Quick verdict — yes, you can get cover with Crohn's

If you have been told that life insurance with Crohn's disease is out of reach, that advice is usually wrong. The vast majority of UK applicants with Crohn's are accepted by mainstream insurers; only a small minority are referred to specialist underwriters or postponed.

What changes is the price, the policy term offered, and occasionally the maximum sum assured. People in long remission with no recent surgery often pay close to standard rates. Those with active disease, recent hospital admissions or complex surgical history can still be covered, but the premium loading will be higher and the choice of insurer narrower.

The single biggest factor in your outcome is which insurer your application is sent to. Crohn's is a condition where premium quotes can vary by 60% or more between insurers for the same applicant, because each one weighs flare history, biologics use and surgery differently. That is why a Crohn's disease life insurance application is usually best routed through a broker rather than a single direct quote.

How underwriters score a Crohn's application

When you apply for life insurance with Crohn's disease, the underwriter is essentially building a risk picture. They are not trying to refuse you — they are trying to decide whether your case fits their standard book, needs a loading, or needs to wait. Knowing what they look at helps you present your history clearly.

Severity sits at the top of the list. A diagnosis of mild Crohn's with infrequent symptoms looks very different to severe disease that requires repeated hospital admissions. Underwriters will normally ask whether your consultant has ever described your case as mild, moderate or severe, and they will cross-check that against your medication and your number of flares per year.

Time since your last flare is the next big lever. Two clear years often pushes a case from a moderate loading into something close to standard rates. A flare within the last six months will usually pull terms in the opposite direction, and a flare bad enough to require a hospital stay will weigh heavier still.

Surgical history is treated separately because it tells the underwriter how aggressive your disease has been. One bowel resection that has fully healed with no further issues is far less of a concern than multiple resections, fistula repairs or ongoing stoma management. Recent surgery in the last 6 to 12 months may lead to a postponement until recovery is documented.

Medication is read as a proxy for control. Long-term 5-ASA therapy with no escalation is a positive signal. Steroids on and off year-round, or repeated courses for flares, suggest the disease is harder to settle. Immunomodulators such as azathioprine or methotrexate sit in the middle. Biologics such as infliximab, adalimumab, vedolizumab or ustekinumab are not a refusal trigger on their own, but underwriters will often ask why they were started and whether they are working.

Body mass index, smoking status and any unexplained weight loss are checked alongside the Crohn's disease itself. Crohn's-related malnutrition, anaemia or significant weight loss inside the last 12 months can affect terms even where the underlying disease appears stable.

What it costs: typical premium loadings

Premiums for life insurance with Crohn's disease are quoted as a loading on top of the standard rate for your age, term and sum assured. The bands below are a fair guide to what most UK applicants experience, although individual cases can land outside these ranges.

Mild, well-controlled Crohn's typically attracts a loading of 10-50%. This is the band for applicants who have had no flares for at least two years, no surgery, and who manage their condition with maintenance medication or no medication at all. Some insurers will even offer standard rates for very settled cases with a long, clean history.

Moderate Crohn's with occasional flares usually sits in the 50-100% loading range. This covers people who have had one or two flares in the last few years, may use immunomodulators or short steroid courses, and have not needed major surgery. The choice of insurer matters most in this band — quotes can vary widely for the same applicant.

Severe Crohn's with complications, multiple surgeries or ongoing biologic treatment generally falls into a 100-200% loading or higher. A few cases will need to be placed with a specialist insurer rather than a high-street brand, but cover at this level is still very much achievable for most applicants.

As a worked example, a 35-year-old non-smoker looking for £200,000 of 25-year level term cover might pay around £10-15 per month at standard rates. With mild, stable Crohn's that could become roughly £12-18 per month. With moderate disease the same cover might be £20-30 per month, and severe disease with complications could land around £30-50 per month or more depending on the insurer. These are illustrations only — your actual quote will depend on full medical evidence.

Medication and how it influences your terms

Insurers do not penalise treatment in itself; what they look at is what your treatment plan tells them about how active your Crohn's is. A stable, single-line therapy is read very differently to a regime that has been escalated several times in a short period.

5-ASA medications such as mesalazine are usually viewed as the most favourable, particularly when used alone for maintenance. Long-term users with no flares and no other medication often see modest loadings or, in some cases, standard terms.

Immunomodulators including azathioprine, mercaptopurine and methotrexate sit in a middle band. They indicate the disease has needed a step up from basic maintenance, but they also show the condition is being managed proactively. Most insurers price this honestly and accept the application provided liver function tests and blood counts are in normal ranges.

Biologics such as infliximab, adalimumab, vedolizumab and ustekinumab are now common in UK Crohn's care. They do not automatically push you into specialist underwriting. The underwriter will want to know when biologics were started, whether they are controlling symptoms, and whether you have switched between agents. A first-line biologic working well is usually viewed more favourably than a third-line attempt after others have failed.

Steroids deserve a separate mention. Short bursts to bring a flare under control are normal in Crohn's care and rarely cause issues on their own. Long-term oral steroid use is treated more cautiously because of its association with bone, cardiovascular and metabolic effects. If you are still on steroids at the point of application, the insurer will often want a recent letter from your specialist.

Surgery, ostomy and recent procedures

Many people with Crohn's disease eventually need surgery, and that does not block you from getting life cover. What underwriters care about is how complete the recovery has been, how many procedures there have been, and how long ago the most recent one was.

A single bowel resection that healed cleanly, with no further surgery and no complications since, is typically priced with a loading of around 25-75% on top of standard rates. Multiple surgeries — such as repeat resections, stricture repairs or fistula surgery — usually attract 75-150% or higher because they signal more aggressive disease.

