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Are you thinking about purchasing international life insurance, but you’re worried about a pre-existing condition? We look at everything you need to know, from what counts as a pre-existing condition, to what your policy will and will not cover.
Lee Doran
Underwriting Manager
The information on this page refers to life insurance polices starting in 2025.
A pre-existing medical condition is any disease, illness, or injury that you’ve experienced during your lifetime.
It could be something serious, like cancer or cardiac issues; or it could be something less serious, like asthma or an arm you fractured in your childhood.
It could also be something undiagnosed, like a knee complaint that’s troubled you for years, but for which you’ve never sought medical treatment or the advice of a doctor.
A related condition is any disease, illness, or injury that’s caused by a pre-existing medical condition, or that results from the same underlying cause as a pre-existing medical condition.
You must disclose all pre-existing medical conditions when you apply for a life insurance policy.
If you die, and your death is the result of a pre-existing medical condition that you didn’t disclose in your application, we won’t pay your claim to your beneficiaries.
In short, no. Your policy won’t cover you for pre-existing medical conditions or related conditions unless you’ve told us about them, and we’ve agreed to cover them.
When you apply, we ask you questions about your medical history. Based on your responses, we’ll give you terms on which we can accept your application for a policy.
The following conditions are examples of possible pre-existing medical conditions. Please note it’s not an exhaustive list!
Minor injuries and common and short-term illnesses such as colds and flus do not count as pre-existing medical conditions. You don’t need to declare these on your application for a policy. Similarly, COVID-19 doesn’t count as a pre-existing medical condition, unless you have experienced long-term complications (i.e., ‘long COVID’).
In short, no. Your life insurance policy won’t cover you if your death or terminal illness is caused by a pre-existing medical condition or related condition—unless you tell us about them in your application and we agree to cover them.
Life insurance is designed to pay out if the insured person dies from a medical condition that first arises during the policy term. Under the terms of your life insurance policy with us, you have cover for medical conditions that first arise after your policy start date and for as long as you renew your policy. We won’t re-underwrite your policy each time you renew it.
Insurance is about covering the risk of future events; it’s not about covering the consequences of events that have already happened.
If we covered pre-existing medical conditions, the amount of money we would pay out in claims for deaths would make our insurance premiums unaffordable for everyone.
If we agree to cover a pre-existing medical condition that you disclose in your application, we may increase your premium. If we exclude a pre-existing medical condition that you disclose in your application, you cannot ‘buy out’ the exclusion.
If your application asks you questions about your medical history, you must make a full disclosure of all pre-existing conditions and related conditions that you’re aware of.
If you have a pre-existing medical condition that you don’t disclose in your application, or which we have not explicitly agreed to cover under the terms of your policy, we won’t pay out claims related to that condition.
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We want to provide you with a life insurance policy you can rely on, so it is important that you fully understand the scope of the cover we provide. Answers to the most common questions on pre-existing medical conditions for life insurance can be found here, but feel free to get in touch and speak to our award-winning team. We’ll be glad to help.
We define a pre-existing medical condition as any disease, illness, or injury for which you’ve received medication, advice, or treatment, or for which you have experienced symptoms, at any point before the start date of your policy. We do not count as ‘pre-existing’ any medical conditions that you don’t know about, for which you’ve never experienced symptoms, or for which you’ve never received medical advice or treatment.
Yes, but we’ll ask you to disclose details of your pre-existing medical conditions in your application. We may agree to cover your pre-existing medical conditions, we may decide to exclude them, or we may not be able to offer you a life insurance policy at all.
We treat conditions related to a pre-existing medical condition in the same way that we treat pre-existing medical conditions.
Most life insurance providers share our approach to pre-existing medical conditions.
If you do have pre-existing medical conditions and you’re struggling to get insurance cover, an insurance broker can give you free, impartial, and professional advice. Search for “broker for international life insurance”.
Lucky you! Your application for a policy won’t take long and we won’t add any non-standard exclusions to your cover.
You are required to take reasonable care to provide accurate and complete information when completing an application for a policy and/or when disclosing details of pre-existing medical conditions. Lying on your application for a policy, or failing to disclose details of a pre-existing medical condition, are examples of fraud.
When you apply for a life insurance policy, it’s crucial that you declare any pre-existing medical conditions and provide a full disclosure of diagnoses, medical examinations, past treatments received, and medication you take.
If you don’t declare a pre-existing medical condition on your application that later causes your death we may take one or more of the following actions:
We show the benefits on this webpage in US dollars, but we can also denominate your policy in pounds sterling or Euros. You won’t find complete information for our plans on this webpage, nor the full T&Cs, limitations, and exclusions that would apply if you purchase a life insurance policy. You can find complete information in the plan agreement, which we suggest you read together with this webpage. We work hard to ensure the information we provide on this webpage is accurate and up-to-date, but inaccuracies are possible. We rectify errors as soon as we become aware of them. The T&Cs that apply to your policy are those found in your plan agreement.
At William Russell, we have over 30 years’ experience of providing international life insurance exclusively for expats like you. Become a member today to enjoy worldwide coverage, giving you total peace of mind wherever you move to live and work.
Joe Holden Global Relationship Manager
If you’re ready to see prices for life insurance, click on ‘Get a Quote’ below to head on over to our online quote tool.
We’ll ask you a few details (your age, your location), and then we’ll show you prices—it only takes a few minutes!
A couple of days after you’ve received you quote, Joe will email or call you to find out how we can help you further. Joe won’t bug you, and you can opt out at any time.
It’s filled with handy information and tips for expats.
We were one of the first insurance providers to cover people living abroad, and we’ve earned a reputation for our wonderful customer service.
The insurer behind our policies is part of the Allianz group
We’re proud of our award-winning service and our members rate it highly
You will get your own dedicated adviser when you join
If you’re not happy with your life insurance policy or the service we provide, and you haven’t yet made a claim, then we’ll refund the premium you’ve paid—no questions asked.
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