When you apply for life insurance, you will usually be asked questions about your health and medical history.

For many people, these questions are straightforward. However, if you have experienced suicidal thoughts, self-harmed or attempted suicide, applying for life insurance can sometimes feel much more complicated.

There is an important reason for these questions.

The majority of personal life insurance policies in the UK have an initial exclusion for claims relating to suicide or self-harm. This is usually for the first 12 months of the policy.

Once the policy has been in place for 12 months, claims relating to suicide will generally be covered, subject to the specific terms and conditions of the policy.

This is one of the reasons why insurers can take a closer look at an application where there has been a history of suicidal thoughts, self-harm or a suicide attempt.

Why does the 12 month exclusion matter?

It can seem surprising that life insurance policies can cover claims relating to suicide at all. A lot of people don’t think that they do.

The 12 month exclusion is a standard feature of many personal life insurance policies. After this initial period, the policy will generally provide the same life cover regardless of the cause of death, subject to the policy terms.

This means that insurers are taking on a different level of risk when someone has experienced significant mental health more recently.

If you have experienced suicidal thoughts, self-harmed or attempted suicide, the insurer may therefore want to understand more about what happened and how you are doing now.

Why can the last 5 years be important?

There is no single set of questions that every insurer uses.

Different insurers ask different questions and use different time periods when assessing mental health.

However, if you have experienced suicidal thoughts, self-harm or attempted suicide within the last five years, you may find that arranging life insurance is more difficult. You can also find that these questions will fall into the ‘have you ever’ questions that insurers can ask.

The insurer may want to know:

• When the suicidal thoughts or self-harm occurred

• Whether there was a suicide attempt

• Whether there have been any further episodes

• Whether you received medical or professional support

• Whether you are currently experiencing symptoms

• Whether you have needed medication or other treatment

• Whether your mental health has affected your ability to work

• Whether you have required hospital treatment

These questions can feel very personal, but they are being asked because the insurer needs to understand your individual circumstances before deciding what terms they can offer.

It is important to know that if you don’t want to answer these questions, you do not have to, you will just need to place your application with an insurer that doesn’t need to know. This will likely mean that the policy will permanently exclude claims relating to mental health.

You can find that some insurers can consider your application for life insurance if you have experienced suicidal thoughts in the last 5 years, this is most likely if they have not occurred in the last 12 months.

You will find that a lot of insurers will not be able to offer you life insurance if you have self-harmed or attempted suicide in the last 5 years. There are insurers that can, but it’s important to double check the terms and conditions that they offer, as they will again likely have a permanent mental health exclusion.

What can happen to your life insurance?

There are several possible outcomes when an insurer assesses your application.

You may be offered life insurance on standard terms, meaning there is no increase to the premium because of your mental health history. This depends upon the symptoms that you experienced and when these were, plus symptoms that you potentially still experience.

Alternatively, the insurer may increase the premium to reflect the perceived risk of a claim.

In some circumstances, an insurer may decide that they cannot offer cover.

The important thing is that a decision from one insurer does not necessarily mean that every insurer will make the same decision.

Different insurers have different approaches to mental health and ask different questions.

This is why it can be particularly important to approach the right insurer in the first place.

Are there life insurance policies with mental health exclusions?

Yes.

There are specific life insurance policies available that can provide cover with a permanent exclusion for claims relating to mental health.

This means that the policy can still provide life insurance, but there is a specific exclusion relating to death caused by a mental health condition.

This can be a really good option for a lot of people and when I recommend this option, most people assumed that life insurance didn’t cover claims relating to mental health, and were not concerned with the exclusion. I have spoken to others who did not feel comfortable with the exclusion and it’s absolutely your right to decide what does and doesn’t feel right for you.

It is not necessarily the first option we would look at. The goal is to get the life insurance without the permanent self harm and suicide exclusion, but it’s there as a fall back.

Sometimes having an option with a permanent mental health exclusion can be better than having no life insurance at all.

Why might this be a useful option?

Imagine that you have recently experienced suicidal thoughts or self-harm and several insurers are unable to offer you standard life insurance.

You may still have a mortgage, children, a partner or other financial responsibilities that you want to protect.

A specialist policy with a permanent mental health exclusion could potentially provide cover for other causes of death.

It will not provide the same level of protection as a standard policy, so the exclusion needs to be carefully considered.

But it can give you an option at a time when you may otherwise struggle to obtain cover. It’s all about what is going to give you peace of mind that your loved ones will be ok financially, if you pass away.

Don’t assume you will be declined

One of the most important things to remember is that having a history of suicidal thoughts, self-harm or a suicide attempt does not automatically mean that you cannot get life insurance.

Insurers look at the individual circumstances.

The timing, frequency and severity of the events can all be important, as can your current health and any treatment or support you have received.

Some insurers may be more comfortable with a particular history than others. Whilst many don’t believe it, insurers do really take into account the reasons that led to your circumstances.

Unfortunately for the very nature that we are discussing mental health, these situations are very private and sensitive and not situations where I can detail specific circumstances and outcomes. Even anonymised, many details would be too identifiable to people that we have supported and I would not want them in a position where they felt their personal stories are being shared.

What should I do if I have experienced suicidal thoughts or self-harm?

It can understandably feel daunting to talk about these experiences when applying for life insurance.

You do not need to feel embarrassed or ashamed.

Mental health is part of your medical history, and insurers are used to assessing applications where someone has experienced difficulties with their mental health. I have been very open in our industry and in the press about my own experiences of arranging insurance when having a mental health history. There is no judgement here.

The most important thing you can do is to provide accurate information.

If you are unsure what needs to be disclosed, an experienced adviser can help you understand the questions and identify which insurers may be appropriate for your circumstances.

At Cura, we regularly help people who have experienced suicidal thoughts, self-harm, suicide attempts and other mental health difficulties.

We will always try to find the most comprehensive option available first. If standard life insurance is not available, we can also look at specialist alternatives, including policies that have a permanent exclusion relating to mental health.

Speak to Cura

Having experienced suicidal thoughts, self-harm or a suicide attempt does not mean that you should simply give up on getting life insurance.

It may mean that the application needs a little more consideration. We can look at your individual circumstances, try to find standard cover wherever possible and, if necessary, discuss specialist options that may still allow you to put financial protection in place.