Yes, you can get life insurance with asthma, and what an insurer offers depends on how severe your asthma is and how well it is kept in check, not only on the diagnosis. Aviva's guide to asthma and life insurance (29 October 2025) says people with asthma take out cover "every day", and that the insurer will look at how serious your asthma is and how well you manage it. Depending on severity, it adds, some insurers might decide not to offer a policy.

Should you want your own symptoms, inhalers and any admissions looked at before you apply, the enquiry form here is the way to ask: once it is in, an FCA-authorised broker calls to go over your asthma history with you, free of charge.

How does an insurer judge how severe your asthma is?

Legal & General's asthma page (11 September 2025) says "an insurer will want to know about the severity of symptoms". It states that asthma alone won't increase the cost of its life insurance if all of the following apply:

  • "You have mild asthma with no regular symptoms."
  • "You have no history of hospital admissions in relation to your asthma."
  • "You respond well to treatments with inhalers."

Beyond that, it says, "More severe asthma symptoms can affect a life insurance application." Aviva describes a sliding scale. Mild asthma with infrequent symptoms might not change the premium, but "if your asthma is severe or not well controlled, the insurance company might see you as a higher risk, which could mean higher premiums." For that more serious end, Aviva adds that an insurer might "not cover asthma-related issues or, in rare situations, they might even decide not to offer you a policy."

Are hospital admissions and steroid courses on the form?

Aviva lists what an insurer will need: "when you were diagnosed, how severe your asthma is, how often you have symptoms, and what treatments you’re using, e.g. prescribed inhalers, oral steroids, etc." It adds that insurers "might also ask if you’ve ever been hospitalised because of your asthma". Legal & General asks for "the frequency and severity of your symptoms – including any hospitalisations – and whether you’re taking any medication or treatments". For its own application it asks whether "You’ve had symptoms of asthma in the last two years".

So expect questions on dates, how often symptoms come, the treatment you use and any stay in hospital. How much a recent course of oral steroids or an admission would count with a particular insurer is something the broker can go through with you, free, on the call-back.

Smoking, weight and other conditions: what else counts?

Asthma is one input. Legal & General describes a "rounded assessment" that also takes in age, weight, smoker status and family medical history. Aviva's list for someone with an asthma diagnosis includes smoking status, other respiratory or cardiovascular conditions, and whether the condition "has caused time off work or stopped you from following your normal daily activities".

Smoking gets particular mention: Legal & General says smoking "can trigger asthma symptoms and increase the likelihood of asthma attacks" and that an asthmatic smoker "may face higher premiums". What counts as smoking is covered in does vaping count as smoking for life insurance, and what a smoker rate does to the price in what smokers pay for life insurance.

If you would rather not face those health questions alone, leaving your details here costs nothing, and a broker then rings to read them with you.

Can you add critical illness cover if you have asthma?

Legal & General's asthma page says that "asthma is not classed as a critical illness", yet an asthmatic can still take out its life insurance with critical illness cover; "We'll let you know if it affects your policy." The same page describes its critical illness cover as something that can be added to its Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance for an extra cost, paying out on diagnosis of, or a medical procedure for, a specified critical illness if you survive 14 days from diagnosis. Whether asthma changes the terms you are offered is settled at application.

For support with asthma itself rather than the insurance, the charity Asthma + Lung UK runs a helpline on 0300 222 5800, open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and closed on bank holidays. Its advisors can help with any part of living with a lung condition and can arrange a call from its clinical team.

What happens after you apply?

Depending on the answers, Legal & General says it "may ask you to provide further information, such as a medical report, or we may ask you to participate in a health check or telephone medical interview." Aviva's guide likewise mentions a medical exam or a report from your doctor in some cases.

For what to expect from the questions in general, see medical questions for life insurance and what underwriting means; other conditions are covered in the health and medical questions guides. If you would rather skip health questions, life insurance without a medical explains what that route involves.

Does asthma have to go on the application?

Yes, in Legal & General's words: "asthma is classed as a pre-existing condition when you apply for life insurance". Section 2 of the 2012 Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act requires you to take reasonable care over your answers so that you make no misrepresentation to the insurer. Aviva makes the practical point that being open about your asthma "helps you get the right policy and avoids problems later on".

The full duty is explained in what you must disclose when applying, and what an inaccurate answer can mean when a claim is made in whether an insurer can refuse to pay.

Has an insurer loaded the price or turned you down?

A loading or a refusal is one insurer's decision on one set of answers, and Aviva's own guide suggests shopping around. What to do if you are declined walks through the next steps, and getting life insurance with a medical condition takes the broader view.

A broker can put your answers to the insurers it works with, though nobody can promise an offer. Whenever it suits you, a few minutes with this page's enquiry form starts that conversation, and the call costs you nothing.

Frequently asked questions

Does asthma affect life insurance?

Not always. Legal & General says asthma alone won't raise the cost of its life insurance when it is mild with no regular symptoms, has never led to a hospital admission and responds well to inhalers. Aviva says severe or poorly controlled asthma could mean higher premiums or, rarely, no offer.

Is there special life insurance for asthmatics?

Legal & General's page on life insurance for asthmatics points to its ordinary life insurance, decreasing life insurance and critical illness cover as the options. Whether a particular policy is offered, and on what terms, comes out of the application.

Do I mention asthma I had years ago?

Legal & General's application asks whether you have had asthma symptoms in the last two years, and it wants your date of diagnosis when you disclose asthma; other insurers word their questions their own way. If a question's wording leaves you unsure, the broker can read it through with you on the free call-back.

Sources

  • Aviva, Asthma and life insurance (published 29 October 2025), read 21 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Legal & General, Life insurance with asthma (11 September 2025), read 21 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Asthma + Lung UK, Helpline (undated page), read 21 October 2026. asthmaandlung.org.uk
  • Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2, read 21 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk