Disabled people can apply for life insurance, including people with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or a learning disability, and the Equality Act 2010 sets out when an insurer may take disability into account in what it offers. This page follows that rule, then what insurers' forms ask, applying for someone who lacks capacity, and what is left to try if standard cover is declined.

Nobody can say here what an insurer would offer any individual. If you would like to talk an application through, our form is free and leads to a call-back from an FCA-authorised broker.

For support apart from insurance, Scope says its helpline "provides free, independent, and impartial advice and support on issues that matter to disabled people and their families". Mencap says "Everything we do is about supporting people with a learning disability to live their lives to the full", and its free helpline offers advice and support to them and their families and carers.

What does the Equality Act 2010 allow an insurer to do?

GOV.UK explains that you are disabled under the Act if you have a physical or mental impairment with a "substantial" and "long-term" negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. The Act does not apply to Northern Ireland.

Insurance has its own exception. Paragraph 21 of Schedule 3 to the Act (text on legislation.gov.uk up to date with changes in force on or before 15 October 2026) says that doing anything in connection with insurance business is not disability discrimination under section 29 if it rests on information that is relevant to assessing the risk and comes from a source it is reasonable to rely on, and if doing it is reasonable.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) code of practice for services (chapter 13, published 5 August 2026) sets out the same exception as three conditions: that "it is done based on information which is relevant" to assessing the risk, that "the information is from a reliable source", and that "it is reasonable to do so". The code adds that information which might be relevant "includes actuarial or statistical data or a medical report", and that the exception "would not permit an insurer to rely on untested assumptions, stereotypes or generalisations in respect of a disabled person".

For whether a source is one it is reasonable to rely on, the code lists further factors, among them whether it is up to date, "whether the information is representative" and whether it is "credible (for example, it is generally accepted by the scientific or actuarial community)". In its worked example, a motor insurer charges a disabled man living with HIV a higher premium without "any sound data about HIV or on the man's actual medical condition"; the code calls that "likely to be unlawful". The exception also does not cover harassment or victimisation.

So the test is about the information behind a decision. This page cannot say how any particular decision would measure up.

What do insurers ask, and what can they decide?

Aviva's page on pre-existing conditions (last updated 7 January 2025) says that in a life insurance application you are asked about health and lifestyle, including pre-existing conditions. It adds that an insurer might ask for a GP report, a nurse's call, a mini screening or a medical exam, and may contact your doctor to confirm what you have said.

Legal & General's Underwriting explained leaflet for applicants (W10188 09/25) is written for life, critical illness and income protection together, and lists your health among the factors it weighs. Its decisions include cover as applied for, an increased premium, changed benefits, an exclusion for a named condition, postponement, or no cover offered. These are one insurer's categories.

The leaflet also says it can be supplied in large print, braille, PDF or audio. A good practice guide from the Association of British Insurers, written about autistic customers, suggests firms could signpost reasonable adjustments; its press release of 1 April 2024 frames that as a recommendation to firms, not a promise from any insurer. Ask each insurer or broker what formats and support it offers.

Questions worth putting to an insurer or broker:

  • What does this question mean, and who should answer it: the person applying, a parent or carer, or a doctor?
  • Will you ask for a GP or consultant report, and how will it be requested?
  • If the answer is a refusal, an exclusion or a higher premium, what information was it based on?

If you would like a broker to put those questions to insurers for you, the quote form here asks one to ring you, free of charge.

Can someone apply for a person who lacks capacity?

GOV.UK's guidance on deputies treats capacity as a question about a particular decision at a particular time. It says lacking mental capacity "means they cannot make a decision for themselves at the time it needs to be made", that the person "may still be able to make decisions for themselves at certain times", and that a deputy "cannot assume it's the same at all times and for all kinds of things". It also tells deputies to "do everything you can to help the other person understand the decision, for example explain what's going to happen with the help of pictures or sign language".

