Amputation & Life Insurance

Critical illness cover pays out a cash lump sum of money, if you are diagnosed with a medical condition that is listed in the insurer’s claims set e.g. cancer, heart attack, stroke.

If you’re looking for critical illness cover, the situation is a bit different than life insurance. Insurers will still want to understand the cause of the amputation to be able to assess your application properly, but there is extra specific consideration in terms of claims. This is because loss of a hand or foot, or limb, is often a claimable condition.

If the amputation was the result of an accident, it’s typically looked at on its own, which is positive. You would potentially be able to get standard premiums for your critical illness cover, but, there would be an exclusion placed on most policies. If you left leg is amputated, then you will find that the insurer will usually include an exclusion for critical illness claims relating to your left leg.

However, if it was caused by an underlying medical condition—such as cancer, diabetes, or circulatory issues—then the focus will likely be more on that condition and its long-term implications. If we look at diabetes as an example, the insurer will assess whether your diabetes is potentially at a level that might lead to you having another amputation.

Since amputations can affect body weight and BMI, we will probably need to speak directly with the underwriters, so that they take this into account when assessing your critical illness application. BMI calculations don’t always fairly reflect someone’s health when an amputation has occurred, so we’ll want to make sure that’s properly taken into account.

Our award winning advisers are here to make sure that you get the right insurer to match you and your health.

Income protection pays you a replacement of your monthly income, if you are unable to work due to ill health.

Income protection is a brilliant product and arguably one of the most important insurances that a person can arrange, for their long-term financial security. Income protection will not usually insure a person for claims relating to a health condition that they already experience. 

It’s likely that any personal income protection policy you arrange will have an exclusion related to your limb or body part that has been amputated. There are some more specialist income protection policies where claims related to your amputation might be covered, but you absolutely need to speak with an adviser to double check if you are eligible for these. They are usually arrange through your employer.

Whilst an exclusion never sounds great, the key thing is that you are still covered for a huge amount of other circumstances. There are unfortunately many situations that can lead to income protection claims and it is often still worth taking a look at what is available to you.

Our advisers are here to make sure that you get the best insurance policy to protect your income.

Are you going on holiday? It’s always a good idea to make sure that you have good travel insurance in place. You can find out more about getting a quote on our travel insurance page.