Whether you can get life insurance with bipolar disorder is settled application by application, not by the diagnosis alone. Aviva's guide to mental health and life insurance, last updated 2 July 2026, says a condition "doesn't automatically stop you from getting life insurance" and that outcomes "can vary between insurers". Schizophrenia and a past episode of psychosis raise the same questions: what the diagnosis is, how the condition has behaved, and what treatment there has been.

How an insurer would read your own history only shows once someone puts it to one. If you would like to talk it over first, the enquiry form on this page carries no charge, and a broker with FCA authorisation rings back to go through it before anything reaches an insurer. There is no hurry.

Which diagnosis is which, and what does BPD mean?

The NHS describes bipolar disorder as "a mental health condition where you have extreme mood changes". It says people usually also have stable spells without symptoms, which "can last for weeks, months or years". Its schizophrenia page calls that condition long-term, adding that doctors often describe it as a type of psychosis, and psychosis is when "people lose some contact with reality".

The letters BPD can cause confusion. The NHS uses them for borderline personality disorder, "a disorder of mood and how a person interacts with others", a separate diagnosis from bipolar disorder. Whichever you have, write the full name on an application, because a health question will name a condition, not a set of initials. ADHD and autism have a page of their own, and mental health conditions in general are covered more broadly elsewhere.

Bipolar disorder can also take time to diagnose, because its symptoms overlap with those of other mental health conditions. If your diagnosis has changed over the years, say so, and give the date you were told each one.

How might episodes, admissions and treatment come up on a form?

Aviva's guide says insurers may ask about your mental health and sometimes request further medical information, and that, depending on how severe your condition is, an insurer may go to your GP or another health care provider who knows about your mental health. Each insurer words its questions its own way, so read every one as it is written.

The next paragraph mentions questions about self-harm and suicidal thoughts. If that is hard to read, or those thoughts are with you now, Samaritans answer the phone day and night on 116 123, free from any phone, and you are welcome to skip ahead to the next heading.

For a sense of the ground an application can cover, Vitality publishes underwriting pages for financial advisers only, not for the public. Under mild anxiety and depression, they say the application covers how many episodes there have been, whether anyone was treated as an inpatient, which professionals have been involved (GP, psychiatric nurse or psychiatrist), time away from work, and any suicide attempts, self-harm or suicidal thoughts, alongside the diagnosis, its onset and the treatment. Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia appear on those pages only as examples of rarer conditions, so this is one insurer's list for other diagnoses, not a description of how any insurer assesses yours. Where the answers point to "a more severe psychiatric condition", Vitality says it would obtain a GP report.

The NHS says that when doctors are worried about a person's safety, a hospital stay or support from a crisis team at home may be needed. Dates of admissions and crisis-team care are exactly what a form may ask for, so it helps to note them before you start; your GP surgery can tell you what is on your record.

A higher price, a postponement or a no: what then?

Aviva says a pre-existing physical or mental health condition "can mean that an insurer charges you a higher premium", or, "if your condition is very severe", that the insurer cannot offer cover at all, and adds that you may still be able to get insurance from another provider. No figure can be given without a quote built on your own circumstances.

If an insurer postpones or turns down an application, three things are worth asking it: whether there is a point after which it would look again, what in your history weighed most (a recent episode, an admission, a change of treatment), and whether a smaller sum or shorter term would change its view. Which insurer suits a history like yours is something only asking will show. More on next steps is in what to do if you are declined and in life insurance with medical conditions, while critical illness cover and mental health and income protection and stress deal with other products, where the same diagnosis can be weighed differently.

A broker can describe your history to several insurers and report back what each would do, though none can promise an offer. If that would help, the form here asks for that call, and it costs nothing.

Can an insurer turn you down because of the diagnosis?

Under paragraph 21 of Schedule 3 to the Equality Act 2010, treating someone differently because of a disability is not unlawful discrimination in insurance business if two things hold: the insurer is acting on information that bears on the risk being insured and comes from a source it can reasonably rely on, and the action itself is reasonable.

Mind's guide to insurance rights, published in February 2022, puts that in everyday terms. It says "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 that a decision resting on "generalisations about mental health conditions rather than information about your specific diagnosis" is quite likely to be unlawful. The guide adds that insurers cannot access your medical records without your consent, that you can see a doctor's report about you before it is sent, and that after a refusal or a high quote you can ask the insurer what information it relied on.

In September 2020 the Association of British Insurers announced Mental Health Standards for health, travel and protection insurance, which insurers were to implement by 31st December 2021. They include "explaining the process and why questions are being asked" and, on request, explaining what evidence informed a decision. That announcement is now several years old, and whether a particular insurer applies the standards today is a fair question to put to it.

What if an answer is missed or wrong?

Section 2 of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 puts the duty on the consumer to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer. What an insurer can do about a misrepresentation turns on whether it was careless, or deliberate or reckless; our guide to what you must disclose sets out the remedies in the Act. With a mood disorder or psychosis, the practical points are to answer the question that is asked, to include earlier diagnoses that were later changed, and to ask the insurer to explain any question you are unsure of.

Who offers support with bipolar and with insurance questions?

Mind (mind.org.uk) explains your legal rights with insurers, including whether you have to disclose a mental health problem and what that can mean for the cover you are offered. Bipolar UK runs an online eCommunity by and for people affected by bipolar, and a Peer Support Group Finder for in-person and online meetings near you. Samaritans are on 116 123, free, day or night.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get life insurance if you have schizophrenia?

You can apply. Aviva's guide names schizophrenia alongside depression and anxiety disorders as mental health conditions, and says these might influence the cost of cover or the options available. How your own history would be viewed is something a broker or the insurer can tell you.

Must a past psychotic episode go on the application?

You have to answer the questions you are asked with reasonable care. If a question covers past diagnoses, hospital stays or psychosis, give the dates and what happened, and ask the insurer if the wording is unclear.

Is borderline personality disorder treated like bipolar disorder?

The NHS describes them as separate conditions, on separate pages. How an insurer weighs either one is a question to put to it or to a broker, and the exact diagnosis is what to give when asked.

Whenever it suits you, send the free enquiry from this page and a broker will phone to go through your history at your pace. Related guides sit under health and underwriting.

Sources

  • NHS, Bipolar disorder (overview, last reviewed 28 October 2024), read 20 October 2026. nhs.uk
  • NHS, Schizophrenia (overview, last reviewed 13 April 2023), read 20 October 2026. nhs.uk
  • NHS, Psychosis (overview, last reviewed 5 September 2023), read 20 October 2026. nhs.uk
  • NHS, Borderline personality disorder (overview, last reviewed 4 November 2022), read 20 October 2026. nhs.uk
  • Aviva, Can mental health conditions affect life insurance? (last updated 2 July 2026), read 20 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Vitality, Conditions Covered (underwriting pages for UK financial advisers only), read 20 October 2026. adviser.vitality.co.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Equality Act 2010, Schedule 3 paragraph 21, read 20 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2, read 20 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
  • Mind, Your insurance rights (published February 2022; archived copy), read 20 October 2026. web.archive.org (mind.org.uk)
  • Association of British Insurers, ABI launch insurance industry standards to support customers with mental health conditions (29 September 2020), read 20 October 2026. abi.org.uk
  • Bipolar UK, homepage, read 20 October 2026. bipolaruk.org
  • Samaritans, Contact a Samaritan, read 20 October 2026. samaritans.org