Pulse has built a reputation for providing Life and other insurance protection that is difficult to obtain from the standard market.

We have steadily expanded the range of medical conditions that we can now underwrite. For this we are very dependent on the extraordinary advances being made in medical science.

It was moving and inspirational to listen to Lord Botham as guest editor of a Christmas edition of BBC 4’s Today programme talking about his extraordinary work as a fund raiser for research into childhood leukaemia. He described how as a young cricketer he was walking through a hospital following physio treatment for a broken bone in his foot. He saw four young lads playing a board game in a ward and asked his doctor what they were doing there. He was told that they were seriously unwell with leukaemia. He was shocked to hear, and later to discover, that they had indeed only a few weeks to live. This inspired him to do something about the problem. His first fundraising walk in 1985 was from John O’Groats to Lands End. And over the years he has raised millions. His work has been critical in raising the survival rates in children from 20% to 90%! An astonishing achievement! There is, as Lord Botham pointed out more work to be done.

Anther terrific and positive story was published in a couple of stories in the Times in December 2022 and concerned the NHS’s announcement of the probable eradication of Hepatitis C as a “public health concern” by 2025, five years ahead of the World Health Organisation targets.   Antiviral drugs have played a crucial role in this achievement. The disease is eminently treatable and it is estimated that the NHS has successfully treated more than 70,000 people in the past five years. Deaths have fallen by 35%. Rachel Halford, CEO of the Hepatitis C Trust described the progress towards elimination as “truly astounding”.

Big picture! – Positive news has also been published concerning the decline in smoking in the UK. With an estimated 13.3% of the population smoking, one of the lowest in Europe and the lowest figure since records began. In 2020 the figure was 14% and 2011 it was 20.2%. So real progress has been made here. It has been said that reduction in smoking has saved more lives than antibiotics! In common with other underwriters Pulse will offer cover to smokers but at higher rates than for non-smokers.

We cannot provide Life cover for everyone who comes to us. But we do our best to help in whatever way we can, sometimes offering less than the cover required for a lesser term or reduced sum assured.  Sometimes we can offer personal accident cover as an affordable alternative. The advances in medical science continue to help us expand our horizons! So if in doubt it is always worth contacting us!

To find out if cover may be available, please contact us on:

[email protected] or call the team on 01280 841430.

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