Extent and activity of your colitis
Ulcerative colitis affects the lining of the large bowel, and how much of it is involved matters to underwriters. Colitis limited to the rectum, called proctitis, is usually seen as milder than colitis that reaches further or affects the whole colon.
They also want to know how active it is. How many flares have you had recently? Did any need steroid tablets or a hospital stay? Are you on a maintenance medicine, an immunosuppressant or a biologic, and is it working? Your gastroenterology letters will usually describe the extent in the words the insurer needs.
- How much of the bowel is affected
- Flares and steroid courses in the last two years
- Current treatment and how well it works
- Date and result of your last colonoscopy
- Any surgery, stoma or pouch
Colonoscopy surveillance and surgery
People who have had colitis for many years are often offered regular colonoscopies to check for early changes in the bowel lining. Insurers may ask for the date and outcome of your most recent check. A clear result helps, and missing a planned check can lead the underwriter to ask more questions.
If you have had your colon removed, with a stoma or an internal pouch, the insurer will ask when and how you have been since. Surgery can reduce some long-term risks, so a good recovery may lead to better terms than active disease would. Any complications with the pouch or stoma will also be considered.
Possible outcomes
Mild colitis that has been quiet for some time often gets standard life cover. More extensive disease, frequent flares or recent hospital treatment can bring a loading, and an insurer may postpone during an active flare or while you wait for surgery.
Critical illness cover can come back with different terms, partly because of the link between long-standing colitis and bowel cancer. Income protection insurers may exclude bowel conditions, given that flares can mean time off. If you also have primary sclerosing cholangitis, a liver condition sometimes seen alongside colitis, expect the insurer to look at that in detail.
Telling the full story
Colitis leaves a clear trail in your medical records: prescriptions, scopes, clinic letters. Make sure the dates and treatments on your application match that trail. If you are unsure, include it and let the underwriter decide. Suppositories and enemas for proctitis count as treatment too, even if you only use them now and then.
That full picture protects your family if they need to claim, and it often helps your terms, because good remission and clear checks are on the record too. If you take a maintenance medicine every day even when you feel well, list it. Underwriters read steady maintenance treatment as good management of the disease.
How Hi Tomorrow helps with colitis
Insurers treat colitis differently, especially after surgery or for extensive disease. We know which insurers on our panel look kindly on long remission and which ones are comfortable after a colectomy, and we place your application accordingly.
We can also split life cover and critical illness cover between insurers if that gives you better terms on each, and explain any exclusion in plain words before you accept. If you are due a surveillance colonoscopy soon, we will also talk about whether it makes sense to wait for the result before applying.