Critical illness cover with genetic condition

[tingalayo]

I'm looking to take out life and critical illness cover but I have family history of bowel cancer and a genetic predisposition to bowel polyps, and I need regular screenings to control it. I have been in touch with a broker who says all the insurance companies they use have said they wouldn't consider offering me critical illness cover at all because of this. I asked if I could have bowel cancer excluded from the policy but apparently they won't even look at me. This seems unfair because critical illness covers lots of other conditions. Has anyone had a similar situation and been able to take out crit illness cover with an existing condition or family history? I don't know whether to shop around further or to take the life insurance on offer and just go without CI cover because it's hopeless.

Not sure if their position has changed but I have a joint critical illness and life cover policy with Legal and General that I took out five years ago - my mortgage broker found it. My mum died of bowel cancer at 53 so I’m higher risk. My policy is not cheap but that’s because I have PCOS and that can bring issues in later life with things like diabetes, hypertension and strokes. My broker said that it was the PCOS that doubled my premium, not the bowel cancer risk. I also have skin cancer in my family and my dad died of leukaemia.

Look at the link below. www.abi.org.uk/data-and-resources/tools-and-resources/genetics/code-on-genetic-testing-and-insurance/?timeout=s

If you get insurance with one of the companies who have signed up to the ABI code of practice, and you've only been tested to identify that you've got the genetic condition, because it was identified with a family member, not because you were presenting with symptoms, then you don't have to declare that you have the condition nor that you get regular checks.

This is a deal that was passed between the NHS and ABI so that people were not deterred from testing because of insurance.

Your broker needs to educate themselves (then again, I don't trust them, mine also was clueless and I found this information
myself).

Try cavendish online

If no-one will cover your, find out what the premiums would have been without the existing condition and put at least that amount into an ISA each month that you don't touch. At least then you are self-insuring to a degree.

I have Lynch Syndrome which increases my risk of bowel cancer, and whilst I don't have critical illness cover now - my policy paid out on diagnosis of endometrial cancer, the Lynch Syndrome UK Facebook group have lots of advice and info on insurance for those with genetic conditions. Might be worth joining to ask?