If you have a health condition and you have quietly assumed life insurance is off the table, this is the bit worth reading first. For most people with a pre-existing condition, cover is still available. It may cost a little more, it may come with an exclusion, and the application asks more questions than it would otherwise, but a diagnosis on your record is rarely the full stop people fear it is.

Here is the honest version. Life insurance with pre-existing conditions is something the large majority of applicants can still arrange. What changes is the detail: the insurer wants to understand your condition, how well it is managed, and how recently it flared, and it prices the cover accordingly. The single most important thing you can do is answer every question fully and honestly, and we will explain exactly why further down.

Can you get life insurance with pre-existing conditions?

In most cases, yes. Plenty of people manage to arrange life insurance with pre-existing conditions, from the very common (high blood pressure, asthma, anxiety) to the more serious (a history of cancer, a heart attack, or a stroke). Insurers assess health conditions every single day. It is routine work for them, not a reason to turn you away on sight.

What a condition usually changes is one of three things. The insurer may offer cover at a standard price, offer it at a higher price (often called a loading or a rating), or offer it with an exclusion that carves out claims related to that specific condition. In some cases, for more serious or very recent conditions, an insurer may decline or ask you to apply again later. Different insurers take different views of the same condition, which is the whole reason it pays to look across the market rather than at a single provider.

What counts as a pre-existing condition?

A pre-existing condition is, broadly, any illness, injury or health issue you have had before you apply for cover. That includes things you are currently being treated for, things you have had in the past, and symptoms you have seen a doctor about even if you never got a firm diagnosis.

It is a wider net than people expect. It is not only the big, serious diagnoses. It also covers the everyday and well-managed: high blood pressure controlled by tablets, type 2 diabetes, asthma, a historic bout of depression, a back problem. The point is not that these things stop you getting cover. Most of them do not. The point is that the insurer needs to know about them, because the cover is priced on the full picture of your health, not the tidied-up version.

Why honest disclosure matters more than anything else

This is the part that the glossier guides tend to skim, and it is the most important thing on this page, so we will be plain about it.

When you apply for cover, you have a duty to take reasonable care to answer the insurer's questions honestly and completely. MoneyHelper, the government-backed money guidance service, is clear that you should answer every question fully and never leave anything out, even if you think it is minor or embarrassing. Get that right and you have done the single most valuable thing for the people who will one day rely on the policy.

Why does it matter so much? Because of what happens at the other end. According to the Association of British Insurers, 97.9% of individual protection claims were paid in 2024, and the proportion paid has stayed at or above that level for the last decade. Insurers, on the whole, pay out. When a claim is declined, the most common reasons the ABI records are policyholders not disclosing a medical condition when they took the policy out, and the claim not meeting the policy definitions.

Read those two facts together and the lesson is hard to miss. The thing most likely to stop a claim being paid is not having a health condition. It is not telling the insurer about one. Honest disclosure is not the hurdle. It is the thing that makes the cover actually work when your family needs it.

What happens when you apply: the underwriting process

Underwriting is just the industry word for the insurer working out the risk and the price. With a pre-existing condition, expect a few more questions than a healthy 25 year old would get, and expect them to be specific.

For most conditions the insurer will want to know things like: what the condition is, when you were diagnosed, how it is treated and managed, whether it is stable or changing, and whether you have been in hospital or off work because of it. For something like diabetes they may ask about your most recent readings. For a past cancer they will ask how long ago treatment finished. None of this is the insurer being nosy for its own sake. It is how they move you from a guess to an accurate price.

You can make this stage easier on yourself by having the basics to hand before you start: rough dates of diagnosis, the names of any medication, and a sense of your recent test results. It saves a lot of squinting at old letters halfway through an application.

Will I need a medical exam or a GP report?

Sometimes, but far less often than people imagine. Many policies are arranged on the basis of the health questions alone. Where a condition is more complex or more recent, an insurer may ask for a report from your GP (with your permission) or, less commonly, a short medical with a nurse, usually arranged at a time and place that suits you and with no obligation to proceed.

A medical or a GP report is not a bad sign. It often works in your favour, because it lets the insurer see that a condition is well controlled rather than assume the worst from a one-line answer on a form. "Life insurance without a medical exam" is a real option for plenty of people, but it is worth knowing that agreeing to a medical, when one is asked for, can sometimes lead to better terms, not worse.

How a pre-existing condition affects your cover and your cost

Cost depends on the condition, how well it is managed, how recent it is, and your age and general health, so there is no single answer and we are not going to invent one. What we can do is explain the levers, in plain English.

A plain-English look at some common conditions

Every case is individual, and nothing here is a promise about your own application. But it helps to see the general lie of the land.

Diabetes. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are commonly covered. Insurers will usually look at how well your blood sugar is controlled and whether there are any related complications. Well-managed diabetes is a very familiar case to an underwriter.

Heart conditions and heart attacks. Life insurance after a heart attack or with a known heart condition is often available, typically once things have settled and there is a clear picture of your treatment and recovery. Terms vary a lot between insurers here, so it is a classic case for looking across the market.

