Can a Transgender Person get Life Insurance?

Look, there’s no getting away from the fact that insurance companies aren’t the most progressive places in the world.

Everything moves at a snail’s pace.

Some still use fax machines, I kid you not.

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Life insurance if You’re Transgender

So, you can imagine, I was a bit anxious when I approached underwriting with a query regarding life insurance for a transgender person.

I was expecting dead air then a hurried “eh, we’ll have to refer this to our reinsurers” but I must admit, they were much better than I expected.

*Please note: The statements are the un-edited responses of underwriters at some of our insurers and do not reflect the views of lion.ie

I’d hope we could get to standard rates in the end, but there are some important aspects in this particular case that we’d need to assess carefully first.
Treatment regimen completed & no complications, can consider ordinary rates
Terms can be standard depending on the circumstances
It will be down to the assessment of the clients full medical history.
We would postpone offering cover for 12 months.

But one insurer (who shall remain nameless) didn’t let me down:

Nick, not sure to be honest. I’d imagine we must adhere to certain guidelines. I’ll review with the reinsurer and revert.

Quickly followed by:

No issues with this, we’d get a PMAR and underwrite as normal based on the medical history!

You can get a standard rate life insurance quote here.

Should you Apply as your Gender Identity or your Biological Sex?

Generally when you apply for life insurance, if your sex at birth was female, you should apply as female.

If your sex at birth was male, your should apply as male.

European life insurance providers now offer the same premiums to both sexes since December 2012.

So in effect, for transgender individuals this means that you can apply for life insurance as male or female depending upon your gender identity and not your biological sex

So a Transgender Person is Guaranteed the Same Price As Everyone Else?

No, it’s not that simple I”m afraid.

Gender transitioning is a complicated process, financially, legally, physically and emotionally, so there are many factors in play when underwriting an individual for life insurance.

Many individuals participate in counseling, hormone therapy, and are on a number of prescribed medications.

Some of these factors could affect your final premium.

So while a transgender person can get the normal price for life insurance, it is likely that the insurer will increase their price due to other medical disclosures.

Life Insurance for Transgender People Who Have Transitioned

If you have no health issues, the insurer wiull accpet you at their standard price.

Life Insurance for Transgender People Who in The Process of Transitioning

This is more difficult as there is likely to be ongoing surgery which presents a risk for the insurer.

Therefore the insurers are likely to postpone offering cover until after you have recovered from surgery.

Which Insurer Should a Transgender Person Apply To?

As I hope is clear from the above, all the insurers can offer the normal price to a transgender person.

But it’s the additional medical conditions that could cause the issue.

Some insurers will increase the premium if there have been mental health issues surrounding the gender transitioning, other insurers are more sympathetic.

It’s up to me to find the right home for your cover.