Life Insurance With Rosacea
Rosacea is a long term condition, and that is the thing that separates it from most of the skin conditions people worry about declaring.
There is usually no point at which it resolved, so the answer to when it stopped is that it did not. What there is instead is a management routine and, often, a period before diagnosis when it was being looked into.
This page is about what we would need from you. What any insurer makes of it is their call.
The short answer
Rosacea differs from most skin conditions on an application in two ways: it is ongoing rather than something that cleared up, and it is frequently diagnosed after a period of investigation, because facial redness can look like several other things. That means the useful information is the diagnosis date, what else was considered, and what you use to manage it.
What it is
Rosacea is persistent redness, usually across the cheeks, nose, chin and forehead, often with visible small blood vessels and sometimes with bumps and spots that can look like acne. Many people also get flushing in response to triggers such as heat, alcohol, spicy food or stress.
It is managed rather than cured. Treatment commonly involves topical preparations, sometimes long courses of oral antibiotics, avoiding known triggers and protecting the skin from sun. Some people also get eye involvement, which is a separate thing to mention if it applies to you.
Why it comes up on an application
- It is a standing condition rather than a past event, so it belongs in the present tense on an application, with a diagnosis date.
- The route to diagnosis is often the part with the most in it. Facial redness gets investigated, and that investigation can involve a dermatology referral and tests to rule out other causes. Those appear in your record whether or not they found anything.
- Treatment frequently includes long courses of oral antibiotics, which is a prescription history worth having to hand.
- Eye involvement, sometimes called ocular rosacea, is managed differently and may involve an ophthalmologist. If you have it, treat it as a separate entry rather than assuming it is covered by saying rosacea.
What we would ask you
- When you were diagnosed, and whether anything else was investigated or ruled out first
- What you currently use to manage it, including anything taken by mouth
- Whether it affects your eyes as well as your skin
- 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?
The Investigation Is Part Of The History
This catches people out across every long term condition, and rosacea is a good example of why.
Persistent facial redness is not obviously rosacea at the start. It can be investigated as something else, which may mean a referral, blood tests or a biopsy. All of that goes in your medical record, and all of it is a fair answer to a question about tests or specialists even though the conclusion was rosacea.
So when an application asks whether you have seen a specialist or had any tests, the answer is about the whole journey rather than the final label. Being straightforward about that is simpler than trying to decide what counts.
Ongoing Conditions Are Not Harder To Declare, Just Different
There is a tendency to assume a condition you still have is a bigger problem on an application than one that resolved. That is not a safe assumption in either direction, and it is not something we would claim to know per condition.
What is true is that the information needed is different. For something that resolved, dates do most of the work. For something ongoing, what matters is how it is managed now: what you use, how often, and whether anybody other than your GP is involved.
Have those three answers ready and the application is straightforward. The decision on terms is the insurer's, and we would rather find out for you than speculate.
Which cover is relevant
The usual starting point. As with most long term skin conditions, what is available depends on your overall health picture rather than on this entry alone.
Pays on diagnosis of a listed serious condition, and rosacea is not one. Worth arranging for the risks it does cover rather than expecting it to respond to your skin.
Relevant if the condition, or a flare, has ever affected your ability to work. For most people it has not, and the honest answer on an application is that it has not.
Common questions
Will rosacea affect my life insurance?+
That is the insurer's decision and it depends on your full health picture rather than on one entry, so we will not guess at it. What we can say is that the information worth having ready is the diagnosis date, what you use to manage it, and whether your eyes are involved.
Do I have to declare rosacea?+
Answer the questions you are asked, accurately. If you are asked about skin conditions, ongoing conditions, medication or specialists, and rosacea applies, then yes. Since it is ongoing rather than resolved, it belongs in the present tense.
What about the tests I had before being diagnosed?+
They count, and they are a fair answer to a question about tests or specialist referrals. Facial redness often gets investigated before it is labelled rosacea, and that investigation sits in your record regardless of the conclusion.
I take antibiotics long term for it. Does that matter?+
It is worth declaring, because a long running prescription is a substantial part of a medical history. Whether and how it affects what is offered is the insurer's decision, which is exactly what we would find out rather than predict.
Does ocular rosacea need declaring separately?+
Mention it specifically rather than assuming the word rosacea covers it. Eye involvement is often managed by a different specialist, and an application asking about eye conditions or specialists is asking about that too.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.