You can apply for life insurance with a heart condition, including after a heart attack, but each insurer reaches its own decision and their positions differ. Aviva says cover is possible with a heart condition, though your application "must include full and accurate medical information"; Legal & General (L&G) says the answer depends on "the type and severity of heart condition you have".

This page sets out what insurers ask, what they can decide and what you owe them in your answers. It gives no view on whether any particular diagnosis will be accepted, because only an insurer can say that for your own records. If you would like an adviser firm's view first, the form here is free, and an FCA-authorised broker then calls you.

What do insurers ask about a heart condition?

L&G's page on heart conditions (29 September 2026) lists heart conditions that can be relevant:

  • heart disease, including coronary artery disease, heart attacks and angina;
  • heart failure;
  • heart valve disorders;
  • heart rhythm disorders, for example irregular heartbeat;
  • structural heart disorders, for example congenital heart defects; and
  • heart bypass surgery and angioplasty.

Aviva's page (last updated 17 June 2026) names coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure and arrhythmias among common heart conditions. Whatever the diagnosis, whether cardiomyopathy, a pacemaker or ICD, a murmur, a stent or SVT, declare it where the application asks and ask the insurer or a broker how it would be assessed.

What the application asks follows from the condition. Vitality's page for advisers on angina and heart attack (undated, read 19 October 2026; for UK financial advisers only) lists what it needs: the diagnosis, the date of diagnosis, how many coronary arteries were affected if known, the treatment, and "additional complications such as high blood pressure, heart failure, irregular heart beat". It then says it can "obtain a report from the client’s GP to establish details about the client’s cardiac function and the history of their condition". That is one insurer's list for two conditions, written for advisers.

The consumer pages point the same way. On Aviva's, you "may also have to provide medical documentation, have a medical exam, or provide access to your doctor’s medical records", though sometimes a GP report is requested instead of an exam. L&G "may request a report from your Doctor", for example after angina or coronary artery disease, and its page on pre-existing conditions (16 March 2026) adds that your consent is needed first, and that you will be notified and have 21 days to arrange a consultation with your doctor to review the report, if you wish. medical questions for life insurance shows the usual question set, and non-medical limits explains when evidence is asked for.

How do insurers weigh a heart condition?

Aviva's page says insurers "consider the type and severity of the heart condition, overall health, and lifestyle when offering cover", with smoking, diet and exercise among the lifestyle factors, and that "It’s not possible to set a single definitive price for life insurance with a heart condition". L&G's adds age, smoker status, alcohol consumption, occupation and hazardous hobbies as things that could affect the premium. A price comes only from a quote on your own details.

Vitality's adviser entry goes further for angina and heart attack: "The treatment provided, the cardiac vessels involved and any impact on heart function could increase the rating or lead to a decline". It lists cases it declines, among them anyone who continues to smoke, and says that for all other cases "terms will not be offered until six months after return to work or normal activities".

Other conditions travel with it. L&G's Underwriting explained leaflet (W10188 09/25) names "raised blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, stroke or cancer" as typical conditions that carry a greater risk to health, and says a decision may rest on one factor or "may be because of a combination of factors". Related inputs have their own pages: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, family medical history, BMI and smoking.

What decisions can an insurer reach on a heart condition?

The same leaflet sets out the decisions L&G can reach, across life, critical illness and income protection cover together:

  • Standard terms: the cover applied for, where no extra risk is found.
  • An increased premium. The leaflet says this "may mean that we’re unable to offer some of the additional and optional benefits", such as increasing your cover later.
  • Benefits changed. One example is life cover accepted with critical illness removed.
  • An exclusion. "An exclusion clause means you’re not covered for a specified condition, event or hazardous activity."
  • Postponement. Cover may not be offered after a recent serious medical event, a heart attack or cancer being the examples given, or while investigations are under way or an operation is awaited; it will then tell you when it can consider a new application.
  • No cover offered, where the risk is too high and likely to stay high.

