You can apply for life insurance with HPV or an abnormal smear result, and each insurer decides for itself what a screening result means for your application. Critical illness cover is where the wording matters most, because early cervical cell changes are treated differently from cancer in the policy definitions.

Wondering how a colposcopy or an HPV result might look to insurers? An FCA-authorised broker will talk your own history over at no cost; the call-back is arranged using the form on this page.

Will HPV or an abnormal smear change a life insurance application?

A screening result is a health fact, and life insurers ask health questions. Whether a particular insurer asks about HPV, a smear or a colposcopy, and what it does with the answer, varies. The Access to Insurance Working Group's commitments on how insurers explain their decisions (signatories as at March 2021) say that "different insurers may offer different outcomes and decisions when assessing the same risk", and that signing insurers will, on request, explain what information was used and why. So a question that one insurer treats lightly may get a different response from another.

How a CIN grade or LLETZ treatment might be looked at is for each insurer to weigh, and a broker can talk through the questions it may raise when they ring you, free.

For the general picture of how insurers weigh a health history, see getting life insurance with medical conditions, and the medical questions on an application for what the form may ask.

What the screening terms mean

The NHS explains that a cervical screening sample is tested for human papillomavirus (HPV) first. Most people will not have it, and an HPV positive result comes in two kinds: HPV with no abnormal cell changes, which means an invitation to screening again in a year (and a colposcopy if HPV is still there after two years), and HPV with abnormal cell changes, which leads to a colposcopy to look at the cervix. The NHS adds that you can have HPV without having been sexually active or had a new partner for many years.

The abnormal cells found at colposcopy are described by the NHS as "not cancer", though there is a risk they could turn into cervical cancer if not treated. Doctors call them cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) and grade them CIN1 (low), CIN2 (medium) or CIN3 (high). For CIN3 you are offered treatment to remove the cells, most often a procedure called LLETZ. What a result means for your health is a question for your GP or the colposcopy clinic.

These terms matter for insurance because the three grades, and the treatment, appear by name in some policy wordings.

How critical illness policies treat cervical cell changes

The ABI's model wording for cancer, which sets the minimum a critical illness policy must meet for that condition, does not cover cancers classified as "pre-malignant" or as "cancer in situ" (ABI Guide to Minimum Standards, September 2022, updated April 2023). The minimum standards explain how that fits with each insurer's own definitions. Abnormal cervical cells at CIN1 to CIN3 are described by the NHS as not cancer, so they would not meet that model cancer wording.

Some insurers go further and name the cervix. Royal London's Personal Menu Plan details (July 2025) list among their additional conditions: "Carcinoma in situ of the cervix uteri diagnosed with histological confirmation by biopsy together with the undergoing of trachelectomy or hysterectomy to remove the tumour." Under it, "loop excision, laser surgery, conisation and cryosurgery" are not covered. Vitality's Personal Protection Plan Provisions (print reference VLTD174857WF) list among the specific exclusions for cancer "Cervical, vaginal, vulval or prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (dysplasia) with histology showing CIN-1, CIN-2, VAIN-1, VAIN-2, VIN-1, VIN-2, PIN-1 or PIN-2", and, under their definition for carcinoma in situ treated with surgery, rule out loop excision, laser surgery, conisation and cryosurgery for cervical carcinoma in situ.

Those are two insurers' wordings, not a rule for every policy. Both attach their carve-out for loop excision to a named definition, and the NHS describes LLETZ, a large loop excision, as the most common way to remove abnormal cells. Cover for a later, invasive cancer is a separate matter, covered in critical illness cover for cancer.

Ask for the definitions section of any policy you are considering and read how it deals with in situ conditions; the broker can also go through the wording with you. Severity-based policies pay in tiers, so it is worth checking which tier, if any, an early diagnosis would sit in.

Telling the insurer: what the law asks of you

When you apply, the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 says: "It is the duty of the consumer to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer." In practice that means answering the questions you are asked as accurately as you can. If you are unsure whether a result counts as something the question covers, say so to the broker or insurer rather than guess.

Questions about screening on an application are something a broker will help with once you complete the form here, at no charge.

Schedule 1 to the Act sets out what the insurer can do if an answer was wrong. For a deliberate or reckless misrepresentation it may avoid the contract and refuse all claims. For a careless one the remedy depends on what the insurer would otherwise have done, and can include reducing a claim in proportion. What you must disclose goes through the rules in full.

If you have been turned down or offered different terms

One insurer's decision is not the end of the road, because insurers differ and the agreement above says an insurer will explain its reasons on request. Our guide to being declined for life insurance sets out the next steps. A broker may be able to approach other insurers, although that never guarantees cover.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get life insurance with HPV?

You can apply. The insurer decides on the answers to its own questions, so the outcome is for the insurer, and it may differ from one insurer to the next.

Does a colposcopy or LLETZ treatment need to be mentioned?

Whether a colposcopy or LLETZ belongs in an answer depends on the exact wording of the question, and the duty is to answer with reasonable care. If a question asks about tests or treatment, read it closely and answer what it asks.

What do critical illness wordings say about CIN3?

Royal London's wording names carcinoma in situ of the cervix and attaches conditions to it, while Vitality's specific exclusions list CIN-1 and CIN-2 but not CIN-3. Read the definition in the policy you are considering rather than assume.

Will a normal result after colposcopy help my application?

The NHS says a normal biopsy result means an invitation back to screening in 3 or 5 years, depending on your age. Whether a later normal result changes an insurer's view is up to the insurer; a broker can go over what it is likely to ask.

Your own screening history is easier to discuss in a conversation, and the free call-back you can request on this page gives you one.

Sources

  • NHS, Your cervical screening results (page last reviewed 26 June 2025), read 1 November 2026. nhs.uk
  • NHS, Colposcopy (page last reviewed 1 September 2026), read 1 November 2026. nhs.uk
  • ABI, Guide to Minimum Standards for Critical Illness Cover (16 September 2022, updated April 2023), read 1 November 2026. abi.org.uk
  • Royal London, Personal Menu Plan Life or Critical Illness Cover, Plan details (July 2025), read 21 October 2026. royallondon.com
  • Vitality, Personal Protection Plan Provisions (print reference VLTD174857WF), read 22 October 2026. vitality.co.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2 and Schedule 1, read 1 November 2026. legislation.gov.uk
  • BIBA and insurer signatories, Explaining underwriting decisions where an insurer offers non standard terms or is unable to offer cover (March 2021), read 1 November 2026. biba.org.uk