Dementia life insurance

It is understandable why many people might dismiss the possibility of life insurance for seniors with dementia. After all, life insurance usually tends to be one of those products which you need to buy before you need it. Contrary to this belief, however, there are still options to consider whether you’ve already been diagnosed with Dementia or not.

Dementia is the name given to a group of symptoms which affect your memory, ability to think, and your social capability. This therefore includes Alzheimer’s Disease, but not all cases of Dementia are Alzheimer’s.

These conditions have a huge impact on your life and make it more or less impossible to manage daily life without help. According to Dementia Statistics, there are currently 525,315 people in the UK with a confirmed Dementia diagnosis, but up to 944,000 people in the UK are estimated to be living with the condition. This figure is only predicted to increase over the coming years.

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Does life insurance pay out for Dementia?

YES – because life insurance policies are designed to cover you for as many eventualities as possible, if you were to get diagnosed with dementia and pass away from it whilst you have an active life insurance policy, it would trigger a payout and ensure that your loved ones are taken care of.

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Does critical illness cover pay out for Dementia?

YES – this condition is covered by numerous insurance companies on their critical illness or serious illness policies. This means that if you take out critical illness cover with one of those insurers and then get diagnosed with a definite case of dementia, your policy will pay out a lump sum to ease the financial burden.

Critical illness cover is designed to pay out for serious medical conditions such as:

This type of policy can help assist you through managing your condition by covering expenditure such as:

Loss of income
Treatment and medications
Pay bills and outgoings

More about CRITICAL ILLNESS COVER

Can you get life insurance if you have Dementia?

As mentioned before, many of the traditional life insurance products may not be available to someone who already has Dementia. However, there are alternatives that can provide a valuable level of cover and which don’t require any medical screening to purchase. These include but aren’t limited to:

Accident and sickness cover
Over 50s insurance

Accident and sickness cover can pay out for accidental death and it also comes with many additional benefits, such as pay-outs for hospitalisation, funeral cover, pay-outs for broken bones, and many more.

Speak to one of our friendly experts to find out what’s best for you, as they always have the most up-to-date knowledge.

Will I need a medical to get Dementia life insurance?

This will depend on the type of policy that you apply for. For traditional life insurance, if it’s available, you will more than likely be required to agree for the insurer to access your medical records. They do this so that they can get an overall picture of your health and set the policy up accordingly. This is normal and the insurer will pay to access the records.

With other types of cover, like accident and sickness cover, you often do not have to provide any significant medical information and cover can be available quickly and easily. Our team of insurance experts will be able to advise you on which policy provider is best for you.

Medical conditions linked to Dementia

Here are some of the most common conditions that cause dementia or are linked to it.

Alzheimer’s Disease
Parkinson’s Disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Anxiety
Depression

Common questions about Dementia

Here are a few of the most common questions about Dementia and living with the condition.

What are the signs that Dementia is getting worse?	Signs that your Dementia is getting worse include increasing worse memory e.g. forgetting simple facts such as your address.
What is the average life expectancy with Dementia?	Your life expectancy can vary depending on the type of Dementia that you have. Vascular dementia for example has a life expectancy of around 5 years from diagnosis on average. Alzheimer’s on the other hand can have a life expectancy of between 8 and 10 years from diagnosis. More information – Average life expectancy UK
Is dementia classed as a critical illness?	YES – in many cases, insurers will classify a Dementia diagnosis to be a critical illness on some plans. Generally, someone with Dementia will live much longer than 12 months, but some critical illness cover policies will still cover it.
What are the stages of Dementia?	The progression of Dementia is broken down into 7 stages. These are defined as follows: 1. No symptoms – in its earliest stages, the changes in the brain may already be taking place but no behavioural changes or symptoms are showing yet. 2. Forgetfulness – as the name suggests, the condition starts to cause memory issues, but this may not seem to be out of the ordinary. 3. Mild Decline – this is the point when you may notice that something isn’t right, with the person frequently forgetting and losing things. 4. Moderate Decline – at this stage, the symptoms will become more noticeable, with significant memory loss. 5. Moderately Severe Decline – whilst the patient may still recognise family and friends, and can often still take care of personal needs, they may find it difficult to remember simple facts like their address or phone number and may not be able to dress themselves appropriately. 6. Severe Decline – the penultimate stage of Dementia may see the patient having significant needs. They may become incontinent and need help washing and dressing, and their behaviour may become altered, for example they may be angry or aggressive. They can still recognise their loved ones, however. 7. Very Severe Decline – normally people will pass away before they reach the final stage of Dementia, but it includes loss of speech and the requirement for around the clock care.