MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Life Insurance With a Family History of Illness
A family history of cancer, heart disease or another condition rarely stops you getting life insurance. It matters most for critical illness cover, and only when close relatives were diagnosed young.
The short answer
At a glance: how it usually affects each type of cover
| Type of cover | Typical outcome | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Life insurance | Often standard rates; a higher premium is possible with several relatives affected young | Number of first-degree relatives, their ages at diagnosis, and your own health |
| Critical illness cover | Exclusion for the family condition, or a higher premium, is more common | Which condition, how many relatives, how young they were, and whether you are older than that now |
| Income protection | Usually unaffected | Underwritten mainly on your own health and occupation rather than your family's |
A general guide to how UK insurers commonly approach this, not a promise of terms. Every application is underwritten on its own facts.
What Insurers Actually Mean By "Family History"
Family history questions are narrower than many people expect. They typically cover only first-degree blood relatives: your natural mother, father, brothers and sisters. And they usually ask only about diagnoses made before a certain age, commonly somewhere around 60 or 65, though the exact age and list of conditions vary by insurer.
The conditions usually asked about are those where a family pattern can point to a raised risk for you:
- heart disease, heart attack and stroke
- cancers, especially breast, ovarian, bowel and prostate
- diabetes
- inherited conditions such as Huntington's disease and polycystic kidney disease
- some other neurological conditions, depending on the insurer
A grandparent who had a heart attack at 80 or an aunt with cancer is usually outside the question altogether. Read each question carefully and answer exactly what it asks.
Critical Illness Cover Feels It; Life Cover Often Does Not
This is the most useful thing to understand. A critical illness policy pays out on diagnosis of conditions such as cancer, heart attack and stroke, which are precisely the conditions family history questions are about. If your family history suggests a higher chance of one of them, it directly affects the policy, so an exclusion for that condition or an increased premium is more likely.
Life cover pays only on death, and many people diagnosed with those conditions are treated successfully. A family history therefore often has little or no effect on life cover, particularly where only one relative is involved. Income protection is usually underwritten on your own health and job, so family history rarely features.
If you are offered critical illness cover with an exclusion, read exactly what it excludes. A policy that excludes the one cancer you are most worried about may still be valuable for everything else, but you should choose it knowing that.
Heart Disease And Stroke: Your Own Readings Change How It Is Read
A parent or sibling who had heart disease or a stroke young is read together with your own risk factors. Someone with that family history who does not smoke and has normal blood pressure, cholesterol and weight is often accepted on standard terms. The same family history alongside raised readings or smoking is a more significant combination, because those factors add up.
Age matters too. The concern is that a condition which affected a relative young may affect you young. If you are already older than your relatives were at diagnosis and in good health, some insurers give the history less weight.
Cancer: The Type And The Number Of Relatives Matter Most
One parent diagnosed with a common cancer later in life is unlikely to affect your terms. Insurers become more interested where two or more close relatives had the same or related cancers, such as breast and ovarian, or where relatives were diagnosed young. That pattern can indicate an inherited risk, and on critical illness cover it may lead to an exclusion for that type of cancer.
If you are on an enhanced screening programme because of your family history, have the details ready. If you have had cancer yourself, the application is assessed on your own diagnosis instead; see our guide to life insurance after cancer.
The UK Code On Genetic Testing And Insurance Protects You
The Code on Genetic Testing and Insurance is an agreement between the Government and the Association of British Insurers (ABI). Under it, insurers who follow the Code:
- will not require or pressure you to take a predictive genetic test
- will not ask for, or take into account, the result of a predictive genetic test, with one exception: Huntington's disease, for life insurance where the total cover is over £500,000
- may take into account a favourable predictive result if you choose to share it
A predictive test is one taken while you are well, to find out whether you carry a gene linked to a future risk. A diagnostic test, which confirms a condition you already have symptoms of, is different: that is part of your own medical history and is disclosable. The Code also does not change the family history questions, which you must still answer accurately. The Code is reviewed periodically, so check the current version on GOV.UK or the ABI website before relying on the detail.
BRCA, Huntington's And Polycystic Kidney Disease Need Careful Handling
BRCA: if you have tested positive for a BRCA variant but have not had cancer, that predictive result falls under the Code. You must still disclose your family history of breast or ovarian cancer where asked, and risk-reducing surgery or enhanced screening is part of your own medical history, which the medical questions may cover. How insurers treat that varies, so it is worth getting advice on the wording before you apply.
Huntington's disease: a family history is usually declarable, and insurers will want to know about the affected relative and whether you have any symptoms. A predictive test result can only be asked about for life cover over £500,000.
Polycystic kidney disease: where a parent has the inherited form, insurers may ask whether you have had kidney scans and what they showed. A scan that shows the condition is a diagnosis, not a predictive genetic test, and would be assessed as your own medical history.
You Only Declare What You Know
Your duty is to take reasonable care to answer the questions honestly and accurately, to the best of your knowledge. It does not require you to investigate your family's medical records. If you were adopted, are not in contact with a parent, or simply do not know, say so; insurers will usually underwrite on your own health. What causes problems is guessing, or leaving out something you do know because it seems unlikely to matter. An answer that turns out to be wrong can lead an insurer to reduce or refuse a claim.
Once your policy starts, later diagnoses in your family do not change it. If something changes between applying and the start date, tell the insurer or your adviser.
