If you've searched the internet for private medical insurance that covers cirrhosis then you are probably for looking for established UK based health insurance providers that will cover your cirrhosis.
Our advice when looking for health insurance that covers cirrhosis is to speak to a insurance broker. Health insurance is extremely complex and if you want absolute certainty that cirrhosis is covered you should consult with a health insurance broker who can explain which policy providers will cover this medical condition and which will not.
There are many advantages to using a insurance broker but the largest by far is that you're using their expertise at no cost. They are paid by the insurer (Aviva or Bupa etc) rather than you so it costs you no extra to use their brokering services.
- Do you reside in many different postcodes? Some will give you a cheaper premium than offers. A insurance broker will be able to advise whats best.
- Do you have a hobby that may invalidate your insurance policy? A broker will know this critical information.
- If you are a couple and one of you has claimed on your insurance policy this year would it be cheaper to separate you both onto two different insurance policies?
- You've lean't you're at risk of developing a certain medical condition and want to know which insurer offers the biggest amount of cover for it. A broker will know this instantly saving you so much time and effort.
You can call around every medical insurance provider you can find and ask if they cover cirrhosis, however this will be a very time consuming process. Each insurer will ask for your medical history because its not normally a simple yes or not if a medical condition is covered or not.
Its far far quicker to speak to one health insurance broker which will know which providers on the market cover cirrhosis and under what terms they do or don't cover it.
Cirrhosis Information
Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver caused by continuous, long-term liver damage.
Scar tissue replaces healthy tissue in the liver and prevents the liver from working properly.
The damage caused by cirrhosis can't be reversed and can eventually become so extensive that your liver stops functioning. This is called liver failure.
Cirrhosis can be fatal if the liver fails. However, it usually takes years for the condition to reach this stage and treatment can help slow its progression.
Each year in the UK, around 4,000 people die from cirrhosis and 700 people with the condition need a liver transplant to survive.
There are usually few symptoms in the early stages of cirrhosis. However, as your liver loses its ability to function properly, you're likely to experience a loss of appetite, nausea and itchy skin.
In the later stages, symptoms can include jaundice, vomiting blood, dark, tarry-looking stools, and a build-up of fluid in the legs (oedema) and abdomen (ascites).
Read more about the symptoms of cirrhosis.
As cirrhosis doesn't have many obvious symptoms during the early stages, it's often picked up during tests for an unrelated illness.
See your GP if you have any of the following symptoms:
Read more about diagnosing cirrhosis.
In the UK, the most common causes of cirrhosis are:
NASH is on the rise in the UK, due to increasing levels of obesity and reduced physical activity. It's likely that it will overtake alcohol and hepatitis C as the most common cause of cirrhosis.
Less common causes of cirrhosis include hepatitis B infection and inherited liver diseases, such as haemochromatosis.
Read more about the causes of cirrhosis.