Recent surgery is the one situation where you may be asked to wait. If your operation was in the last 6 to 12 months, several insurers will postpone the application until recovery is documented through a follow-up letter or scan. This is not a refusal — it is a hold, and the application can be reopened once your specialist confirms you are stable.

Living with a stoma or ileostomy bag does not disqualify you. It does increase the loading, and the choice of insurer becomes more important, because some accept ostomy applicants on standard impaired-risk terms while others route them through their specialist desk. A proactive broker will know which insurer to approach first.

Specialist insurers for IBD applications

Most life insurance with Crohn's disease in the UK is written by mainstream insurers including Aviva, Legal & General, Royal London and LV=. These providers all underwrite IBD on a routine basis and have the volume of cases needed to price it sensibly. For straightforward mild and moderate Crohn's, one of these will usually offer the best terms.

For more complex Crohn's — multiple surgeries, frequent flares on biologics, recent hospital admissions, or a stoma combined with other health factors — a specialist impaired-risk insurer such as The Exeter often produces the strongest result. The Exeter and similar providers underwrite each case individually rather than running it through a standard scoring grid, which means a complex history can be assessed on its merits.

There is no single 'best Crohn's insurer'. The provider that wins for a 28-year-old in long remission may decline a 55-year-old with two resections and ongoing biologics, while a specialist underwriter could accept that older applicant on perfectly reasonable terms. This is why running your application through several insurers — rather than trying one and assuming the result is the market — matters so much for IBD.

LifePro maintains relationships with the mainstream UK insurers and the impaired-risk specialists, so a single application can be matched to the provider most likely to accept your circumstances at the lowest available loading.

Crohn's plus ulcerative colitis or related conditions

Crohn's disease sits within the wider family of inflammatory bowel disease, which affects roughly 500,000 people across the UK. A small group of applicants are first diagnosed with Crohn's and later reclassified as ulcerative colitis (or vice versa) once colonoscopy and biopsy results are reviewed in full. Insurers handle this carefully — they will want clear records showing the current diagnosis.

If you have IBD-unclassified (sometimes called indeterminate colitis), expect the underwriter to apply Crohn's-style underwriting, because that is generally the more cautious read. Provided your symptoms and medication are stable, this rarely changes the practical outcome very much.

Some Crohn's patients also live with related conditions such as primary sclerosing cholangitis, ankylosing spondylitis, iritis or arthritis flares. Each of these is underwritten on its own terms and combined with the Crohn's loading. A coordinated application that lists everything up front, with consultant letters where available, almost always lands better than one where conditions emerge piecemeal during medical reports.

The same logic applies to mental health considerations associated with chronic illness. Anxiety or depression linked to managing Crohn's is common and is treated as a separate factor in underwriting. Disclosing it openly, with treatment details, is far better than leaving an insurer to discover it through a GP report later.

Choosing the right policy and sum assured

Life insurance with Crohn's disease comes in the same shapes as any other life policy. Crohn's affects the price and the choice of insurer, but it does not restrict you to a special product. Most applicants choose between level term, decreasing term, family income benefit or whole of life cover, depending on what they are protecting.

Level term cover keeps the sum assured the same throughout the policy. It is the usual choice for replacing income, covering an interest-only mortgage or leaving a fixed legacy. Decreasing term reduces the sum assured roughly in line with a repayment mortgage, which keeps premiums lower and is the standard pick for most homeowners.

Family income benefit pays a monthly tax-free amount rather than a lump sum if you die during the term. For families with young children, this can be a more affordable way to replace income while the children are dependent. Whole of life cover continues for as long as you live and is more often chosen for inheritance tax planning or guaranteed funeral provision.

On sum assured, the usual rule of thumb is enough to clear your mortgage, plus a multiple of your annual income for your dependants, plus a buffer for childcare, education and final expenses. Crohn's does not change this maths — it only changes the per-pound cost of the cover, so it is worth modelling your real need before assuming you should cut it back.

What to have ready before you apply

Crohn's applications go more smoothly when you have the medical detail to hand. The underwriter will normally ask the same set of questions, and an application with clear, consistent answers tends to be priced more favourably than one where details have to be chased.

• Year of diagnosis and which consultant or hospital made it
• Current symptoms and how often you experience them
• Number of flares in the last two years and whether any required hospital care
• All current medications, including dosage and how long you have been on each
• Any surgeries, with dates and a brief description of what was done
• Date and result of your most recent colonoscopy, MRI or calprotectin test
• Any time off work in the last two years due to Crohn's
• Other diagnoses that travel with your IBD, such as arthritis or skin issues

Insurers may also request a GP report or a short questionnaire from your specialist, particularly for higher sums assured. This is normal and does not indicate a problem with your application. You will be told before any report is requested, and you can withdraw consent at any point.

A medical exam is not always needed. Mild, settled Crohn's at modest sums assured often goes through on a tele-interview alone. Larger sums assured (typically above £300,000) or more complex histories may trigger a phone-based health assessment or a brief nurse visit. None of this is invasive and most assessments take 30 to 45 minutes.

Why work with LifePro

• FCA-regulated UK broker with experience placing IBD cases
• Access to a wide range of UK insurers, including impaired-risk specialists
• Free, no-obligation quote service — you only pay if you accept a policy
• UK-based protection team that handles your case from quote to acceptance
• Clear, plain-English explanation of any loading or terms before you commit

Most Crohn's applicants we speak to have either been quoted a single high price elsewhere or have been told they should not bother applying at all. Both situations are usually fixable. A short conversation, a clear medical history and the right insurer choice are normally enough to turn the result around.