET AN ACCIDENT, SICKNESS AND UNEMPLOYMENT QUOTE

Are you planning on traveling abroad? Visit our dedicated travel page here, to make sure that you get the cover that you need.

What is Stickler Syndrome?

Stickler syndrome is a connective tissue disorder that is diagnosed when the collagen with an individuals body does not function effectively, typically within the eyes. Stickler syndrome can often cause retinal detachment and can have implications throughout the whole body including the joints and muscles. It is a progressive condition which means that symptoms are likely to worsen as the diagnosed becomes older.

Also known as: Stickler syndrome type I, Stickler syndrome type II, Stickler syndrome type III, Stickler syndrome type IV, Stickler syndrome type V, hereditary arthro-opthalmo-dystrophy, hereditary arthro-opthalmopathy, Stickler dysplasia, Oto-spondylo-megaepiphyseal dysplasia (OSMED)

Linked with: Joint Hypermobility, Hypermobility Syndrome (HMS), Marfan syndrome, Legg-Calve-Perthe’s disease, osteoarthritis, Pierre-Robin sequence

Some potential problems experienced by individuals who have Stickler syndrome include:
  • Nearsightedness (myopia)
  • Palate abnormalities
  • Hearing loss
  • Mitral valve prolapse
  • Scoliosis
  • Retinal detachment
  • Short stature
  • Family planning considerations
  • Regular eye checks
  • Long-term use of mobility aids
  • Social anxiety
  • Glasses or contact lenses
  • Hearing aids
  • Occupational therapy
  • Orthodontics
  • Physiotherapy
  • Speech therapy
  • Surgery
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Common Questions

Thank you for getting it touch, it is never easy to carry on trying to get life insurance if you’ve been declined somewhere. We do have some options for you but they will be really specialist at the moment, until your surgery is completed and you are recovered.

Most insurers can get quite cautious about offering life insurance policies to people that are outstanding any tests, investigations or surgeries. I know that this doesn’t help resolve the issue that you have had, but I hope that it helps to explain that this would happen to most people applying for life insurance with an outstanding surgery.

We have a number of life insurance options that you could look at that you might want to take out now, until you are able to apply for cover on the standard market.

Client Reviews

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

Review by Annabelle on 21st June 2022

Cura were incredibly helpful in finding life insurance for me, when most providers were not suitable. They talked through everything very clearly and were/are always on hand to answer any of my questions. They dealt with the application in a sensitive manner which was appreciated. They also found me a better deal after 2 years which was great! - 5 

You can read more of our reviews here.

Stickler Syndrome  & 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

Stickler Syndrome  & Life Insurance

Client Reviews

Stickler Syndrome  & Life Insurance

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