Life Insurance With Anaemia
Anaemia gets treated as a diagnosis when it is really a measurement.
The clinical question is never that the haemoglobin is low, it is why, and the answer to that is what makes an application complete.
In one age group that question leads somewhere quite specific, and that is the part this page spends most time on.
The short answer
Anaemia is a low level of haemoglobin, and it is a finding rather than a diagnosis. The useful entry on an application is always the cause: heavy periods, poor absorption, an autoimmune condition, or bleeding somewhere. In adults past around fifty, unexplained iron deficiency normally triggers investigation of the bowel, and that investigation is the thing worth declaring.
What it is
Anaemia is a reduced level of haemoglobin in the blood, causing tiredness, breathlessness on exertion, pallor and sometimes palpitations. It is found on a full blood count.
Iron deficiency anaemia is the commonest type, caused by blood loss, including heavy periods, by poor dietary intake, by absorption problems such as coeliac disease, or by bleeding from the stomach or bowel. Other types include B12 and folate deficiency anaemia, anaemia of chronic disease, and inherited conditions such as thalassaemia and sickle cell trait or disease.
Treatment addresses the cause, with iron tablets, injections or in some cases infusions to correct the level.
Why it comes up on an application
- The cause is the entry. Heavy periods in a younger woman and unexplained iron deficiency in a man of sixty are the same blood result and completely different medical situations.
- In adults past around fifty, and in men at any age without an obvious cause, iron deficiency is normally investigated with a gastroscopy and colonoscopy. Those are significant investigations and belong in an answer about tests whatever they found.
- A normal colonoscopy is good information to be able to give, and leaving it out because nothing was found makes an application incomplete.
- Iron infusions are given in hospital and are a more substantial treatment than tablets.
- Inherited anaemias are a different category: thalassaemia trait and sickle cell trait are usually harmless carrier states, while sickle cell disease is a serious condition, and the distinction matters a great deal.
- Absorption causes point elsewhere, to coeliac disease or inflammatory bowel disease, and those have their own pages.
- Heavy periods are a common cause and have their own page here too.
- Chronic kidney disease causes anaemia, and if that is the reason, it is the larger entry.
What we would ask you
- When you were found to be anaemic, and what type it was
- Whether a cause was identified, and what it was
- Whether you have had a gastroscopy or colonoscopy, and what they showed
- Whether you take iron tablets, or have had injections or infusions
- Whether you have been tested for coeliac disease
- Whether anybody has mentioned thalassaemia or sickle cell
- Whether you are currently off work or working reduced hours because of an accident, injury or illness
- Whether you are waiting on any medical tests, appointments or treatment
- Whether you have been diagnosed with or treated for cancer in the last five years
- Whether a parent, brother or sister was diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or a stroke before 65
- Any medication you take
- Whether you smoke, and your date of birth
Over Fifty, Iron Deficiency Means A Camera Test
This is the single most useful thing to know before filling in a form about anaemia.
Unexplained iron deficiency in an adult past around fifty, or in a man at any age with no obvious cause, is normally investigated with a gastroscopy and a colonoscopy. The reason is straightforward: the commonest explanation is slow bleeding from the stomach or bowel, and that needs looking at.
So if you were anaemic in that age group, you very likely had those tests. They are significant investigations, they are in your record, and a question about tests is asking whether they happened. Most are normal or find something minor, and saying "colonoscopy 2021, normal" is both complete and genuinely reassuring. People leave it out precisely because nothing was found, which is the wrong instinct.
Trait Is Not Disease
There is one distinction in this area that gets confused and really matters.
Thalassaemia trait and sickle cell trait are carrier states. Most people with them are entirely well, often found incidentally or through family or antenatal screening, and they are not diseases. Sickle cell disease and thalassaemia major are serious conditions with ongoing specialist care.
If you have been told you carry a trait, say exactly that: "sickle cell trait, carrier, no symptoms". Using the condition name without the word trait describes something much more serious than your situation, and it is worth being precise in your own interest.
Which cover is relevant
The usual starting point. The cause and any investigations sit in the picture far more prominently than the haemoglobin number.
Pays on diagnosis of a listed serious condition. Anaemia is not one, though some conditions found while investigating it are, which is worth knowing.
Replaces earnings if illness or injury stops you working. Significant anaemia causes real fatigue and breathlessness, and physical trades feel it first.
Common questions
Do I need to declare anaemia?+
Answer what you are asked, and give the cause rather than just the finding. Heavy periods in a younger woman and unexplained iron deficiency in a man of sixty are the same blood result and completely different situations.
Why does my age matter with iron deficiency?+
Because unexplained iron deficiency past around fifty, or in a man at any age with no obvious cause, is normally investigated with a gastroscopy and colonoscopy. The commonest explanation is slow bleeding from the stomach or bowel.
My colonoscopy was clear. Do I still mention it?+
Yes, and it is useful information. A question about investigations asks whether they happened, and a normal result is reassuring rather than something to leave out. This is the detail most often omitted on this page.
I have sickle cell trait. Is that the same as the disease?+
No, and the distinction matters. Trait is a carrier state and most people with it are entirely well. Sickle cell disease is a serious condition with ongoing specialist care. Say the word trait, because leaving it off describes something far more serious than your situation.
I take iron tablets for heavy periods. What should I say?+
Say both: the heavy periods as the cause and the iron as the treatment. That is a complete and straightforward answer, and we have a page on heavy periods covering what else we would ask.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.