Why Comparing Insurers Matters More Here Than You Might Think
Family history is one of the areas where insurers' approaches differ most: how many relatives count, the age cut-off, which conditions are included, and whether they respond with an exclusion or a premium increase. That matters most on critical illness cover, where one insurer may exclude a condition that another would cover. We can check how your family history is likely to be treated before you apply, so the policy you take out covers what you actually want it to. If you are buying cover to protect your children, our guide to life insurance for parents covers how much and what type.
Write Down What You Know About Your Close Family
About CoverLife
CoverLife is a UK life insurance broker specialising in cover for people with medical conditions, including applicants who have been declined, postponed or rated by another insurer. We have a panel of 15 UK protection insurers, including Aviva, Legal & General, Royal London, Vitality, LV=, Scottish Widows, The Exeter, Guardian, MetLife, Holloway Friendly, British Friendly and National Friendly.
CoverLife is a trading name of CoverTrade Risk Management Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 1020148. Advice is given by a named adviser and there is no charge for it. More about CoverLife
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.
- Critical illness coverThe product most affected by family history, because it pays on the very diagnoses the questions are about.
- Heart conditionsIf a family history of heart disease has become a diagnosis of your own, this guide covers how insurers assess it.
- High cholesterolInsurers read family history of heart disease together with your own cholesterol and blood pressure, not in isolation.
Common questions
Does family history affect life insurance?+
Sometimes, but usually less than people fear. Insurers typically ask about parents, brothers and sisters diagnosed with conditions such as heart disease, stroke, certain cancers or diabetes before a set age, often around 60 or 65. A single relative diagnosed later in life rarely makes a difference. Several close relatives diagnosed young is more likely to affect terms, and the effect is usually greater on critical illness cover than on life cover.
Does a family history of cancer affect life insurance?+
It can, mainly where close relatives were diagnosed young or where several relatives had the same type, such as breast, ovarian or bowel cancer. For life cover, a family history of cancer on its own often has little or no effect. For critical illness cover, an insurer may exclude the specific type of cancer that runs in your family or increase the premium, because that policy would pay out on the diagnosis itself.
Which relatives do insurers ask about?+
Usually first-degree relatives: your natural mother, father, brothers and sisters. Some insurers ask about a wider group, and the questions typically focus on relatives diagnosed before a particular age. That age varies by insurer and condition, but 60 or 65 is common. Half-siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles are not usually included unless the question says so, so answer exactly what is asked.
What if I do not know my family medical history?+
Say so. You can only declare what you know, and answering that you do not know because you were adopted, are not in contact with a parent, or simply were never told is a perfectly acceptable answer. Insurers will usually underwrite on your own health instead. Do not guess and do not fill gaps with assumptions; an accurate "unknown" is far better than a confident answer that turns out to be wrong.
Do I have to tell my insurer about a genetic test result?+
Under the UK Code on Genetic Testing and Insurance, insurers who follow it do not ask for, or take into account, the results of predictive genetic tests. The one current exception is Huntington's disease, for life insurance where the total cover is over £500,000. You must still answer family history questions accurately, and the results of diagnostic tests that confirm a condition you already have are part of your medical history.
Do I need to declare a BRCA gene mutation?+
A predictive BRCA test result, where you have not had cancer, is covered by the Code on Genetic Testing and Insurance, so insurers following it should not ask for it or use it. You must still answer family history questions accurately. Risk-reducing surgery or enhanced screening is part of your own medical history and may come up through the medical questions, so this is an area where advice before applying is worthwhile.
Why does family history affect critical illness cover more than life cover?+
Because critical illness cover pays out when you are diagnosed with conditions like cancer, heart attack and stroke, which are exactly the conditions family history questions are about. A raised chance of being diagnosed matters directly to that policy. Life cover pays only on death, and many people diagnosed with those conditions recover, so the effect on life cover is often smaller or nothing at all.
Does a family history of heart disease affect life insurance?+
It can, if a parent, brother or sister had heart disease or a stroke before the age the insurer asks about, typically around 60 or 65. Insurers look at it alongside your own blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and smoking status. A family history combined with good personal readings and no smoking is often accepted on standard terms; a family history plus several personal risk factors is more likely to increase the premium.
Can I get life insurance if Huntington's disease runs in my family?+
Often, yes, though it depends on the details and the amount of cover. A family history of Huntington's will usually need to be declared, and insurers will ask about your affected relative and whether you have any symptoms. Under the Code on Genetic Testing and Insurance, a predictive Huntington's test result can only be asked about for life cover over £500,000. Specialist advice before applying is strongly recommended.
What if a relative is diagnosed after I take out my policy?+
Once your policy has started, you do not normally need to tell the insurer about changes to your family history, and the terms stay as they were issued. The duty to answer accurately applies to the application, up until the policy begins. If a relative is diagnosed between applying and the policy starting, tell the insurer or your adviser, because that change could affect the answer you gave.
Does family history matter less as I get older?+
Often, yes. The concern is that a condition which affected a close relative young might affect you young too. If you are already older than the age at which your relatives were diagnosed, and you are in good health, some insurers give the family history less weight, or none. How each insurer treats this differs, which is one reason to compare before applying.
Should I use a broker if I have a family history of illness?+
Yes, particularly if you want critical illness cover. Insurers differ noticeably in how they treat family history: how many relatives count, at what age, and whether they exclude a condition or increase the premium. A broker can find an insurer whose approach suits your family history before you apply, rather than discovering after an application that the policy excludes the illness you are most worried about.