Life Insurance With Hyperhidrosis
Excessive sweating is socially difficult and medically usually straightforward, provided it is the primary kind.
The reason it needs a moment of care is the second kind. Sweating can be a symptom rather than a condition, which means the honest answer to an application question is sometimes about something entirely different.
This page is about telling those apart and what we would need from you.
The short answer
Hyperhidrosis splits into two and the distinction is the whole of it. Primary hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating with no underlying cause, usually starting young and affecting specific areas. Secondary hyperhidrosis is sweating caused by something else, and in that case the something else is what belongs on your application.
What it is
Primary focal hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating in specific areas, typically the palms, soles, armpits or face, usually starting in childhood or the teens, with no underlying disease behind it. It tends to be symmetrical and does not generally happen during sleep.
Secondary hyperhidrosis is sweating caused by something else: an overactive thyroid, diabetes, infection, the menopause, anxiety, or a side effect of medication among them. It is more likely to be generalised rather than focal, to start later in life, and to occur at night.
Treatment for the primary kind ranges from strong antiperspirants through to prescribed medication, iontophoresis, botulinum toxin injections and, rarely, surgery.
Why it comes up on an application
- Primary hyperhidrosis is a long standing condition with no disease behind it, and the useful details are when it started, where it affects and what you use.
- Secondary hyperhidrosis is a symptom. If a cause was found, that cause is the thing to declare properly, and it may be a condition with considerably more weight than sweating.
- Night sweats specifically are worth flagging rather than folding into general sweating, because they are more often investigated and the investigation is in your record.
- If you were ever checked for a cause, thyroid function and blood sugar being the usual starting points, those tests count as tests whatever they showed.
What we would ask you
- When it started, and whether it affects specific areas or your whole body
- Whether it happens at night as well as during the day
- Whether a cause was ever looked for, and whether anything was found
- What you use or take for it, including prescribed treatment or injections
- Have you ever had cancer, a heart condition (including heart attack), stroke or brain injury, MS or a neurological condition, or Type 1 or 2 diabetes?
- Do you have any other medical conditions? (please state condition and any treatment taken)
- Are you waiting any medical tests, appointments or treatment?
- Date of birth (DD/MM/YYYY)
- Do you smoke?
Primary Or Secondary Is The Only Question That Matters
Everything useful about declaring this comes down to which one you have.
Primary hyperhidrosis is the condition. It usually starts young, affects particular areas symmetrically, and has nothing behind it. For an application it is a long standing but self-contained entry, and the details are when, where and what you use.
Secondary hyperhidrosis is a symptom of something else, and that something else can be significant. Thyroid overactivity, diabetes, infection and medication side effects all feature. If a cause was identified in your case, the cause is the entry with weight in it and the sweating is the thing that led you to the doctor.
Mention Night Sweats Separately
This is a small but worthwhile distinction, and it exists because doctors treat the two differently.
Primary focal hyperhidrosis does not generally happen while you are asleep. Sweating that does wake you is more often investigated, and that investigation may have involved blood tests or a referral.
So if night sweats are part of your picture, say so explicitly rather than describing it all as excessive sweating. If you were investigated and nothing was found, that is a complete and useful answer, and a question about tests is asking about the test rather than about the result.
Which cover is relevant
The usual starting point. Where sweating turned out to be secondary, it is the underlying condition that shapes the conversation rather than the symptom.
Pays on diagnosis of a listed serious condition, and hyperhidrosis is not one. Arrange it for the risks it does cover, reading the definitions first.
Replaces earnings if illness or injury stops you working. Severe hyperhidrosis occasionally affects particular kinds of work, and if it has affected yours, say so.
Common questions
Does hyperhidrosis affect life insurance?+
What any insurer decides depends on your whole health picture, so we will not guess. The question that shapes it is whether your sweating is primary, which is self-contained, or secondary to another condition, in which case that condition is the relevant entry.
How do I know which kind I have?+
Primary tends to start young, affect specific areas symmetrically and not happen in your sleep. Secondary tends to start later, be more generalised, happen at night and have a cause behind it. If you were investigated and nothing was found, that points to primary.
I have treatment injections for it. Does that count?+
Yes, mention it. Botulinum toxin injections, prescribed medication and iontophoresis are all treatment and belong in an answer about how a condition is managed. It takes a line to say.
I was tested and nothing was found. What do I put?+
Say exactly that. A question about tests is asking whether you had them, not only what they showed, and "investigated, nothing found" is a complete answer that also tells us the sweating is likely primary.
Should I mention night sweats?+
Yes, separately. Primary hyperhidrosis does not usually occur during sleep, so night sweats are a different flag and are more often investigated. Saying so specifically is better than folding it into a general description.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.