About 60% of Americans have some form of life insurance. However, for the remaining 40%, the costs or inability to qualify for insurance may leave them without this protection. This is especially problematic for cancer survivors and cancer patients. Can I get life insurance after being diagnosed with cancer?
Can you get life insurance when you have cancer?
The answer will depend on the type, degree and stage of the cancer.
You can get life insurance with a pre-existing condition. Most insurance companies require cancer remission. They usually look back at least 10 years if you are looking for a traditional life insurance policy.
Prior to policy coverage, most insurers will use the National Cancer Institute’s “Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results” (SEER) guidelines. The database contains anonymous information about millions of people who have undergone cancer treatment and their outcomes. The report also includes life expectancy tables that detail the survival statistics for different groups in remission.
Insurers will use this information, as well as case-specific details and forecasts, to determine if – and what type – the policy you qualify for.
Can I Get Life Insurance After Diagnosing Cancer?
You can potentially get life insurance after having been diagnosed with cancer, but it will depend on several factors. The most important information that a life insurance company will want to know is:
- Date of first diagnosis of cancer
- Type of cancer diagnosed
- Way of treatment
- How long have you been free from cancer?
Additional questions that insurance companies may ask include:
- What was the stage of the cancer?
- What size was the tumor (tumors)?
- Did they involve lymph nodes?
- Has the cancer metastasized?
- Dates of start and end of treatment.
- When was the last date for treatment?
- Have you had any relapses?
- What medications do you take?
Final expenses and funeral insurance
If you can’t get traditional life insurance, you may be able to get final cost insurance.
Final cost insurance, also called funeral insurance, can be a life or life insurance policy. You can get a simplified problem policy that includes answering several medical questions as part of the insurance process. Another option is a policy of guaranteed problems, which does not involve any medical questions.
You can also get a “progressive death” policy. These policies increase your death benefits for your beneficiaries throughout the life of the policy – unless you die in the first few years.
Beneficiaries may use this insurance to cover funeral, housing or other costs. However, the compromise with final cost insurance is that policy amounts are quite low compared to traditional life insurance.
Typically, the final spending policy can have a face value between $ 5,000 and $ 50,000.
