Almost two thirds (62%) of health and protection advisers believe finding cover for clients with pre-existing medical conditions is “difficult,” according to research from The Exeter.
The survey of 250 UK financial advisers found 30% believed the ability to cover such clients was the most important element of working with an insurer.
The issue appeared to cross both the health and protection markets.
More than a third (37%) agreed pre-existing medical conditions would be the biggest challenge for private health insurance in 2025, with 29% and 26% saying the same for income protection and life insurance respectively.
But health insurance advisers also expected challenges when it comes to explaining the benefits of different policies offered by providers (31%) and helping clients to overcome perceptions of cost (35%).
When it comes to discussing income protection, advisers’ main worries were overcoming perceptions of cost (36%), clarifying policy exclusions and conditions (30%), and explaining the benefits of individual policies (29%).
These challenges were mirrored for life insurance products, with advisers once again citing challenges around cost (38%), clarifying policy exclusions and conditions (33%), and explaining the benefits of individual policies (28%).
Jack Southcott, head of protection propositions at The Exeter, said: “Living with pre-existing or multiple medical conditions can pose many challenges for individuals, and unfortunately, this can also prevent them from buying insurance products.
“In recent years, health and protection providers have taken positive steps to further grow the market by making products more accessible to more people, including those with pre-existing medical conditions.
“As we continue to develop our propositions, there is the potential to further improve accessibility to the products we offer, so that more people can benefit from the peace of mind that insurance provides.”
