Cardiovascular Diseases Life Insurance
People with cardiovascular disease can often still get the life insurance that they need to protect their home and family. In fact, you may even be able to get cover from one of the UK’s top life insurance companies. Many of the UK’s top insurers will consider an application from someone with cardiovascular disease, including top insurers like Aviva and AIG.
Who is this guide for?
For someone who has already been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, life insurance can seem confusing which is why our experts have written this guide to help. Here, we look at how life insurance with cardiovascular diseases works and how to make it simpler and cheaper to get the cover you need.
Choosing the right life insurance company can save you thousands of pounds over your policy term, and choosing the wrong one could mean paying more than you need to. Some insurers are better suited to people with cardiovascular disease, but popular insurers like AIG, Vitality, or Aviva might still work for you.
This guide breaks down how life insurance works for people with cardiovascular disease in 2025. It’ll give you an idea of what it might cost and what questions you’ll be asked when you apply to make this process simpler and less confusing for you.
60 Second Summary – Cardiovascular Diseases Life Insurance
Life insurance can be available for people with cardiovascular diseases, as long as you speak to the right insurance companies. If you have experienced severe symptoms or complications, it’s worth speaking to an experienced life insurance specialist who can help you understand all of your options.
- Standard life insurance policies should pay out if you die due to cardiovascular disease or related medical conditions or complications.
- It’s common for someone with cardiovascular disease to be asked to supply a GP report or other medical evidence when applying for life insurance and this doesn’t mean that you are less likely to be covered.
- The easiest ways to save money on your life insurance policy include comparing multiple quotes, improving your lifestyle, or adjusting your policy slightly (e.g. shorter policy term or less cover).
What is a cardiovascular disease?
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a group of medical conditions that can cause problems with the structure of your heart.
According to the British Heart Foundation, there are approximately 7.6 million* people in the UK with heart or circulatory disease (4 million men and 3.6 million women). The most common type of heart or circulatory disease is coronary heart disease (CHD), which is responsible for around 64,000* deaths every year.
*Figures from the British Heart Foundation
Five most common types of Cardiovascular Disease
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Heart failure
- Arrhythmia
- Heart valve complications
The main causes of cardiovascular disease are smoking, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, poor diet, and lack of exercise.
Does life insurance payout for cardiovascular diseases?
YES – Your life insurance will protect your family financially should you die from cardiovascular diseases.
A life insurance policy will pay out a cash lump sum to your loved ones should you pass away for any reason, excluding suicide in the first 12 months. If you have life cover in place already then you may want to check to make sure that it is up to date and suitable.
You should regularly review your life insurance policies to make sure that they are suitable for your needs now and in the future.
Life insurance is designed to be used for protecting your family and their finances, such as:
- Mortgages
- Rental payments
- Debts
- Costs of living
- School fees
It is important to consider why you need life insurance and make sure that it protects your family if anything happens to you. If you are diagnosed with cardiovascular disease then your life cover will give you peace of mind that your family is protected.
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Does critical illness insurance cover cardiovascular diseases?
YES – A heart attack is one of the most common critical illness cover claims, especially for males in their 40’s and 50’s. Heart attacks can be caused by cardiovascular diseases in many cases.
Several cardiovascular diseases are covered under most standard and enhanced critical illness cover policies. Some of the most common conditions covered include:
- Angioplasty
- Coronary artery by-pass graft
- Femoral artery aneurysm repair
- Heart attack
- Heart valve replacement
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Pericardiectomy
- Permanent pacemaker insertion
- Severe peripheral vascular disease
- Surgery for cardiac arrhythmia
Some insurers will offer different payout terms and may cover different variations of conditions, so it’s advisable to check terms and conditions.
How can I get cheaper critical illness cover for cardiovascular diseases?
It is also possible to make critical illness cover more affordable by having a different amount of coverage to your life insurance. Several years ago, insurers changed their criteria and you can now have different amounts of cover for life and critical illness insurance.
Consider whether you need to cover yourself for the same amount as you have on your life insurance policy.
Critical illness cover is designed to pay out for when you are diagnosed with a serious illness, so you might want to think about cover for.
- 2 to 3 years salary (whilst out of work)
- Mortgage payments
- Monthly outgoings for 2 to 3 years
Does income protection payout for cardiovascular disease?
An income protection policy will pay out a monthly income as a cash sum, usually for 12 to 24 months. This type of cover is designed to protect your income if you can’t work due to sickness, such as cardiovascular diseases.
If your doctor signs you off work for a period of time due to sickness from cardiovascular disease, or other related conditions, then your policy will payout.
Most policies can be used to pay for monthly outgoings and bills, including
- Mortgage payments
- Rent payments
- Debts (e.g. loans or credit cards)
- Utilities
- School fees
- Other bills
If you are diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease then you should think about how that would affect you and your family financially.
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Can you get life insurance for cardiovascular diseases?
