Can You Get Life Insurance After Prostate Cancer

What Is Life Insurance For Cancer Patients

Life insurance for cancer patients isnt a specific type of policy. Rather, many traditional life insurance providers will sell coverage to cancer patients, but its much harder for cancer patients to get approved for life insurance due to their health risks. In many cases, cancer patients are limited in the kind of life insurance they qualify for and the amount of coverage they can purchase.

Life Insurance After Treatment

Life insurance for prostate cancer survivors is available.

Your cancer history and the type of treatment received determine availability.

• Diagnosed prior to age 50 *

* Requires a 5 year postpone

If you had lymph nodes tested, let us know if they were cancerous or not.

Let us know if youve had other health issues as they will impact underwriting.

No Medical Life Insurance

Some insurance companies advertise this. It is true that they will not ask for a medical exam. But it may not mean that they wont ask for blood and urine tests. Also, they will expect the applicant to fill out an application form. On that form, they may ask several medically related questions. About the applicants health. The applicant must answer the questions honestly.

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Buying Life Insurance With Prostate Cancer Important Factors:

Here are some important factors that will determine your ability to get approved for coverage:

• What was the age of diagnosis?
• At what age did treatment end?
• What was the Gleason Score?
• What was the treatment, and has there been a recurrence of the cancer?
• What was the pre-treatment PSA reading?
• What is the most recent PSA reading?

Prostate Cancer Life Insurance Underwriting

In life insurance underwriting, prostate cancer is assessed by stage and grade.

Stage refers to the extent of cancer, the tumor size, and/or how much it has spread.

The Gleason System grades the aggressiveness of the tumor ranging from 2 to 10. The higher the Gleason score, the more likely a tumor will spread beyond the gland to other parts of the body. A Gleason score of 2 4 is considered non-aggressive, while a Gleason score of 8 10 is considered aggressive.

Cancer treatment often consists of prostate resection called a radical prostatectomy or radiation.

Hormonal treatment can be offered to older men for metastatic disease or men in poor health.

After diagnosis and treatment, PSA levels are monitored over time. A rising PSA suggests that a tumor is currently present, and a persistently low PSA suggests successful control.

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Coverage For Prostate Cancer Treatments

Prostate cancer is a complicated disease that usually consists of multiple cancerous lesions in the prostate. Many patients live long and healthy lives with a prostate cancer diagnosis. However, the anatomical region where the prostate is located poses a challenge for therapy and there are significant side effects like incontinence or erectile dysfunction that can decrease quality of life. For these reasons, the treatment goal for prostate cancer involves striking a balance between targeting the largest lesion that is driving the disease and minimizing treatment complications in order for the patient to maintain quality of life. Most health insurance policies cover standard approved treatments for prostate cancer. However, there are valid emerging treatments available that insurance will not automatically cover. If you are interested in such a treatment, you may have to put some extra effort into getting it covered.

How Prostate Cancer Is Formed

In healthy cells, the process of division, growth and cell death all occur This keeps your cells replenishing and functioning properly in one of two phases: mitosis or interphase.

Interphase refers to the process of cell growth and DNA replication. It is in this phase that cells spend the majority of their time. Our bodies enact a series of checkpoints to ensure that cells function properly.

When your cells arent functioning properly, they self-destruct in a process known as apoptosis. This prevents these defective cells from continuing to grow and to rob healthy cells of the nutrients necessary to function.

Mitosis is the division cells undergo in order to produce new cells. This happens at various rate throughout your body, depending on the type of cell.

A prime example is the rapid pace at which hair follicles go through mitosis compared to brain cells.

Cancer however, occurs when one small cell sets off a chain reaction and, instead of undergoing the normal cell cycle, cells are allowed to divide and grow unchecked.

Due to their uncontrollable division, these calls cannot function properly and, thus, cancer is formed. In the prostate, the catalyst for this formation is a hormone known as androgen.

Testosterone is an example of an androgen hormone, and it causes the prostate to grow during puberty when testosterone levels are incredibly high, and again in old age, when your body makes attempt to even out low testosterone levels.

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What Is A Radical Prostatectomy

A radical prostatectomy is a medical procedure designed to treat prostate cancer, and prevent it from spreading to other areas of the body. Its widely considered one of the most effective ways to treat early stage prostate cancer, and is designed to remove all traces of prostate cancer before it spreads to other parts of the body. .

A doctor removes the mans prostate and the surrounding tissue. A surgeon may also remove the lymph nodes in the affected area, to test them for any signs of cancer. This is either done through open surgery or laparoscopic surgery.

Open surgery is done through either a retropubic approach or a perineal approach. Retropubic surgery involves making an incision from the lower stomach to the pubic bone. The incision in perineal surgery takes place between the anus and the penis. The incision done during this approach is often smaller, and takes place with less recovery time.

