Life Insurance With A Vitamin Deficiency
Vitamin deficiencies get lumped together in conversation, and they should not be lumped together on a form.
One of them is a seasonal fact of life in a northern country. Another can be the visible end of an autoimmune condition.
This page is about which of those you have, because the difference is large.
The short answer
These sit at two very different ends. Low vitamin D is extremely common in the UK, is corrected with a supplement, and is barely an entry at all. B12 deficiency is a different matter, because one of its causes is pernicious anaemia, an autoimmune condition requiring lifelong injections, and that is a diagnosis with real substance. The useful answer tells them apart.
What it is
Vitamin D deficiency is very common in the UK, particularly in winter, and in people with darker skin or limited sun exposure. It is diagnosed on a blood test and treated with supplements. Severe, prolonged deficiency can affect bone health.
Vitamin B12 deficiency has several causes: low dietary intake, metformin or acid-suppressing medication, coeliac disease or other absorption problems, and pernicious anaemia, an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks the cells needed to absorb B12. The cause determines the treatment: dietary deficiency responds to tablets, while pernicious anaemia requires B12 injections for life.
Folate deficiency is usually dietary, related to alcohol, pregnancy or absorption problems, and corrected with tablets.
Why it comes up on an application
- Vitamin D deficiency alone, corrected with a supplement, is a minimal entry and an honest short answer.
- B12 deficiency is only properly described once the cause is named, so saying which it was is the whole value of your answer.
- Pernicious anaemia is an autoimmune diagnosis with lifelong injections, and it must be declared as that rather than as a vitamin level.
- Lifelong B12 injections are continuing treatment, which is different in kind from a supplement you buy yourself.
- An absorption cause points at something else: coeliac disease, previous stomach or bowel surgery, or inflammatory bowel disease, all of which are the larger entries and have their own pages.
- Metformin and long-term acid-suppressing medication are recognised contributors, which makes the medication question relevant.
- Anaemia often accompanies B12 or folate deficiency, and that has its own page here.
- A supplement bought over the counter is still worth mentioning if a blood test and a diagnosis sit behind it.
What we would ask you
- Which deficiency you were found to have, and roughly when
- Whether a cause was identified
- Whether you were told it was pernicious anaemia
- Whether you take tablets, or have injections, and how often
- Whether you have been tested for coeliac disease or had stomach or bowel surgery
- 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
B12 Is The One Worth Getting Right
If there is one thing to take from this page, it is that "B12 deficiency" is not a complete answer.
The cause is what matters. Low dietary intake in somebody eating a vegan diet is corrected with tablets and is a small thing. Pernicious anaemia is an autoimmune condition in which the body destroys the cells needed to absorb B12 at all, and the treatment is injections for the rest of your life.
Those are very different entries wearing the same words. If you have injections rather than tablets, that is usually the clue, and it is worth asking your GP what your diagnosis actually was. Writing "pernicious anaemia, diagnosed 2019, three-monthly B12 injections" is a precise answer. Writing "low B12" is not.
Vitamin D Is Usually Nothing Much
It is worth saying this clearly, because people worry about it and the worry is misplaced.
Low vitamin D is extremely common in a country at this latitude, especially through winter, and it is routinely found on blood tests done for other reasons. It is corrected with a supplement. That is a minimal entry and a one-line answer.
The exception is where the deficiency was severe and prolonged enough to affect bone health, or where it was found alongside something else such as coeliac disease or a bowel absorption problem. In that case the other condition is the entry and the vitamin level is a consequence of it.
Which cover is relevant
The usual starting point. Low vitamin D rarely features at all; pernicious anaemia is an autoimmune diagnosis and sits in the picture properly.
Pays on diagnosis of a listed serious condition, and none of these is one. Worth having for the risks it does cover.
Replaces earnings if illness or injury stops you working. Severe deficiency causes real fatigue, though it is usually correctable.
Common questions
Do I need to declare low vitamin D?+
Answer what you are asked, and it is a one-line answer. Low vitamin D corrected with a supplement is extremely common in the UK and a minimal entry. The exception is where it was found alongside an absorption problem, in which case that is the real entry.
What is pernicious anaemia and why does it matter?+
It is an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks the cells needed to absorb vitamin B12, so treatment is B12 injections for life rather than tablets. It is a proper diagnosis with continuing treatment and should be declared as that, not as a low vitamin level.
I have B12 injections. What should I put?+
Say what the diagnosis was, roughly when, and that you have injections and how often. Injections rather than tablets usually means an absorption problem rather than a dietary one, and the cause is the informative part.
Why are you asking about coeliac disease?+
Because an absorption problem is one of the causes of B12 and folate deficiency. Coeliac disease, previous stomach or bowel surgery, and inflammatory bowel disease all cause it, and any of those is a larger entry than the vitamin level.
Could my metformin be causing it?+
Metformin and long-term acid-suppressing medication are both recognised contributors to low B12. That makes the medication question relevant, and it is worth naming what you take alongside the deficiency.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.