Travel insurance
Already have travel insurance? If you get confirmation that you’re living with dementia, it’s important that you tell your insurer of your diagnosis. Don’t wait until the policy expires and you come to renew – if you need to claim while you’re away from home and you haven’t told your insurer, they may not pay out if you haven’t made them aware of your diagnosis.
And don’t wait until it’s close to your travel date – some insurers may ask for a medical screening or want to check with your doctor that you’re not travelling against medical advice, and these things take time to sort out.
Looking for travel insurance? People with a dementia diagnosis generally pay more for travel insurance and not all companies will insure. Many will insure for one specific trip but won’t offer an annual multi-trip option.
Health insurance
If you have health or medical cover check the wording on the policy. If you find out you’re living with dementia, let your insurer know. You might have a policy that includes ‘later life and dementia’ cover – a few insurers offer this – but either way the company will need to be informed.
Income protection and critical illness insurance
Both critical illness cover (usually paid as a lump sum) and income protection (paid as a percentage of your usual salary if you are no longer able to work) should pay out if you took policies out prior to a diagnosis. Contact your provider to talk this through.
Home insurance
Look at the terms and conditions of your policy for guidance and if in doubt, contact your provider.
Vehicle insurance
If you drive you must let the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and your vehicle insurer know if you receive a dementia diagnosis or risk a fine of up to £1,000.
You can notify DVLA Medical Enquiries on 0300 790 6806 and read more here
Life insurance
It’s unlikely that your life insurance policy will be affected by a dementia diagnosis because these policies are designed to cover you for all eventualities.