What you will be asked
Insurers ask whether you have ever had depression, anxiety, stress or another mental health condition, usually within a set number of years. If you answer yes, they follow up with questions about when it started, how it affected you and what treatment helped.
The questions are routine and the underwriters see these answers every day. Your answers are confidential to the insurer and used only to assess your application.
- Diagnosis and when symptoms began
- Medication, therapy or counselling
- Time off work and how long
- Any hospital stay or crisis team support
- Any self-harm or suicide attempt, and when
- When you last had symptoms
How insurers assess mental health
Underwriters look at severity and how recent things are. A short period of low mood or anxiety treated by your GP, with no time off work, is a very different picture from a long illness needing hospital care. Getting help and sticking with treatment counts in your favour, so there is no reason to hide that you take antidepressants or have had therapy.
Insurers also ask about self-harm and suicide attempts. These answers are hard to give, and you can talk them through with an adviser first. A history of either usually leads the insurer to look more closely, and the time since it happened matters a great deal.
Possible outcomes
For mild or moderate depression or anxiety that is managed and stable, many insurers offer life cover on standard terms. More severe episodes, recent changes in treatment or time off work may lead to a premium loading. If you are in a difficult period right now, an insurer may postpone until things are more settled.
Income protection works differently, because mental health is one of the common reasons people claim. Insurers are more likely to add an exclusion for mental health conditions on income protection than on life cover. Critical illness cover is usually less affected, as most of the illnesses it covers are physical.
Why it pays to be open
People sometimes leave mental health off an application because they feel it is private, or because it was a while ago. Your GP records will show any diagnosis or prescription, and an insurer will check them if your family claims. A gap between the form and the records can lead to a reduced or refused claim.
Declaring it properly often makes little or no difference to the price. It does make sure the cover you are paying for stands up when it counts.
Support while you apply
Questions about your mental health can bring up difficult memories. Take your time, and if you would rather talk through the answers than type them, our advisers can go through the form with you by phone. If you are struggling right now, your GP or the Samaritans can help, and the insurance can wait.
Your GP records may use words that differ from how you describe what happened, such as stress, low mood or reactive depression. Where you can, use the terms your doctor used and give the dates. If you cannot remember exact dates, a close estimate is fine, and you can say it is an estimate.
Postnatal depression, grief and work-related stress all count if the question asks about mental health, even if they passed some time ago. Insurers usually take a lighter view of a single episode that has resolved than of an ongoing condition.
How Hi Tomorrow helps
Our advisers talk about mental health in a straightforward, kind way. We will ask what we need to know and explain why. Some insurers on our panel take a more understanding view of past or current depression and anxiety, and we can approach those first.
If you are considering income protection too, we can compare how different insurers treat mental health on those policies, so you know where you stand before you commit.