If you've searched online for health insurance that covers alcohol-related liver disease then you are most likely for looking for established UK based health insurance providers that can cover your alcohol-related liver disease.
Our advice when looking for private medical cover that covers alcohol-related liver disease is to speak to a insurance broker. Health insurance is very complicated and if you want absolute certainty that alcohol-related liver disease is covered you should talk with a health insurance broker who can explain which providers will cover this medical condition and which will not.
There are many advantages to using a insurance broker but the largest by far is that you're using their insurance training at no cost. They are paid by the insurer (Aviva or Bupa etc) rather than by you so it costs you no extra to use their services.
- Do you reside in many different postcodes? Some will give you a lower policy premium than offers. A insurance broker will be able to advise whats best.
- Do you have a hobby that may invalidate your insurance policy? A broker will know this critical information.
- If you are a couple and one of you has claimed on your policy this year would it be cheaper to separate you both onto two different insurance policies?
- You've developed a certain medical condition and want to know which insurer offers the largest amount of cover for it. A broker will know this instantly saving you so much time and effort.
You can call around every health insurance provider on the market and ask if they cover alcohol-related liver disease, however this will be a very time consuming process. Each insurer will ask for your medical history because its not normally a simple yes or not if a medical condition is covered or not.
Its far far quicker to speak to one medical insurance broker which will know which policy providers on the market cover alcohol-related liver disease and under what terms they do or don't cover it.
Alcohol-Related Liver Disease Information
Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) refers to liver damage caused by excess alcohol intake. There are several stages of severity and a range of associated symptoms.
ARLD doesn't usually cause any symptoms until the liver has been severely damaged. When this happens, symptoms can include:
This means ARLD is frequently diagnosed during tests for other conditions, or at a stage of advanced liver damage.
If you regularly drink alcohol to excess, tell your GP so they can check if your liver is damaged.
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With the exception of the brain, the liver is the most complex organ in the body. Its functions include:
The liver is very resilient and capable of regenerating itself. Each time your liver filters alcohol, some of the liver cells die.
The liver can develop new cells, but prolonged alcohol misuse (drinking too much) over many years can reduce its ability to regenerate. This can result in serious and permanent damage to your liver.
ARLD is very common in the UK – the number of people with the condition has been increasing over the last few decades as a result of increasing levels of alcohol misuse.
Read more about the causes of ARLD.
There are 3 main stages of ARLD, although there's often an overlap between each stage. These stages are explained below.
Drinking a large amount of alcohol, even for just a few days, can lead to a build-up of fats in the liver. This is called alcoholic fatty liver disease, and is the first stage of ARLD.
Fatty liver disease rarely causes any symptoms, but it's an important warning sign that you're drinking at a harmful level.
Fatty liver disease is reversible. If you stop drinking alcohol for 2 weeks, your liver should return to normal.
Alcoholic hepatitis – which is unrelated to infectious hepatitis – is a potentially serious condition that can be caused by alcohol misuse over a longer period. When this develops, it may be the first time a person is aware they're damaging their liver through alcohol.