Stroke. Cover after a stroke is frequently possible, with insurers paying close attention to how long ago it happened and your recovery since.

Cancer. Life insurance after cancer is one of the most common questions we hear, and for many people the answer is yes, particularly once treatment has finished and you have been in remission for a while. The time that has passed and the type of cancer both matter, and again, different insurers weigh them differently.

High blood pressure. Very common and, when controlled, often has a modest effect or none at all.

Mental health. Conditions such as depression and anxiety are extremely common and routinely covered. Insurers will usually ask about severity, treatment, and any time off work, but a history of mental health difficulty is not a barrier to cover in the way some people fear.

Smokers and ex-smokers. Smoking is not a pre-existing condition, but it affects price, so it belongs in the same honest-answers category. If you have given up, many insurers will treat you as a non-smoker once you have been stopped for a set period, so it is worth knowing where you stand.

What about critical illness cover with a pre-existing condition?

The same logic applies to critical illness cover, which pays out if you are diagnosed with one of the specific serious illnesses listed in the policy. A pre-existing condition can be assessed, loaded, or excluded here too, and exclusions are more common with critical illness than with straight life cover, because the payout is tied to illness rather than death. It is still worth exploring, but go in expecting the insurer to look closely at anything related to an existing condition.

What if you develop a condition after the policy starts?

Here is a reassuring point that often gets lost. Once a standard life insurance policy is in place, the insurer cannot cancel it or put the price up simply because your health changes later. If you develop a condition after your cover starts, your policy carries on exactly as agreed. That is rather the point of arranging cover sooner rather than later: you are fixing the terms based on your health today, not your health in ten years.

Do life insurers check your medical records after you die?

This one worries people, so let us answer it straight. Yes, an insurer can request access to medical records as part of assessing a claim, including after death. That is not a reason for alarm. It is simply the other side of the disclosure coin. If you answered the questions honestly when you applied, a check confirms what the insurer already knew and the claim proceeds. The only people who have anything to fear from a records check are those who left something out, which brings us right back to the most important rule on this page: tell them everything up front.

How a broker helps when you have a health condition

This is exactly the situation where a broker earns its keep, and we will be honest about why. When you have a pre-existing condition, the single biggest variable is that different insurers price the same condition very differently. One may load it heavily, another may barely blink. Searching across the market, rather than taking the first answer from a single provider, is where the real value sits.

As a broker, TopQuote helps people compare cover from the range of insurers it works with, and supports you through the health questions so the application reflects your condition accurately and fairly. We are paid by commission from the insurer if you take out a policy, not by a separate fee from you, and your adviser explains that openly before anything is arranged. There is no charge for the conversation and no obligation to go ahead. If you already hold cover and it still fits, we will happily tell you so.

The bottom line

Life insurance with pre-existing conditions is far more achievable than most people assume, and the things that feel like obstacles, the extra questions and the occasional medical, are usually working in your favour, not against you. The one rule that matters above all the others is honest disclosure, because the data is clear that nearly every claim is paid and the main reason a claim fails is a condition that was never mentioned. Tell the truth, look across the market, and a health condition becomes a detail to work through rather than a door that is closed.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get life insurance with a pre-existing condition?

Usually, yes. The large majority of people with a pre-existing condition can arrange cover. Depending on the condition it may come at a standard price, a higher price, or with an exclusion for that specific condition. Some very recent or serious conditions may be postponed or declined by one insurer but accepted by another.

Can you get life insurance after cancer?

For many people, yes, particularly once treatment has finished and you have been in remission for a period. The type of cancer and how long ago you were treated both affect the terms, and different insurers take different views, so it is worth comparing.

Can you get life insurance after a heart attack or stroke?

Often, yes. Cover after a heart attack, a heart condition or a stroke is commonly available once your situation has stabilised and the insurer can see a clear picture of your treatment and recovery. Terms vary widely between insurers.

Can you get life insurance with diabetes?

Yes. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are routinely covered. Insurers generally look at how well your blood sugar is controlled and whether there are any related complications.

Will a pre-existing condition mean a medical exam?

Not always. Many policies are arranged on the health questions alone. For more complex or recent conditions an insurer may ask for a GP report or a short medical, usually with no obligation to proceed, and that can actually help your application by showing a condition is well controlled.

Do life insurance companies check medical records after death?

They can. An insurer may request medical records when assessing a claim, including after death. If you disclosed your health honestly when you applied, this simply confirms what the insurer already knew and the claim proceeds as normal.

Does life insurance cost more with a pre-existing condition?

It can, but not always. A well-managed condition may have little or no effect on the price once the insurer sees the full picture. Where a condition does affect cost, it is usually through a higher price or an exclusion rather than an outright refusal.

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About the author

Tanweer Hussain

Here since 1999, Tanweer is a Protection expert having worked in our customer facing teams and best practice teams.

Top Quote Limited is an appointed representative of The Openwork Partnership, a trading style of Openwork Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice or a personal recommendation. The suitability of any product depends on individual circumstances.