Epilepsy and insurance underwriting

Insurers assess a seizure history against a small number of clear facts: what type of seizure is recorded, how often they have occurred, what medication is in place, and how long since the most recent one. A single unexplained event years ago with no recurrence sits at one end of the range. A diagnosed condition with recent events sits at the other.

Occupation is read alongside more closely than for many conditions. On income protection and TPD, insurers consider the interaction between the condition and the work being done, particularly where driving, machinery or work at height is involved. That is an assessment about the combination, not about the person.

The questionnaire is short but the answers carry a lot of weight, so precision matters.

• The type of seizure recorded and when the diagnosis was made.
• How many events there have been and the date of the most recent.
• What medication is prescribed and whether it has changed.
• Whether investigations were done and what they showed.
• Whether any trigger or cause was identified.
• Your occupation and whether it involves driving, machinery or heights.
• Whether you hold a current driver licence.

Evidence commonly requested

• A neurology or specialist report.
• Full GP notes covering the events and the prescribing record.
• Investigation results where they exist.

What underwriters look at over time is the length of the seizure-free period, a settled medication regime, no admissions, and continued specialist review where relevant. Loadings applied on recency are among the more reviewable in this category, because the seizure-free period keeps growing and is easy to evidence. A recent event or a recent medication change generally produces a deferral.

These are the details that decide whether the cover does what you expected. Read them before you compare on price.

• That time since the most recent event is the fact the assessment turns on.
• That a single unexplained seizure is disclosable even where no diagnosis followed.
• That occupation is assessed in combination with the condition on income protection and TPD.
• That a recent medication change commonly produces a short deferral.
• That a loading applied on recency is worth reviewing as the seizure-free period lengthens.

Every New Zealand insurer writes applications involving a seizure history to its own wording, and the words are where the money is. Two policies that look identical on price can pay very differently when it matters. Closing that gap is the entire job of an adviser.

• Insurer appetite here differs considerably, and some will write files that others will not.
• An adviser can pre-assess anonymously rather than risking a decline on a difficult file.
• Getting the neurology report in at the outset avoids a long evidence loop.
• As the seizure-free period grows, an adviser can put a review request to the insurer with the evidence.

There are three ways to buy life cover in New Zealand, and they are not equivalent. You can buy direct from one insurer, which means you see one product range and one underwriting appetite. You can buy through your bank, which usually means a single insurer’s product sold under the bank’s brand, often with narrower definitions. Or you can go through an adviser, who quotes several insurers at once and is required to put your interests first.

The premium you pay is the same either way. Insurers build adviser commission into their pricing whether or not an adviser is involved, so going direct does not get you a discount — it just removes the person whose job is to argue your corner at application and at claim time.

• An adviser can see which insurer is currently taking your health history on standard terms, and which one will load or exclude it.
• An adviser can structure cover across two insurers if that produces a better outcome than putting everything with one.
• An adviser handles the underwriting back-and-forth, and is the person who chases the claim when a family is least able to.
• An adviser has to document why the recommendation suits you, which is a written record you can hold them to.

We are a referral service, not an insurer. We do not quote premiums and we do not sell policies. What we do is put you in front of one licensed New Zealand adviser who can compare the market properly.

1. 1

   You tell us what you are looking at

   The form takes about a minute. Nobody asks for your medical history on a web form — that conversation happens with the adviser, properly, and only once you have decided to proceed.

2. 2

   An adviser calls you

   A licensed New Zealand adviser talks through your situation: who depends on you, what you owe, what you already have in place, and what you are actually worried about.

3. 3

   They compare the market

   The adviser quotes across the major insurers, checks which of them will take your health history on the best terms, and puts the options side by side in writing.

4. 4

   You decide, in your own time

   There is no obligation and no cost to you. If the answer is that you already have enough cover, a good adviser will tell you that.