Life Insurance before surgery

With a scheduled operation in place, it can be really tricky to take out a life insurance policy. In fact, it’s probably one of the worst times to take out life insurance. Premiums will sky-rocket as you’ll be seen as a high risk.

Most surgeries are incredibly safe, however you might be worrying about the possible complications involved with your operation, or the potential things that could go wrong after your operation. If you don’t have a policy, you might be worrying about what would happen to your financial responsibilities and loved ones if anything was to happen to you.

Can I get life insurance before an operation?

Although it’s not impossible, it’s not an easy feat and it may work out to be more stressful than it’s worth. If you’re simply going under anaesthetic and having a wisdom tooth removed, then you probably don’t have much to worry about. Different surgeries have different ‘mortality risks’. 

The difficulty comes when you’re having an operation because you have pre-existing health problems. This already puts you at a disadvantage. Life insurance providers will look into your health when deciding on your premium costs and the poorer your health, the higher your premiums. Some insurers may even decide not to cover you at all.

It might be that the financial issues of trying to take out a life insurance policy before an operation would outweigh the potential benefits for your family in the unlikely event that something would happen to you.

What are my options?

The problem is that insurance companies don’t like uncertainty and tend to charge accordingly. Some insurers will refuse to cover anyone going in for any kind of operation, but don’t let that stop you in your tracks. There are options out there. 
You might be tempted to keep your upcoming operation quiet. What your insurance provider doesn’t know won’t hurt them, right? Not a good idea. It’s very likely that they will eventually find out through a medical examination, possibly leaving you in legal trouble. The best case scenario is that you’ll simply be denied life insurance for a very long time. Neither situation is a good one and it’s the last thing you need when prepping for an operation.

There are a number of options if you’re over 50 that don’t ask any health questions, so there’s no need to disclose your operation or health problems. These are usually expensive, whilst also being exclusively for the over 50’s market. If you don’t fall into this bracket you should speak to an expert adviser, yes - such as LifeSearch, who can help and offer the right advice.

When is the right time to take out life insurance?

For pretty much every type of life insurance, you’ll get a much better price for your cover when your health is stable. That’s why taking out life insurance when you’re young is the best option, because policies can be really cheap.

When you take life insurance out at a young age, as long as your policy stays active your premiums will stay low, even if you become ill later in life. It might not feel worth it whilst you’re young and in good health, but it does make a lot of sense.