Insurance options with HPV
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is very common. There are over 100 separate strains of the virus currently identified, and it is estimated that four out of five Australians will be infected with the virus in their lifetime. Life insurance benefits are potentially available for people diagnosed with HPV. When you apply, your situation will be assessed to determine the right level of cover that can be offered.
Many people will contract HPV at some point in their lives and never know it. This being said, a small number of strains of HPV are directly linked to risk factors associated with cervical cancer. As such, any positive HPV test must be taken seriously.
If you are currently undergoing further examinations, or have results from an examination pending, life insurance providers will usually postpone assessing your application for cover until these results are returned to you.
For a person living with HPV, ensuring a life insurance application for cover is medically underwritten, can work in your favour if you need to claim. If you fail to provide details of your condition, an insurer may refuse to honour your claim when the time comes for it to be paid.
Insurance options with an abnormal Pap smear
Firstly, it’s important to note that an abnormal Pap test result can be quite common, but it may mean the insurer will request further information to completely understand your situation.
Most insurance companies will ask you to provide pathology reports, including whether the test returned a CIN 2 or 3, or a report from any consultations you have had with a specialist.
If you are undergoing treatment you will also be asked to provide further detail about the treatment.
If you are waiting for a follow-up examination or have results pending from any follow-up examinations, you may find it difficult to access cover until all examinations are completed and the results are made available. It is likely that in the case the test has returned a CIN 2 or 3, the insurer will defer considering your application until a follow-up Pap test has been undertaken with normal results returned.
During the application process, the insurer is also likely to ask if there has been any history of cervical cancer in your family.
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