You can apply for life insurance with high cholesterol, and insurers treat it as part of your medical history: they ask for a recent reading, any treatment and what else is going on with your health, and Legal & General says a condition like this can increase the cost. Prefer to talk it over? Complete the form on this page with your cholesterol questions in mind, and a representative of an FCA-authorised broker will ring, with no fee.

What do insurers mean by high cholesterol?

The NHS describes high cholesterol as having "too much of a fatty substance called cholesterol in your blood". It adds that it "does not usually cause symptoms", so a blood test is the only way to find out. That matters for an application, because the numbers usually come from a test you had for another reason.

Legal & General (page dated 30 September 2025) says cholesterol is recorded in millimoles per litre (mmol/L). It says the NHS puts a healthy level for adults below 5mmol/L, and that "A cholesterol reading of six or above is sometimes considered" high for life insurance purposes. That is one insurer's rule of thumb, not a cut-off every insurer uses.

LV= includes high cholesterol in its list of conditions that can lead an applicant to be classed as higher risk, and says "Even well-managed conditions can impact how insurers assess your application".

Which readings and results will you be asked for?

Royal London's medical conditions tool for advisers (adviser material, not written for the public) lists what helps on an application form: when it was diagnosed, the most recent test result and its date, including total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides if known, details of treatment and any associated health problems.

Aviva's underwriting guide for advisers (September 2026 edition) asks for much the same: when it was diagnosed, your latest test result and its date, and treatment, including any referral to a specialist clinic. It says it will call the customer where details are missing or control is in question, and that "In some circumstances we may need a GPR", meaning a GP report.

Legal & General lists the questions it could put to you: whether you have had a recent reading, what the result was, whether high cholesterol has caused you to miss work, whether you take medication for it and whether you are waiting for treatment. It adds that, depending on your answers, it may ask you to complete a medical examination.

Does taking a statin or other treatment matter?

Treatment is on every list above, so expect to be asked what you take and since when; how a switch of dose or tablet would be viewed is something the broker who phones you can talk through free. Aviva's guide separates two situations. It describes levels under control, usually by taking a statin, separately from levels not controlled by treatment, where it says "our rating will be based on the most recent cholesterol level".

Royal London's guide for advisers says ratings "will depend on degree of elevation of blood pressure/cholesterol levels" and treats a referral to a hypertension or lipid clinic, or hospital investigations, as a separate situation in which evidence will usually be required. It also notes that a loading may apply for customers who were diagnosed under the age of 30 or who are under close review.

What else is read alongside cholesterol?

Cholesterol is rarely looked at on its own. Aviva's guide says "The effects of high cholesterol are made worse by raised blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and a family history of stroke or heart disease, so if any of these risk factors are present this is likely to increase the rating." Royal London's guide says the decision "will be subject to cumulative risk factors such as increased BMI, family history, associated medical conditions and smoking", and that when blood pressure and cholesterol are both raised the final loading may be more than the individual loads combined.

Legal & General points out that high cholesterol is not the same thing as being overweight, so it asks about height and weight separately. Those neighbouring questions have their own pages: high blood pressure, BMI limits and family medical history.

Aviva's guide also describes an inherited form, familial hypercholesterolaemia, which it says can cause high cholesterol even in someone who eats healthily or takes a statin. The NHS points to HEART UK for information on it.

Do you have to mention it, and what if the answer is not what you hoped?

Because insurers ask about cholesterol directly, give readings and dates as accurately as you can: a 2012 consumer insurance law puts the duty on you to take reasonable care that a cholesterol answer is not misleading, and the disclosure rules explain what can follow if an answer turns out to be wrong. If an insurer adds an extra charge, what loading means explains how it works; if it refuses or postpones, see what to do if you are declined and the wider guide to life insurance with medical conditions.

Readings, tablets and dates are easier to explain aloud, and the broker who phones after you submit the form can ask the insurers it works with how they would view your history; no one can promise what an insurer will offer. Other conditions underwriters ask about are covered in the health and underwriting hub.

Frequently asked questions

Can lowering my cholesterol before I apply help?

Writing about higher-risk conditions in general, LV= says demonstrating effective treatment or lifestyle improvements may help improve your terms. Legal & General says it cannot take changes you are only planning into account.

Is high cholesterol itself a critical illness claim?

Legal & General says you can apply for it with high cholesterol, but "You wouldn’t be able to claim on your policy for cholesterol in isolation." It says an existing condition could limit a claim against a specified illness, and that it would give details before you buy.

Sources

  • NHS, High cholesterol (page last reviewed 13 March 2026), read 26 October 2026. nhs.uk
  • Legal & General, Life insurance with high cholesterol (30 September 2025), read 26 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • LV=, High-risk life insurance guide: How to secure cover (27 April 2026), read 26 October 2026. lv.com
  • Aviva, Understanding Underwriting: a guide to medical conditions (PT15357 0926, for advisers), read 20 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Royal London, Information on our underwriting guidelines: Measuring Risk (June 2026, P8G0011/15, for financial adviser use only), read 26 October 2026. royallondon.com
  • Royal London, Medical conditions tool (for advisers), read 26 October 2026. adviser.royallondon.com
  • legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2, read 26 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk