Does the Covid-19 vaccination affect life insurance?
Updated on Friday 28 May 2021
A scam message wrongly purporting to be from Allianz is circulating in Australia and here in the UK claiming that having a covid vaccine invalidates life insurance.
The scam falsely claims: “If you consent to taking a Covid-19 vaccine your consent is ‘self-inflicted’, it was your choice to have the experimental medical procedure and therefore insurance will not cover any damage or death.”
This latest Covid-19 scam is fanning the flames of negative conjecture already spreading like wildfire all over social media.
There has been widespread speculation online that there is now a life insurance covid vaccine exclusion clause in policies stating that if you die within a year of having the Covid-19 vaccination, your life insurance will not pay out. This statement is simply not true.
Does the Covid-19 vaccine affect life insurance at all in the UK?
The Association of British Insurance (ABI), a reputable trade association that represents over 200 member insurance companies, has clearly stated that having a Covid-19 jab will not invalidate or affect your life insurance cover.
Notwithstanding life insurance companies asking questions about a new customer’s past experience of Coronavirus (i.e. have they had it or tested positive), there have been no exclusions implemented on policies concerning the Coronavirus or for having/not having had a vaccination against it.
Does life insurance cover the Covid-19 vaccine?
Yes it does; having a Covid-19 vaccine does not invalidate your life insurance policy and you are still fully covered once you’ve had one.
Fake news on social media is purporting that life insurance won’t pay out if you die from Covid after receiving a vaccine.
An example of one of these fictitious posts on Instagram has been reported on by The Charlotte Observer.
The US-based newspaper shared an Instagram post that stated: “my friend’s aunt recently died from the COVID vaccine. She was denied her life insurance because...she willingly took an EXPERIMENTAL vaccine.” Instagram labelled the post as being “false information”.
According to the article, life insurance companies do not take into account whether or not a policyholder has had a coronavirus jab when processing a claim.
Will insurers pay out if a policyholder dies after having the Covid-19 vaccine?
Yes, insurance providers will still pay compensation on life insurance after Covid vaccine administration, subject to you complying with the full terms and conditions of your insurance policy.
Having a Covid-19 vaccine and life insurance means you are still fully covered should you die after having a vaccination, as long as you have been completely honest when you took out your insurance policy and your premium payments are completely up to date.
To assure you further, here’s a statement made by the ABI on their website:
“There are some claims being made that having the Covid-19 vaccine will impact your life insurance cover. This is false. Receiving a vaccination against Covid-19 will not impact your insurance cover, be it life insurance, private medical insurance or other forms of insurance.”
Can I get life insurance if I've had Covid-19?
According to the ABI, some insurers are delaying providing life insurance if you are testing positive for Covid-19 at the time of applying, but if you’ve previously had Covid and are now testing negative, you can still apply for life insurance and applications are still being accepted.
Many of the main life insurance providers now ask specific coronavirus-related questions along the lines of:
- Have you tested positive for Covid-19?
- Are you self-isolating?
- Have you had symptoms or been in direct contact with someone who has had Covid-19 or who has had symptoms of it?
How you answer these questions can affect your application for your life insurance and result in your application being postponed until you’ve got the ‘all clear’ on Covid.