Where capacity is lacking for a particular decision, GOV.UK describes two routes in England and Wales. A deputy is authorised by the Court of Protection, whose order "says what you can and cannot do"; a property and financial affairs deputy does things such as paying the person's bills. A lasting power of attorney is a legal document made by the person while they have capacity, to appoint attorneys; it is "legally binding only in England and Wales". GOV.UK says deputies cannot be appointed in Scotland or Northern Ireland, where it points to guardianship (Scotland) or a controller (Northern Ireland) instead, and that powers of attorney there are made a different way.

GOV.UK does not say what an insurer will accept from a deputy or attorney. Before anything is filled in, ask the insurer what authority it needs to see and whether the policy can be bought for, and owned by, the person. Who receives a payout is a separate question, covered in who to name as beneficiary.

What are the options if standard cover is declined?

A refusal, postponement or exclusion from one insurer is that insurer's decision on that application. The EHRC's code describes a voluntary agreement between the UK government, the ABI and the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) that applies when a provider refuses critical illness, income protection or life insurance because of a pre-existing medical condition or disability. It obliges providers to "refer the individual to another company that can help, or" to "direct the individual to a signposting system, which should be able to identify more suitable service providers". The code adds that signposting "does not mean that an insurer will have complied with their obligations under the Act".

BIBA's signposting page describes a guide it produced with its Access to Insurance Committee for people seeking protection insurance with a medical condition or disability, and says "Specialist protection brokers can be found on our Find Insurance Service on 0370 950 1790" (page captured 18 July 2026). That is a route to a broker, not a promise of an offer.

Plans that ask no health questions are a separate product, explained in what guaranteed life insurance is. Aviva's page says its Over 50s Life Insurance asks eligible applicants no health questions and needs no medical exam.

Whatever route is used, answer the questions asked with reasonable care. Section 2 of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 makes it the applicant's duty, as the consumer, to take reasonable care that what they tell the insurer is not a misrepresentation; what follows from a wrong answer is set out in when a life insurer can refuse to pay. For general routes after a decline, see what to do if you are declined and life insurance with medical conditions. Cover that pays on disability, rather than on death, is a different product: see critical illness cover and disability and income protection eligibility.

If a decline has left you unsure where to go next, you can leave your details in the form and a broker will ring to talk through the options, at no charge. More in health and underwriting.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone with Down syndrome get life insurance?

They can apply. In England, Wales and Scotland, the Equality Act exception described above sets the test an insurer's decision has to meet. Ask the insurer or a broker which questions apply, what evidence it may want, and who can help answer them.

Does cerebral palsy affect life insurance?

Legal & General's leaflet lists a person's health among the factors it assesses, so a diagnosis may be part of the information requested. What it means for a particular application is for the insurer to decide, so ask it or a broker before applying.

Can I get life insurance for a child with a disability?

This page is about adults applying for their own cover. If you are asking about a child, ask the insurer or a broker whether it offers cover on a child's life, and what it asks.

Sources

  • legislation.gov.uk, Equality Act 2010, Schedule 3, Part 5 (revised text, up to date with changes in force on or before 15 October 2026), read 20 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
  • Equality and Human Rights Commission, Code of practice for services, public functions and associations: Chapter 13 - Exceptions (5 August 2026), read 20 October 2026 from an archived copy. web.archive.org
  • GOV.UK, Definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 (updated 10 January 2025), read 20 October 2026. gov.uk
  • GOV.UK, Deputies: make decisions for someone who lacks capacity (updated 2 December 2024), read 20 October 2026. gov.uk
  • GOV.UK, Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney (updated 3 December 2024), read 20 October 2026. gov.uk
  • Legal & General, Underwriting explained (W10188 09/25), read 20 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Aviva, Can you get life insurance with a pre-existing medical condition? (last updated 7 January 2025), read 20 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • BIBA, Signposting - Access to insurance (archived copy captured 18 July 2026), read 20 October 2026. web.archive.org
  • Association of British Insurers, New guide to improve support for autistic customers (1 April 2024), read 20 October 2026. abi.org.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2, read 20 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
  • Scope, Helpline (undated), read 20 October 2026. scope.org.uk
  • Mencap, Who We Are and home page (undated), read 20 October 2026. mencap.org.uk