Getting the right kind of life insurance policy best suited for you is hard enough without the complication of a cancer diagnosis. Qualifying for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy after a cancer diagnosis depends on if the patient is a cancer survivor in remission who has been out of treatment for two to five years. However, if the patient is still battling cancer, he or she is only qualified for guaranteed issue policies with limited coverage and restricted payouts for the first few years.
Does Life Insurance Cover Cancer Patients?
Only a few policies have no coverage for cancer. These include accidental death and dismemberment policies for when someone dies or is injured accidentally. In contrast, term and permanent life insurance policies cover cancer patients.
Getting life insurance coverage as a cancer patient requires you to be completely upfront with your insurer. This is to carry your insurer along, so they can determine if your health condition was not grossly misrepresented for your benefit or no fraudulent activities have taken place in your application.
Be completely honest when filling out your insurance application to avoid contestation of your claim during the first two years of a policy, which is the contestability period. If the information given by you is found to be questionable, your beneficiary can be denied a claim.
Cancer survivors, on the other hand, purchase life insurance at a more expensive rate. There are certain types of cancer that, when accompanied by other chronic conditions, e.g., diabetes, can cause you to be rejected for a policy, stop you from purchasing one, or have you receiving expensive quotes. However, if you have been in remission consistently and have managed to stay healthy for a long period of time, you can purchase term or permanent life insurance at standard rates.
Life Insurance After Cancer
Many factors contribute to your ability to purchase life insurance after cancer. They all depend on how healthy you are and how long you have been in remission. Sometimes, you might have to wait two or five years for approval of life insurance policy depending on your insurer, stage, or type of cancer.
Some of the questions often asked while applying for life insurance after cancer include:
1. the time frame of your diagnosis,
2. background history of cancer,
3. treatment process,
4. remission duration, and so on.
With adequate assurance that your treatment plan, appointments, and medication are being thoroughly followed, getting life insurance will be much smoother.
How Your Type of Cancer Affects Your Life Insurance
As mentioned above, the type of cancer you have is a large determinant of the policy you’ll get or even if you’ll get one at all. While some cancers like non-melanoma skin cancer are considered low risk, others like leukemia, pancreatic, and colon cancer that are quick to spread through different parts of the body are considered to be higher risk and can cause you to be rejected for a policy.
Moderate risk cancers like breast, testicular, thyroid cancer, etc., can be considered for a policy if the remission duration is long and treatments are being adhered to.
Do you need help with your life insurance coverage? If so, then contact the experts at Randy Jones Insurance Services in Pleasanton, California today. We are here to assist you with all your coverage needs.