Laparoscopic surgery involves several small cuts in the stomach, and the use of a laparoscope, a small thin tube with a camera attached. Laparoscopic surgery also frequently employs the use of robotic arms, which mimic the surgeons movements more precisely and in finer detail.

Can You Buy Life Insurance After A Cancer Diagnosis

Jason FisherLast Updated: May 5, 2021

Certain links on this page will refer you to products we might recommend. This creates no additional cost to you, and helps provide us an income so we can continue to bring valuable information to your fingertips. For more information on how we’re paid, click our link below.Full Disclosure

Most everyone needs life insurance and cancer patients or survivors are no exception. While many life insurance companies arent willing to accept the risk, there are several who will.

Unfortunately, information on which carrier to use is scarce, and, even worse, many life insurance agents are hesitant to try to help because its a difficult process for them from beginning to end.

Were not scared of higher risks for life insurance, and we accept the challenge of helping you, because we know we have what it takes to get you insured. Whenever youre ready, use the quoting tool in the sidebar to get started.

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Best For Guaranteed Issue: Aarp

AARP

Why We Chose It: AARP is our best pick for the guaranteed issue because they wont decline coverage for pre-existing health conditions like cancer, and theres no medical exam or medical history questions.

• Options for no medical exam

• Online quotes

• Must be over 50

• Restricted to AARP members

AARP is a not-for-profit organization that aims to empower Americans over 50. Its life insurance policies are underwritten by the New York Life Insurance Company, which has an impressive A++ rating with AM Best, indicating superior financial stability.

Providing youre over 50 and become an AARP member, you can choose AARPs Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance. It features guaranteed acceptance providing you are not terminally ill, and theres no need for an invasive physical examination despite a cancer diagnosis.

Using the AARP website, you can get a basic quote. Sample costs for a 50-year-old female are $111 per month, and $158 for a male, for the maximum $25,000 of coverage. A drawback is that youll have to make payments for two years before your named beneficiaries are eligible to receive benefits should you pass away.

Your rates wont increase once AARP approves you, and there are no further premiums past age 95, thanks to the Paid-Up benefit which keeps your coverage in effect for the rest of your life with no additional payments.

Apply For Life Insurance

Prostate cancer patients and survivors need to do two things in order to find the best life insurance policy they qualify for.

To get started, simply get your free quote.

About Heidi Mertlich

Heidi is an independent life insurance agent and the founder of No Physical Term Life. She has specialized in helping clients find life insurance with no medical exam required since 2015.

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What If My Prostate Cancer Was Advanced

There are still life insurance options for someone with advanced prostate cancer.

Further, while most types of policies require you to have finished treatment, there are still coverage options if you are undergoing treatment and are anxious to secure some financial protection.

For advanced prostate cancer or prostate cancer that is actively being treated, you will want to consider a Guaranteed Issue life insurance policy.

Guaranteed Issue is typically a form of permanent life insurance with modest face amounts and zero underwriting. Speak to an independent agent to verify this type of policy makes sense for you.

Does Life Insurance Cover Cancer

Term and permanent life insurance policies do cover cancer. If you pass away due to cancer during the coverage period, your beneficiaries will receive the death benefit. The only policies that don’t cover cancer are accidental death and dismemberment policies, which only pay out when you are injured or die from an accidental cause.

When purchasing cancer life insurance whether you are a survivor or in treatment it’s very important to be upfront with your insurer. Though life insurance does cover cancer, if the insurer can demonstrate that you intentionally misrepresented your health or were fraudulent in your application, your beneficiary’s claim could be denied.

During the first two years of a policy, there will usually be a contestability period. This means the insurer can contest a claim if information you provided was questionable. Providing a complete and honest history will help to ensure your beneficiaries receive the money you intended them to.

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Can You Get Life Insurance After Being Diagnosed With Cancer

There is a misconception. That once an individual has a diagnosis of cancer, then thats it. When it comes to qualifying for life insurance. What they forget about is what the many insurance companies are now offering. Which is non-medical life insurance. But, this needs exercising caution. There are usually some types of conditions that come with this. Also, there are variations of this type of insurance.

Life Insurance For Cancer Patients

You can qualify for a life insurance policy with cancer, though your options are significantly restricted. Most term and whole life insurance policies are not available to cancer patients, and you’ll be rejected if you apply for coverage. Instead, your best bet is either to purchase a guaranteed whole life insurance policy, which has restrictions, or get group life insurance, which can be guaranteed issue.

While both routes are available to terminally-ill cancer patients, we recommend only pursuing guaranteed issue life insurance policies with no waiting period, such as group life insurance. Policies with a waiting period will not pay the death benefit to your beneficiaries during the first two to three years of coverage. If you don’t expect to live that long, your premiums may be wasted. Unfortunately, guaranteed issue life insurance policies with no waiting period aren’t available to everyone. If you can’t get coverage through your work or an association, you may not be able to buy a policy.

