Life Insurance With Fibromyalgia

For Life Cover, Fibromyalgia Is Rarely The Problem

Life insurance pays out if you die during the policy term, so the insurer is pricing life expectancy. Fibromyalgia causes widespread pain, fatigue, poor sleep and difficulty concentrating, and it can affect daily life a great deal, but it does not damage organs or shorten life. Many applicants with it are offered life cover at standard rates.

When terms do change, it is usually because of something alongside the fibromyalgia rather than the fibromyalgia itself: a history of depression or anxiety, other health conditions, or weight or smoking. That is worth knowing, because it means the fibromyalgia diagnosis is not something to be anxious about declaring.

Why Income Protection Is Harder, Said Plainly

Income protection pays a monthly benefit while you are unable to work because of illness or injury. That is the product fibromyalgia most affects, and it is fair to be told so up front.

The reason is not that insurers doubt fibromyalgia is real. It is that the features of the condition make an income protection claim hard to price and hard to assess:

• There is no blood test or scan that measures how severe it is at a given time
• Symptoms fluctuate, so ability to work can change from week to week
• When it does stop someone working, the absence can be long
• It often occurs with other conditions, such as depression, that also lead to time off

Faced with that, the most common response is to offer cover with an exclusion for fibromyalgia and related conditions. With significant recent time off, or alongside a mental health history that has also led to absence, some insurers decline income protection altogether. Others will consider it. That variation is the main reason the choice of insurer matters with fibromyalgia.

An Exclusion Still Leaves A Lot Of Cover

It is easy to hear "exclusion" and conclude the policy is pointless. It usually is not. A policy excluding fibromyalgia still pays if you cannot work because of cancer, a heart attack, a stroke, a broken leg, most mental health conditions (unless those are excluded too) or almost anything else. Our guide on why income protection matters explains how much rides on that.

What matters is the wording. Exclusions vary: one may name fibromyalgia only; another may cover fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME and any musculoskeletal pain. A broader exclusion takes away a lot more. Before you accept terms, read exactly what is excluded, and compare wordings if more than one insurer offers cover.

A few other things can help:

• A longer deferred period. The deferred period is how long you must be off work before the policy pays. A longer one may be viewed more favourably and also lowers the premium.
• Occupation. Office-based roles are generally viewed more favourably than physical ones, because the policy pays on your ability to do your own job.
• Exclusion reviews. Some insurers will look again at an exclusion after a period without symptoms, treatment or time off. With a long-term condition this may never apply, so treat it as a bonus rather than a plan.

Depression, Anxiety, ME And IBS Are Read Together

Fibromyalgia often comes with company. Depression and anxiety are common alongside it, as are sleep problems, ME or chronic fatigue syndrome, and irritable bowel syndrome. An underwriter looks at these as one picture, not a set of separate answers.

For life cover, mental health is usually the factor that carries the most weight. Insurers typically ask about diagnosis, treatment, any time off, any hospital admission and any history of self-harm. Mild to moderate, well-managed depression is often accepted at or near standard rates. For income protection, a mental health history may mean a second exclusion alongside the fibromyalgia one, which significantly narrows the cover.

ME and chronic fatigue syndrome raise the same concerns for income protection as fibromyalgia, and exclusions are often worded to cover both. If you have one diagnosis and not the other, make that clear on the application.

Your Medication Can Raise Questions You Should Expect

Many medicines used for fibromyalgia pain were first developed for something else. Amitriptyline and duloxetine are antidepressants; pregabalin and gabapentin are also used for epilepsy and nerve pain. On an application form, an antidepressant can trigger mental health questions even if you take it only for pain.

That is not a problem as long as the context is given. State the drug, the dose, how long you have taken it and why it was prescribed. If it is for pain and you have never had a mental health diagnosis, say so. If it is for both, say that too. Clear answers stop an underwriter assuming the worst and asking for medical reports that slow the application down.

Critical Illness Cover Is Usually Unaffected

Critical illness cover pays out on diagnosis of specified conditions such as cancer, heart attack and stroke. Fibromyalgia is not one of them and does not make them more likely, so it often has little or no effect on critical illness terms.

The exception is total permanent disability, which some policies include. Because it pays if you can no longer work or manage daily tasks, it overlaps with the same concern that affects income protection, and an insurer may exclude or restrict it. Check whether it applies to your offer.

What Underwriters Ask, And How To Avoid A Poor Outcome

Expect questions along these lines. Having answers ready makes the process quicker and fairer:

• When you were diagnosed, and whether by your GP or a specialist such as a rheumatologist
• How symptoms affect your daily life and whether they are stable, improving or worsening
• All current medication, with doses, and any changes in the last year or two
• Time off work because of fibromyalgia in recent years, with dates and durations
• Whether you have had to reduce your hours or change your duties
• Any related diagnosis: depression, anxiety, ME or chronic fatigue syndrome, IBS
• Any investigations still pending

Three mistakes make things worse. Not declaring fibromyalgia, or describing it vaguely, can put the whole policy at risk: you are required to answer honestly and with reasonable care, and an undisclosed condition can lead to a reduced or refused claim. Applying while still under investigation for unexplained pain often leads to postponement. And applying to several insurers direct for income protection can leave a trail of declines that later applications ask about. A broker can find out which insurers are likely to consider your history, and how their exclusion wordings compare, before anything is submitted.