Life Insurance With ADHD

A Diagnosis Of ADHD Is Not A Mark Against You

Many people are diagnosed with ADHD as adults, often after years of wondering why some things were harder than they seemed to be for others. A common worry is that getting the diagnosis, often after a long wait, will now cost more on insurance.

For life cover and critical illness cover, it rarely does. The insurer is pricing the chance of death or serious illness during the term, and ADHD is not in itself a condition they expect to change that. Many people with ADHD are accepted on standard terms. The questions insurers ask are about the things that sometimes come with it, which are covered below.

What Insurers Actually Ask About

An underwriter looking at ADHD is not trying to judge your attention span. They are checking a short list of things that can affect risk:

• Medication. What you take, at what dose, and who prescribes and monitors it.
• Blood pressure and heart rate. Because stimulants can raise both, recent readings may be asked for.
• Co-existing conditions. Anxiety, depression and other mental health history are assessed in their own right.
• Alcohol and drug use. Asked of every applicant, and assessed separately from ADHD.
• Time off work. Mostly relevant to income protection.

If those answers are straightforward, so is the application.

Stimulant Medication And Your Blood Pressure Readings

The main medicines for ADHD in the UK are stimulants such as methylphenidate (including Ritalin and Concerta), lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse) and dexamfetamine, and non-stimulants such as atomoxetine and guanfacine. Being prescribed any of these is not a concern for life cover in itself.

What insurers may pick up on is the monitoring. Stimulants can raise blood pressure and heart rate, so they are checked when you start and periodically afterwards. If your readings have been normal, that is helpful evidence and worth having to hand. If a reading has been raised and your dose was adjusted, or you were started on blood pressure medication, the insurer will look at that in the same way as any other high blood pressure history.

It is also worth knowing that medical history questions often cover the last five years or more, so medication you have stopped may still need to be declared. Stopping treatment does not remove the diagnosis from your records.

Private, NHS Or Right To Choose: It Makes No Difference To Disclosure

Long NHS waiting lists mean many adults are assessed privately, or through the Right to Choose route in England, where the NHS funds an assessment with another provider. For insurance purposes, a diagnosis is a diagnosis: if a qualified clinician has diagnosed ADHD, declare it, however the assessment was arranged.

Insurers will want to know who prescribes and monitors your medication. If your GP has taken over prescribing under a shared care agreement, say so. If you pay for private prescriptions, say that instead. Either way, the point is that treatment is being supervised.

If you are still on a waiting list, read the questions carefully. Many ask whether you are waiting for any referral, assessment or investigation. If yours does, declare the ADHD referral. It is generally viewed differently from waiting for tests on unexplained physical symptoms, which often leads to postponement, but the insurer will decide how to treat it.

Anxiety And Depression Usually Matter More Than The ADHD

ADHD frequently comes with other conditions. Anxiety and depression are common, sometimes diagnosed years before the ADHD was recognised. Insurers assess these on their own terms, and they often have more influence on the outcome than ADHD does.

For life cover, expect questions on diagnosis, treatment, time off, hospital admissions and any history of self-harm. Mild to moderate, well-managed anxiety or depression is often accepted at or near standard rates. Our depression and anxiety page goes through this in detail.

If your earlier diagnoses look different now that ADHD has been identified, you still need to declare them as they were recorded. You can add context, and a broker can help present it clearly.

Income Protection Depends On Your Work History

Income protection pays a monthly benefit if you cannot work because of illness or injury. Mental health is one of the most common reasons for claims, so insurers look closely at any history of time off for psychological reasons.

• No time off, no other diagnosis: often accepted on standard terms.
• Time off for stress, anxiety or depression: a mental health exclusion is possible, particularly if the absence was recent or lengthy.
• Repeated or long absences: some insurers may decline or offer only restricted cover.

A mental health exclusion still leaves cover for physical illness and injury, which is a large share of claims. Some insurers will review an exclusion after a set period without symptoms, treatment or time off, so ask whether that is available. If you are self-employed, income protection is often the most important cover you can hold, and worth getting right.

Mistakes That Cause Problems Later

The most common is leaving ADHD off the form because it does not feel like a health condition. You are required to answer the questions honestly and with reasonable care, and insurers check medical records at claim. An undisclosed diagnosis can lead to a reduced or refused claim, even when the claim has nothing to do with ADHD.

The second is under-declaring the things around it: medication you have since stopped, an earlier anxiety diagnosis, or a blood pressure reading that led to a dose change. These are what the underwriter is actually interested in, and they are usually much less of an issue declared than discovered.

The third, mainly for income protection, is accepting the first set of terms. Insurers differ in how they treat mental health history alongside ADHD, and one may offer full cover where another applies an exclusion. A broker can check this before you apply, rather than you applying direct to several and collecting declines.