That leaflet (W10188 09/25) is general. L&G's page on heart conditions, dated 29 September 2026, is specific about its own life cover: "If you’ve experienced a heart attack, or have undergone a heart transplant, for example, you will not be able to get life insurance with L&G." The same page says that in other instances it may ask your doctor for a report, and that "Other providers may take a different approach to some health conditions". It describes one insurer's own cover, not the market. Critical illness cover treats past heart events separately; see critical illness cover with pre-existing conditions and whether it pays for a heart attack.

What must you disclose about your heart history?

The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 sets the rules: "It is the duty of the consumer to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer." The insurer has a remedy only if a wrong answer broke that duty and the insurer shows that, without it, it would have refused the contract or offered it only on different terms. A misrepresentation is careless "if it is not deliberate or reckless", and "It is for the insurer to show that a qualifying misrepresentation was deliberate or reckless". Unless the contrary is shown, you are presumed to have known a matter was relevant where the insurer "asked a clear and specific question".

The Act's first schedule sets the remedies. If the misrepresentation was deliberate or reckless, the insurer may avoid the contract and refuse all claims, and need not return the premiums except to the extent it would be unfair to keep them. For a careless one:

  • if the insurer would not have offered cover on any terms, it may avoid the contract but must return the premiums paid;
  • if it would have offered other terms (not counting the premium), it can require the contract to be treated as made on those terms; and
  • if it would have charged more, it may reduce a claim payment proportionately.

In practice: answer the questions asked, with dates, tests and medication, and ask when one is unclear. More on the duty is in what you must disclose.

What if cover is postponed, loaded or declined?

A postponement, exclusion or decline is one insurer's view of one application. Useful things to ask are whether it is a postponement with a date to reapply or a decline, which part of the history drove it, and whether a different amount, term or type of cover would be considered. See what to do if you are declined and life insurance with medical conditions.

To have your history put to other insurers, leave your details in the enquiry form; a broker (FCA-authorised) phones back at no charge and can approach several, though none can promise an offer.

Guaranteed acceptance is a separate route. Aviva's page says over 50s plans "often don’t require medical information, though the cover amounts are typically lower", and that on its plan, if you die in the first 12 months and it was not an accident, the insurer "won’t pay out the cover amount" but pays a sum equal to the premiums already paid. Guaranteed life insurance sets out who qualifies and what is given up in exchange, and life insurance without a medical compares the other no-exam routes.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get life insurance after a heart attack?

It depends on the insurer, and their published positions differ. L&G's heart page says that after a heart attack you will not be able to get life insurance with L&G, while Vitality's adviser entry describes postponing terms after one and declining some cases. Only an insurer can say what it would offer you.

Which type of life insurance is best after a heart attack?

No one type is right for everyone. Aviva says no single policy will suit everyone with a heart condition, and describes term and whole of life cover as choices "depending on your circumstances and the level of cover you’re looking for".

Can I get life insurance with a pacemaker, a heart murmur or SVT?

Each insurer assesses these for itself, and only it can say what it would offer. Expect questions like those above about the diagnosis, its date and the treatment, and possibly a request for consent to a GP report.

Does a heart condition make life insurance more expensive?

Often, though not always. L&G's heart page says that with a heart condition "it’s likely you would pay higher premiums than a customer in normal health (if you’re eligible for cover)", while Aviva's notes that a higher price "isn’t always the case".

If you would like your own heart history put to insurers, a few minutes on the form here is enough, and a broker will ring you to talk it through.

More questions of this kind are in health and underwriting.

Sources

  • Legal & General, Life Insurance with a heart condition (29 September 2026), read 19 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Legal & General, Life insurance with pre-existing medical conditions (16 March 2026), read 19 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Legal & General, Underwriting explained (W10188 09/25), read 19 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Aviva, Life insurance with a heart condition (last updated 17 June 2026), read 19 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Vitality, Conditions Covered, angina or heart attack entry (adviser literature, for UK financial advisers only; undated page), read 19 October 2026. adviser.vitality.co.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, sections 2, 4 and 5 and Schedule 1, read 19 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk