Explains your legal rights when dealing with insurers, including whether you have to disclose your mental health problem and what this can mean for the insurance you're offered.
View this information as a PDF (new window)
It's understandable to wonder if you should tell an insurer about your mental health problem or not. But if you don't answer questions about your mental health completely truthfully, and your insurer finds out, this could have some serious consequences.
For example:
So it’s not a good idea to hold back information about your mental health if an insurer asks you about this.
Yes, but only within the law.
When an insurer chooses whether to insure you or not, and how much to charge you, they are basing this on an assessment of risk. They are weighing up how likely it is that you’ll make a claim, and they’ll charge you more if they think you’re more likely to make a claim.
Because of this, it is lawful for an insurer to reject your insurance application if they can show there’s a greater risk of having to pay out a claim because of your disability.
But for this to be lawful, they need to show that they have used information that is both relevant and reliable, and that their decision has been reasonable.
The law that protects you from disability discrimination in England and Wales is the Equality Act 2010. This law determines when insurers can and can’t discriminate against you. Examples of discrimination could include refusing to cover you or charging you more because of your disability.
The Equality Act may protect you from discrimination if an insurer is basing decisions on, for example:
See our page on disability discrimination for more detailed information.
Insurers make decisions about whether to provide cover, and how much to charge for it, based on their assessment of the risk involved. They need to ask you for information that is relevant in helping them assess specific risks.
For information to be relevant, there must be a connection between your mental health problem and whatever you are buying insurance for.
For example, if you apply for income protection insurance, the insurer will assess the risk of you losing your job (and them having to pay out on your claim). Your mental health might be relevant information, because it might affect the likelihood of you becoming unable to work.
If the information that the insurer relies on when assessing your application is not relevant though, then a decision to deny you cover or to charge you more would be unlawful discrimination.
Insurers must base their decisions on information from reliable sources. This could include:
If the information the insurer uses is not reliable though (for example, if it’s out-of-date or from an unreliable source) the decision to refuse you cover or charge you more would be unlawful. Unfortunately, insurers won’t always be clear with you about the information they’ve relied on to make their decisions.
If you’ve been denied insurance cover, or if the insurance premiums you’ve been charged seem too high, see our information on what you can do if an insurer rejects your application or claim.
As well as basing their decisions on relevant and reliable information, insurers must also make decisions that are reasonable.
These are some examples of unreasonable decisions that could be considered unlawful discrimination:
Steffi applies for a mortgage protection policy when she is buying a flat. She is 33.
In her teens and early 20s Steffi experienced bulimia (an eating disorder) and severe depression. Her mental health problems amounted to a disability under the Equality Act 2010. She received treatment and has now lived for several years in recovery from her eating disorder, and without any severe depressive episodes.
The insurer rejects her application for a policy on the basis of her diagnoses in the past. The insurer has unlawfully discriminated against Steffi because of her past disability.
Geoff has a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, which amounts to a disability under the Equality Act 2010. He is looking to take out home contents insurance.
The insurer asks him whether he has any health problems, and when he discloses his diagnosis it refuses to provide cover.
The insurer has unlawfully discriminated against Geoff because information about his mental health has no connection with the risk of making a claim under home contents insurance.
Insurers cannot access your medical records without your consent.
But if you tell them about a mental health problem, the insurer will often ask for further information from your doctor. They may also ask you to see an independent doctor that they choose. In this situation, you have the following rights:
If you refuse to give written consent, ask your doctor not to send their report or say no to seeing an independent doctor, an insurer may refuse to insure you. Unfortunately, this is their legal right so there is nothing you can do about this.
See our legal pages on your personal information for more information about your other rights regarding access to your medical records.
If you feel you have been treated unfairly by an insurer because of your mental health problem, there are a few things you can do:
If you feel that the insurer has given you inadequate information about why they’ve turned you down for an insurance policy, or why they’ve quoted a high premium, you could:
If you're not happy with the insurer's explanation about their decision, you can make a formal complaint directly to the insurer. MoneyHelper has advice about how to make a complaint to a financial service. And their downloadable templates for complaint letters can be useful.
Insurers have eight weeks to respond to formal complaints. If they don’t respond, or you are not happy with how they deal with your complaint, you can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS also have a support line if you need any help during the complaints process.
The process can take time, so bear this in mind. If the FOS decide your complaint is valid, the insurer may have to give you an apology or compensation.
Depending on your situation, you may be able to take legal action against the insurer. As a first step, make sure you get legal advice from one of the following:
This information was published in February 2022. We will revise it in 2025.
This page is currently under review. All content was accurate when published.
References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.