What does a condition-related exclusion mean in practice?

It means the policy will not pay a claim caused by your arthritis or by conditions related to it, but will still pay for unrelated causes of long-term absence. Most claims across the market are for causes unrelated to any single existing condition, so the cover can still be worth having, provided you know what you are buying.

Does my job affect the decision?

Yes, more than most people expect. Insurers look at what your work physically requires and how easily you could keep doing it during a flare. Desk-based work is generally assessed more favourably than manual work when arthritis is involved.

What is a deferred period and why would mine be longer?

The deferred period is how long you must be unable to work before the policy starts paying. Choosing a longer one reduces the price and reduces the insurer's short-term risk, so it is sometimes offered as a way to make cover available where it otherwise would not be.

I was declined income protection before. Is it worth trying again?

Possibly, particularly if your condition has settled, your treatment has been stable for a while, or your job has changed. We would look at the reason for the previous decline first and check quietly with insurers before making any formal application.

Income protection with arthritis

Q: Can I get income protection with arthritis?

Sometimes, and it depends heavily on the detail. Osteoarthritis and well-managed gout are often assessed reasonably, especially in non-manual work. Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and fibromyalgia are harder, and cover is frequently offered with a condition-related exclusion, a higher price, or a longer deferred period.

Income protection pays a monthly income if illness or injury stops you working. For people living with arthritis it is the most valuable product and also the hardest to get on good terms. We will tell you plainly where you stand rather than let you find out at claim time.

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A woman enjoying an afternoon in her garden

Why this is the hardest product for arthritis

Income protection insures your ability to work, and arthritis is a condition that can affect exactly that. Insurers know it, so they underwrite this product far more cautiously than life cover. Where life insurance declines are rare, income protection restrictions are common.

That does not mean the door is shut. It means the outcome depends much more on the detail: which type of arthritis you have, how active it is, how stable your treatment has been, what your job physically demands, and how much time you have needed off work.

The inflammatory types and fibromyalgia are the most difficult here. Osteoarthritis and well-managed gout are usually assessed more easily, particularly in a desk-based job.

The three outcomes to expect

Cover on standard or lightly loaded terms, most realistic where the condition is settled, treatment is stable and the job is not physically demanding
Cover with a condition-related exclusion, meaning the policy pays for other causes of absence but not for claims arising from your arthritis
Cover with a higher price or a longer deferred period, so the policy starts paying later and the insurer takes less short-term risk
A postponement, where the insurer wants to see a settled period before deciding
A decline, which is more common with this product than with life cover, particularly during a period of active disease
Your occupation matters a great deal here, because manual work and inflammatory arthritis together concern underwriters most

An exclusion is not automatically a bad policy. Most time off work has nothing to do with arthritis, and cover for everything else can still be worth having. What matters is knowing exactly what you are buying.

Getting the best available answer

Insurers vary widely on this product, and a few assess arthritis noticeably more fairly than the rest. Approaching them in the right order matters, because a decline can be recorded and makes later applications harder. Where it helps, we ask insurers how they would view your situation before anything formal is submitted.

Timing helps too. A settled period on stable treatment, with no recent steroid courses and no recent time off work, produces a materially better answer than an application made mid-flare.

If you already have cover through your employer, tell us. It changes how much you need and sometimes changes the advice entirely.

How it works

Complete the health check, including your occupation and any time off work. A specialist adviser will tell you honestly what is realistic, approach the insurers who assess arthritis most fairly, and show you any exclusion or deferred period in writing before you apply.

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Written and reviewed by

Andy Stevens CMap

Co-Founder and Protection Specialist

Andy has spent more than thirty years placing life insurance for people insurers find difficult, including inflammatory arthritis, and he still speaks to clients himself. He co-founded Arthritis Life so that people living with arthritis get an adviser who understands modern rheumatology rather than a form that treats every type the same.

Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning (CII)
Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute
Over 30 years in impaired risk life insurance

Last reviewed 29 August 2026. This page is general information about insurance, not medical advice or a personal recommendation. More about us.

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Cover for a specific condition: rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, gout or fibromyalgia.