Can I get life insurance if I’m on waiting list for endometriosis surgery?

[Champio]

I had an initial laparoscopy a while back which indicated I need further extensive surgery to remove the endometriosis. I’m on a waiting list and think it’ll be autumn-time.

Well the first surgery made me so aware of my mortality and now I feel it’s important to get life insurance. It’s probably anxiety speaking but I’m worried what if I die on the table and DH is left behind with a massive mortgage.

Is it possible to find a life insurance company that will cover the upcoming surgery?

I've no advice for you here i'm afraid but I will say tread carefully. Insurance companies are notorius for using any excuse they can not to pay out.

Having said that - are you sure you don't already have cover? Check things like employment contracts and home insurance etc etc.

It is a good idea to have life insurance if you have a mortgage in any case for the length of the mortgage.

When applying for insurance, the insurance company will take you through an extensive health history questionnaire (more detailed than dr normally take). You can declare the endometriosis then. They they crunch your answers to see the amount you have to pay monthly. It may increase due to existing conditions but won’t likely be denied.

I do have some cover, it would cover approx half of the mortgage but it would not be enough for DH as I outearn him quite a lot.

We only got the mortgage less than a year ago and tbh life insurance has been on the list but it has been such a hectic year with renovations and also so much health stuff, I feel like my feet haven’t touched the ground.

@PurpleBrocadePeacock I was worried that pre-existing conditions weren’t covered, or it might be really hard to find a company who will cover them. Do you think this might not be the case?

Normally they just ask you to pay more.

You can start with a site like https://www.moneysupermarket.com/
and see what comes up.

Any exclusions will be made clear and you will usually have a long conversation before confirming anything where you can ask any questions.

From experience, aside from a few pre-existing conditions, any personal insurance always shoots up.
The only way you’re going to get a direct answer is from the companies themselves.

You’d have to declare it on any application for life insurance but as it’s not a terminal or life threatening condition it shouldn’t add a lot to the cost.

I don’t mean that lightly … my DD has endo and I know how painful and debilitating it can be but from an insurance point of view you aren’t high risk.

It's extremely unlikely that you will die during planned endometriosis surgery. Yes it's a risk of any surgery, but it's a really small risk.

If you do want to increase your amount of life insurance, I'd first contact whoever you currently have life insurance with. They may be able to increase your existing cover.

Having scheduled surgery in the future may increase your premiums, so I'd ask how much it will add to your quote, and then you can decide whether to get the extra insurance now or after the surgery.

It is good to get an appropriate level of life insurance so good you are doing this, it's a task many people put off.

Unless you are in very poor health I very much doubt you are at much risk from the surgery although I understand health worries are horrible. My parents and parent in law all had major surgery in their mid -late 80s, heart surgery, surgery from a collapse and being on life support etc. and all survived. I hope you don’t wait too long and the surgery is a success.

Oh I know, the risks are low! But I can't tell you how much the surgeon really hammered them home - it was a very long list indeed of what could go wrong.

Did the surgeon go through their personal statistics in terms of complications or was this just some generic list of risks? I always find the question what would you do, or what would you advise your wife, daughter, mother, gets a more nuanced answer about alternatives to consider. If it’s just a generic list, maybe they just wanted to discourage you from surgery to get another person off the waiting list.

Are you employed? Ie. Not self employed. You may have death in service benefits from your employer (sometimes they are part of workplace pension).

Would recommend speaking with a broker OP, but in any case any exclusions to a policy will be spelled out before you agree to it, just be honest in your answers and read the paperwork fully.
Best of luck for your upcoming surgery I hope it really helps with your symptoms, and its only human to worry

You are extremely unlikely to die during routine surgery so it shouldn't massively affect the premium but you would need to declare it.