YES – There are several options for someone with cardiovascular disease to get life insurance. Your options and premiums will also depend on a number of things, and insurers will ask several questions about your medical condition and general health.
Common questions for cardiovascular disease life insurance:
- What condition have you been diagnosed with?
- How severe were your symptoms?
- Did you have any surgery?
- Are you taking medication or treatment?
- How much cover do you need?
- What type of life insurance do you want?
- How long do you want the cover for?
All of these elements will have an impact on how much life insurance might cost for you and your family.
It’s good to consider how much cover you need and exactly what your life insurance is to protect (e.g. family, mortgage, or business). The value of life insurance for someone with cardiovascular disease is generally down to you as an individual and your attitude to risk.
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Will I need a medical for life insurance with cardiovascular diseases?
It is very normal for someone with a pre-existing medical condition to be asked for a medical or a GP report. Generally, this is a very straightforward part of the process and nothing to worry about, often your premiums can be cheaper this way.
Some of the main types of medicals for life insurance:
- Request GP report (usually done directly via your insurer)
- Nurse check-up (provided by your insurer to check blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose levels, etc.)
- Telephone medical (medical questions over the telephone)
Don’t worry if you are asked to provide medical information, this is a perfectly normal process and will also provide guaranteed cover.
Can I be declined life insurance for cardiovascular diseases?
If you’ve applied for life insurance in the past and been declined then you shouldn’t worry, as there are often other options. Many of the customers that we deal with have been declined elsewhere and we are successful in getting them covered.
A to Z of cardiovascular diseases
Here is a list of the main types of cardiovascular diseases and how they all work.
A
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Abnormal heart rhythm
- Acute coronary syndromes
- Angina
- Aortic aneurysm, dissection, and rupture
- Aortic aneurysmal disease
- Aortic narrowing
- Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
- Arrhythmia
- Atherosclerosis
- Atrial fibrillation (AF)
- Atrial flutter
- Atrial Myxoma
- AV heart blocks
B
- Brugada syndrome
- Bundle branch blocks (Left Bundle Branch Block and Right Bundle Branch Block)
C
- Cardiac arrest
- Cardiomyopathy
- Cardiovascular (heart) disease
- Carotid artery disease
- Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT)
- Coarctation of the aorta
- Complete heart block
- Congenital heart disease
- Coronary artery spasm
- Coronary heart disease (including angina)
D
- Diabetes
- Dilated cardiomyopathy
E
- Endocarditis
F
- Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH)
H
- Heart attack
- Heart disease
- Heart failure
- Heart murmurs
- Heart transplant
- Heart valve disease
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
I
- Inherited heart conditions
- Irregular heartbeat
L
- Left ventricular aneurysm
- Long QT syndrome (LQTS)
M
- Metabolic syndrome
- Microvascular angina
- Microvascular disease
- Myocardial infarction
- Myocarditis
P
- Palpitations
- Pericarditis
- Pre-eclampsia
- Progressive cardiac conduction defect (PCCD)
R
- Rhythm conduction disorders
S
- Second-degree heart block
- Spontaneous coronary artery dissection
- Stroke
- Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS)
T
- Tachybrady syndrome
- Takotsubo cardiomyopathy
- Thoracic Aortic aneurysm
- Types of heart block
V
- Vascular dementia
- Vasospastic angina
- Ventricular Arrhythmias
W
- Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW)
Common questions about cardiovascular diseases
Here are some of the most common questions that people ask about living with or what are cardiovascular diseases:
What are the 4 most common types of cardiovascular diseases?
There are several cardiovascular diseases that are more common which are significantly more prevalent than the other conditions on the list. These [lightweight_accordion_new title="W"]
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Heart failure
- Arrhythmia
What are the main signs of an unhealthy heart?
Some of the most common symptoms of heart-related problems or issues include chest pains (e.g. tightness, pressure, or discomfort), shortness of breath, or pains (e.g. neck, jaw, throat, abdomen, or back pain).
Are cardiovascular diseases fatal?
Some of the headline statistics around cardiovascular diseases include: heart and circulatory conditions account for 25% of all deaths in the UK annually.
This means that approximately 160,000 deaths every year are caused by cardiovascular-related conditions, which is an average of 460 deaths per day.
Click here or call 0800 009 6559 to compare the best cardiovascular disease life insurance quotes with the help of our experienced insurance experts.
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Useful resources
Here are some of the most useful links that we could find for people who are interested in finding out more about cardiovascular diseases.
British Heart Foundation
British Heart Foundation is the UK's biggest heart conditions charity, supporting millions of people across the country. They fund millions of pounds worth of life changing research each year, and provide practical information and resources to promote better heart health.
Contact British Heart Foundation
Telephone – 0300 330 3322
Email – heretohelp@bhf.org.uk
Online web chat - BHF - Contact Us
Follow British Heart Foundation
