Life insurance for pre-existing conditions.

You can usually get life insurance if you have a pre-existing medical condition. But having a pre-existing condition can affect the price you pay.

If you’re applying for cover with Tesco Life Insurance, you’ll need to answer a few questions about your health. It’s important to be as accurate and honest as possible to make sure your policy’s valid.

Life insurance is cover that pays out a cash lump sum if you:

or

It can help to give your family some financial support after you’ve gone. For example, they can use the lump sum to help pay off the mortgage or cover the cost of their living expenses.

You can find out more about the basics of life insurance in our guide - What is life insurance?

Tesco Life Insurance defines a pre-existing medical condition as an illness, injury or disease you have when you take out a life insurance policy. This can include any symptoms, advice, treatments or tests you’ve had. If you are awaiting results or tests, Aviva would want to know the results before offering cover.

The most common pre-existing conditions that affect life insurance are:

Aviva, our life insurance provider, will consider how serious your condition is when you apply for cover.

Having a pre-existing medical condition can affect the price you pay for life insurance. That’s because you’re more likely to make a claim.

If you have a more serious, chronic medical condition, you’ll usually have to pay a higher premium.

Aviva will look at any pre-existing medical conditions you have when you apply for cover. When deciding whether to offer you cover, and how much it’ll cost, they’ll also take into account your:

The price will also depend on the type of policy you go for, how much cover you want, and how long you want the policy for.

Sometimes, Aviva will decide not to offer you cover. If this happens, you might be able to get insurance from another provider.

You can learn more about what affects the cost of life insurance in our guide - How much does life insurance cost?

Whether you’ve had treatment, symptoms or a diagnosis, it’s important to let Aviva know about it. They’ll ask you to do this when you apply for cover.

When you apply for a life insurance policy with Tesco Life Insurance, you’ll need to answer some questions about your health and lifestyle. It’s important to answer all of these accurately and honestly. If you don't, your policy might not be valid in the event of a claim.

Aviva regularly checks the answers you provide. They could also contact your GP to check the information you give them.

If your answers aren’t completely accurate, it might mean:

or

Bear in mind that Tesco Life Insurance, as with any life insurance policy, has no cash-in value. So, if your policy’s cancelled, you won’t get any money back.

If you have a pre-existing illness, you might also have to supply extra information when you apply for life cover. Aviva might ask for:

That’s to help them understand your condition.

If Aviva ask you to have a medical exam as part of your application, they’ll cover the cost. They’ll also try to arrange this at a time and place that works for you.

For some life insurance policies, like over 50s life insurance, you might not be asked about pre-existing conditions.

With Tesco Life Insurance, you can choose from 2 types of life insurance policy:

or

Aviva will ask you about your medical history, regardless of which one you go for.

Family Protection is also known as level term insurance. With this option, you choose the following when you take out the policy:

Your cover amount and premiums stay the same throughout the policy term. So, if you’re paying £15 a month at the start, you’ll be paying £15 at the end.

Family Protection can help support your loved ones financially after you’re gone, especially if you have children. For example, it could be used to help with:

Mortgage Protection is also known as decreasing term insurance. The policy usually lasts as long as your mortgage does. And reduces over time, in line with your mortgage.

It’s designed to help your loved ones pay off a repayment mortgage if you die during the policy.

Find out more about life insurance and mortgages in our guide - Do you need life insurance for a mortgage?

At Tesco Insurance, we want to help you with the things that matter most. That’s why Tesco Life Insurance comes with a Big Win and lots of Little Helps.

As well as your Tesco benefits, you’ll also get access to health and wellbeing services with the Aviva DigiCare+ app, provided by Square Health and other selected partners.

Tesco Life Insurance is provided and administered by Aviva, who have a 5-star Defaqto rating for life insurance and pay out on 98.8% of claims*.

*Aviva 2025 Claims report, covering claims made across all life insurance policies in 2024.