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Are you applying for life insurance and have a history or current symptoms of a back or musculoskeletal disorder ? Perhaps you are also applying for income protection insurance, trauma cover or TPD cover.  You may want to know what the impact your medical history will have on your application.

We may be able to help you apply for cover if you have or had a back or musculoskeletal disorder. We work with a number of life insurers and the rules for this condition may differ from one insurer to insurer.

When you apply for the types of insurance cover mentioned above, the insurer will ask you questions regarding your health status. They will use the answers and other information to assess your risk for a claim and consider whether to offer cover and, if so, with any non standard conditions such as a higher than standard price or an exclusion. Occasionally, the insurer may decline to provide you with cover.

If you have or had a back or musculoskeletal disorder, your insurance application will commonly include additional questions such as :

1. The diagnosis given
2. The type of treatment given
3. How long you have had the symptoms
4. The date of the last symptom
5. The amount of time the condition has led to missed days or hours of work
6. The results of tests performed
7. The duties involved in the work you do (eg lifting equipment)
8. And other relevant questions

The insurer may seek further information from you over the telephone or via a written questionnaire. With your consent, they may write to your treating doctor for more detailed information. They may also require a current in person examination. Insurers will pay the costs for this.

Where an exclusion is applied, the insurer may limit it to the area affected. Each insurer is different but, to illustrate, an exclusion may be offered in the following circumstances:

1. You have permanent damage (for example osteoarthritis of the knee)
2. There has been a long history of problems
3. You have undergone surgery on the affected area
4. The condition has led to long periods off work
5. The condition requires regular ongoing treatment
6. You have previous received an insurance payment for the condition (other than from Private Health Insurance)

Similarly, to illustrate, an insurer may not be able to offer cover, under the following circumstances :

1. You are currently off work with back or musculoskeletal issues
2. You are about to have surgery for the condition
3. You severe back or musculoskeletal problems and work in an occupation with a heavy manual workload

This is general information and limited in its scope.  If you are considering buying or replacing and a Life Insurance policy then contact us to arrange a review for you. We can consider your individual circumstances, goals and needs and recommend a suitable insurer, product and structure to use. Experien work with several insurers and have extensive experience in helping to arrange claims.

At the time of writing, Life insurance and Financial Advice services are provided by Experien Insurance Services Pty Ltd (EIS) ABN 99 128 678 937 and Experien Financial Services Pty Ltd (EFS) ABN 32 631 346 757. EIS and EFS are a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 320626 and No. 1274354) Count Financial Limited ABN 19 001 974 625, AFSL 227232. See our website for our Financial Services Guide and latest AFSL arrangements. Always read the Product Disclosure Statement issued by an Insurer before considering insurance.