Will your current life insurance policy pay out if you contract coronavirus? How will you be affected if you haven’t taken out life insurance yet but want to?
In this article I’m going to be talking a little bit Coronavirus and Life insurance. Will your current policy payout if you were to contract the disease? And how does it affect those who haven’t taken life insurance out yet, but are planning to?
When the news breaks of an illness that has a mortality rate, no matter how slight, it is natural to start considering how you and your family might be affected by it, and having adequate insurance in place is one of the practical steps you might decide to take for peace of mind. Or perhaps you don’t have life insurance yet and are wondering how the recent news about the Coronavirus will affect you taking out a policy.
So let’s look at some of the facts:
The Impact On Insurance
When there is an outbreak of an illness or disease there are 3 types of insurance policy that tend to feel the impact
- Travel Insurance – particularly for those travelling to and from affected areas. China is the epicentre and worst hit of the Coronavirus and so some insurers are offering protection to those who have had to travel there to work, ‘on the frontline’, as it were.
- Business Insurance – This will affect those who own businesses or trade with businesses in key areas where there are outbreaks of the virus.
- Life Insurance – This will be affected most if there is a pandemic and the death toll rises. This is our area of expertise and the area we want to educate people on.
In the last 10 years or so, lots of policies have had exclusions placed on them due to the insurance industry’s experience with flu-type outbreaks. So, will that be the case with Coronavirus?
So far, no. At the moment insurance companies haven’t excluded Coronavirus, but, if it becomes an epidemic they might, so if you are concerned about the potential impact then now is as good a time as any to take out a life insurance policy if you’ve been considering it anyway.
So, It Won’t Affect Me Taking Out A New Policy In Any Way?
It can a little, but only because of the questions you’ll get asked. It’s normal to get asked stuff about travel when you take out a life insurance policy, and if you’ve recently been to China or mainland Europe or have undergone tests because there’s a chance you might have the virus, then a decision won’t be made by the insurer until all the information regarding your trip has been looked at and any tests results have come back clear.
Of course, the likelihood of those circumstances applying to you are slim. Chances are there won’t be anything stopping you from taking out a new life insurance policy that will cover you in the event of death – even from Coronavirus.
And What About My Existing Life Insurance Policy?
Will it pay out if you were to somehow contract the Coronavirus and die? In a word, yes. So long as you took out the cover before you contracted the virus, you’ll be covered by your policy.
What should I do?
Take one out seriously!
I recommend reading these FREE blogs we’ve written first to give you more knowledge before you start
How Much Does Life Insurance Cost?
If you would rather talk with someone and get some advice first, me or someone from my team will pop you a quick call. Our advice is without obligation and we have access to a panel of UK insurance companies.
