Life insurance

Ended up a bit rambling and ranty so moving my question to the top! Does anyone have any recommendations for life insurance cover with companies that understand that ME isn't a mental health disorder?
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My wife and I are remortgaging to fund some work on the house.
We both work part time, and should anything happen to either of us then we want the mortgage cleared so are trying to arrange life cover. I still have a PHI from before my ME.

The broker sent me the PDF of the application form that they'd filled in over the phone. In response to me having declared ME, they had some follow up questions. Fair enough. But they're all mental health related! I fully accept that it's common, understandably, to suffer with depression because of the impact of ME on your life. However the wording of the questions is clearly that ME is a mental health condition in the eyesof the insurance company.
I've sent the broker a bullet pointed response, with an ME Association pamphlet as an attachment, and asked them to confirm if AIG think ME is a mental health condition. I was getting quite bolshy when I wrote it and also said that I'm not prepared to take out an insurance policy with a company which doesn't understand the conditions they're covering.
I realise it's unlikely that ME will cause my death, but I've little confidence that the company would pay out of it did of the don't understand the category of the illness!

 

I might try and step aside a bit, and wonder why they're taking this line.

One of the difficulties with pre-existing conditions is that insurers can ask for evidence that a death from a different illness wasn't caused by the first, and this can be quite challenging in some cases. An insurer put my aunt through a horrible 18 months after her husband died—though it was eventually resolved in her favour, as his death really did have nothing to do with his pre-existing illness.

So you could take the view that an insurer being convinced ME is a form of depression is actually an advantage to the insured. Most mental illnesses aren't fatal, and if you were unlucky enough to succumb to another condition, there might actually be fewer questions asked than usual?

To be on the safe side, I think I'd probably try and get professional advice on it if possible. Or at least look at the FCA website and see if there are any message boards dedicated to this kind of question, so that you can get a sense of what you really need to look out for.

 

I don’t currently have life insurance, but do suspect that in the past when I have had travel insurance and currently my ongoing motor insurance, have been cheaper than they might have been because of insurance companies misunderstanding of the nature of ME.

 

Thank you, some interesting takes there that hadn't occurred to me. You might be right on the last one @Trish, I'll check with the broker tomorrow.

 

You declare ME on your insurance? I'd not even considered the need to - am only 18 months since diagnosis, so haven't taken travel ins, but car/home ins has been renewed.

 

Yes, I have always since diagnosis declared ME on insurance forms, as not to do so could invalidate the policy. But I have never had any requests back for further information or any restrictions on cover added.

In relation to driving beyond notifying insurers, I have not notified the DVLA, but do wonder if I should have discussed not doing so with my GP.

 

I've never declared it for car/motorbike or home insurance as it's not a factor for me. However, I sourced a specific policy for a holiday we were supposed to be taking before this relapse. I was very glad I did as the relapse hit a week before we were supposed to leave! I had no problems with getting the payout, I definitely recommend the company (would have to trawl emails to find the name).
If I'm ever well enough to travel again then I'd be taking out travel insurance with ME declared.

 

I always notify insurers about ME. They usually tell me it isn't relevant but I ask them to note I've told them just the same.

It isn't obligatory to declare it for car insurance as far as I know but, if something happened unrelated to ME that resulted in a claim and them looking to see my medical records, then I don't want them to use it as an excuse not to pay out.

I also notified the DVLA when I had to renew my licence thanks to a change of address. It isn't on the list of things you must declare but, as my insurers know about it I decided to tell them. Initially they said they wanted to look at my medical records and charge an extra fee. I phoned up and had a chat, explaining that declaring it wasn't obligatory and so on. They agreed and issued the licence without further ado.

In my view, they can use anything to avoid paying up and I'd rather not have the worry that they might use it as an excuse further down the line.