It is possible to get life insurance with epilepsy, Aviva and Legal & General both say in their guides, and the questions they publish centre on the type of seizures, how often they happen and how long it is since the last one. Seizure history is easier to explain with someone listening. A short call-back form on this page, with your name, age band, phone number, email and postcode, means an FCA-authorised broker rings you, no charge, so that you can ask how an application might be read.

What will an application ask about your seizures?

Aviva's guide to epilepsy and life insurance (last updated 17 June 2026) says epilepsy is "considered to be a pre-existing medical condition by insurers", and lists what you will be asked for. In summary:

  • the type of seizures you have
  • how often you have seizures
  • how severe they are
  • any other diagnosed medical conditions

Legal & General's page (11 November 2025) puts its own questions slightly differently. It says it will typically need to know the type of epilepsy and any specific cause, when you were diagnosed, how often you have fits or attacks and how long it has been since the last one, and whether the attacks involve a change or loss of consciousness.

Royal London's underwriting guide for advisers, which is adviser material rather than a consumer document, sorts epilepsy by seizure type, with generalised convulsive seizures such as tonic-clonic ones and generalised non-convulsive seizures such as absence attacks as separate groups, and then by the time since the last seizure.

How do you describe your seizure type?

Many people know their seizures by what they look or feel like rather than by a clinical label. Legal & General names three main types, taken from guidance by the International League Against Epilepsy: focal onset seizures, where you are awake and aware; generalised onset seizures, which involve impaired awareness and affect both sides of the brain at the same time; and unknown onset seizures, where the starting point is not known, perhaps because you were asleep or nobody else was there.

Your consultant's letter or your GP record will normally use these terms, so it can help to have them to hand. Aviva points to the NHS website and the Epilepsy Society for explanations of seizure types.

Does it matter how well controlled your epilepsy is?

Both insurers say it does. Aviva says: "If your epilepsy is well-controlled and you have few seizures, with no loss of awareness, your premiums may be lower than if you have frequent or severe seizures." It adds that if your condition is unstable or you have had recent seizures, "the insurer may postpone their decision and wait until your condition is better controlled". Past hospital stays for epilepsy can affect the cover you are offered, it says, and an insurer might ask for your medical records or an examination.

Legal & General says the cost depends on many factors. It states that, depending on the cause of your epilepsy, where it does not include a change or loss of consciousness, was diagnosed more than six months ago, involves fewer than 12 attacks a year and the last attack was more than a year ago, "you are likely to be offered life insurance at standard rates". If your experience falls outside those points, it says your premiums may be higher, though "they won't rise during the length of the policy". Neither guide is a promise about your own application: those points are one insurer's description of its approach.

Treatment is on the list too: Aviva's summary says insurers may review "any treatments or hospital care". Whether a recent change of tablets matters to a given insurer can be raised with the broker when they phone.

Does your driving licence come into it?

Driving carries its own legal duty, set by DVLA rather than by an insurer: GOV.UK says "You must tell DVLA if you’ve had any epileptic seizures or blackouts" and that you must stop driving straight away. For a car or motorbike licence, if you had seizures while awake and lost consciousness, it says, your licence will be taken away and you can reapply if you have not had a seizure for at least a year, with different rules for other seizure types.

If you want to know whether a suspended or restored licence would come up on an application, the broker you speak to after sending the form can check it without charge.

Must epilepsy go on the application?

Yes. Aviva says to tell your insurer "as soon as possible", and that if you do not, "you may not be able to get life insurance and any claims you make could be denied". Legal & General says that if inaccurate information is given at application it is "entitled to amend or cancel the policy and could refuse to pay the cover amount".

Your legal duties when answering are set out in what you must disclose when applying, and whether an insurer can refuse to pay covers what follows an inaccurate answer.

Epilepsy Action's page on your rights (last modified December 2025) says insurers can treat disabled people differently, but only if they can justify their reasons and show the decision rests on relevant and reliable information, such as statistical data or medical reports.

Will there be a medical, and what about critical illness cover?

Legal & General says you can normally complete a life insurance application online and are offered a policy even if you have epilepsy, though you may be asked for more information especially if there are any complications or unusual patterns. Aviva says applications may be delayed or not accepted when epilepsy is severe or uncontrolled, but that this is uncommon.

On critical illness cover, Legal & General says most customers are still able to get it depending on the cause of their epilepsy, but "epilepsy isn't a condition covered by the policy". See which conditions critical illness cover includes.

What if the first answer is a delay, a higher price or a no?

A delay, a loading or a refusal comes from a single insurer reading a single set of answers. What loading means and what to do if you are declined explain the next steps, and life insurance with medical conditions takes the wider view. If you are over 50, Aviva's guide adds, over 50s plans often ask for no medical information, though the cover is typically lower; the plan it describes pays back only the premiums paid if you die in the first 12 months from a cause other than an accident.

Any day you like, a short enquiry here lets an FCA-authorised broker ring you back, free, and put your history to insurers on its panel; no offer is guaranteed. The general routine is in medical questions for life insurance, and more conditions are in the health and medical questions guides.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get life insurance with epilepsy in the UK?

Aviva says it is possible, with options depending on your individual health and seizure history. Legal & General says life insurance is still available for people with epilepsy.

Is one insurer better for epilepsy?

No single name suits every seizure history; Aviva and Legal & General each set out their own questions and criteria. Aviva suggests choosing an insurer experienced with epilepsy and comparing quotes.

Will I be sent for a medical?

Not necessarily. Legal & General says many applicants are asked a few straightforward questions before a decision, with further information requested if needed.

Sources

  • Aviva, Epilepsy and life insurance (published 24 April 2025, last updated 17 June 2026), read 26 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Legal & General, Life insurance with epilepsy (11 November 2025), read 26 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Royal London, Information on our underwriting guidelines: Measuring Risk (June 2026, P8G0011/15, for financial adviser use only), read 26 October 2026. royallondon.com
  • Epilepsy Action, Epilepsy and your rights (published October 2022, last modified December 2025), read 26 October 2026. epilepsy.org.uk
  • GOV.UK, Epilepsy and driving, read 26 October 2026. gov.uk