If you want to purchase additional coverage to supplement a life insurance policy you already have, you may be able to do so through your insurer, though it depends on your existing policy and the coverage you want to add. For instance, if you currently have a term life insurance policy and are happy with the amount of coverage in place but want a longer period of coverage, this is likely feasible.

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What Kind Of Information Will The Insurance Companies Ask Me Or Be Interested In

Common questions youll likely be asked once it has been determined that you have been previously diagnosed with Prostate Cancer may include:

• When were you first diagnosed with Prostate Cancer?
• What led to your Prostate Cancer diagnosis? Were you experiencing any symptoms of your disease?
• How was your Prostate Cancer diagnosed?
• What stage was your Prostate Cancer at when it was diagnosed?
• Stage 1: Prostate cells begin to look suspect. At this stage, some doctors may recommend treatment, while others may simply choose to monitor your situation more closely. All suspect cancer cells remain contained with the prostate itself.
• Stage 2: PSA scores may be slightly elevated more active monitoring may be recommended, or in some cases, radiation therapy or surgery may be performed. All suspect cancer cells remain contained with the prostate itself.
• Stage 3: Suspect cancerous cells have begun to spread outside of the prostate but have not spread to ones lymph nodes or other parts of the body. Active treatment is usually warranted in this situation and may include radiation therapy, hormonal therapy and/or surgery.
• Stage 4: Cancer cells in this stage will have spread throughout the body, including organs such as ones bladder, rectum, lymphatic system, and in some cases, ones bones. Treatment options at this stage will usually focus on improving ones quality of life vs. being able to eliminate ones cancer completely.

Life Insurance After Prostate Cancer: The Bottom Line

If youre looking for life insurance and youve had prostate cancer, consider working with an insurance broker. Tackling this project by yourself wont save you any money and will only add frustration and headache to you in the process. Dont make this the hardest part of the whole situation!

An insurance broker is qualified to search for and offer you the best rates available.

With prostate cancer, whatever stage youre in, or have recovered from, your best bet is to compare rates and work with an agent who can help you.

Half of consumers want a primary financial advisor: 37 percent have one, while 14 percent are looking for one. Over 40 percent of baby boomers have a primary financial advisor, but only one in three Gen Xers and millennials have one.

Another avenue is to get insurance through work. This can help you narrow down insurance companies and also lower the cost. Being insured through work can help cancel out those big concerns so you can focus on other things like your treatment if youre at that stage.

There are plenty of treatment options, but which one you and your health care physician choose are completely up to you. Some may be extremely invasive while others are a little more laid back.

Having prostate cancer is scary but is common. People still are insured and can recover from their illness.

Now that you know its possible to get life insurance after prostate cancer, are you ready to compare life insurance rates? Enter your ZIP code below.

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Best No Exam Option: Globe Life

Globe Life Final Expense Insurance

• AM Best Rating: A

Many cancer patients only option for life insurance is a no-exam policy, and with affordable premiums and no waiting period, Globe Life is the provider we recommend.

• Get a quote online and apply for coverage in minutes

• Affordable premiums starting at $3.49 for adults

• May need to complete a health questionnaire

Globe Life is the best life insurance provider for cancer patients who want to purchase a policy without taking a traditional medical exam. Unlike other providers that only offer a single simplified issue life insurance policy, Globe Life offers term life insurance, senior life insurance, and family life insurance without a medical exam, giving you greater flexibility to choose a policy that fits your needs.

With any policy, you can select a coverage limit of $5,000 to $100,000. Globe Lifes premiums are very affordable, with monthly rates as low as $3.49. Because medical exams are not required, the approval process is quick, and you can probably get coverage on the day you apply. To get a quote, youll need to fill out the request form online.

Another perk of Globe Life is that the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you are unhappy with your policy for any reason within the first month, Globe Life will give you a full refundno questions asked.

Read the full review: Globe Life Insurance

How Do Life Insurance Companies Assess Prostate Cancer Risks

As with all forms of life insurance, rates are determined based on many factors. When it comes to life insurance and prostate cancer, insurance providers tend to take the following factors into account:

• Your current age and the age you were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Since prostate cancer is relatively rare in young men, life insurance companies may be more concerned when a man is diagnosed at a young age. Older men with low-grade prostate cancer can sometimes obtain coverage immediately after their cancer has been treated.

• Your PSA level . The higher your PSA level, the greater the indicator of the presence of cancer. Your insurer will want to know when your PSA levels were last tested and what the PSA test revealed.

• The stage of your prostatecancer. Since cancer that is centralized and more easily treated is less risky,life insurance providers are more likely to offer an insurance policy to thosewith prostate cancer that was detected during earlierstages.

• Your Gleason Score . HigherGleason Scores indicate that the cancer is more aggressive and generally lead to life insurance providers handing outa poor risk classification. Alternatively, a low Gleason Score increases yourchances of obtaining a favorable policy.

• The type of prostate cancercan impact how an insurance company views the risks associated with yourprostate cancer.

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