Statistically, 1.8 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed this year. Despite that chilling statistic, survival rates for all cancers has also steadily increased.

Those who have had cancer in the past may be looking for ways to safeguard their family and beneficiaries in the future, but may be left wondering if they’re eligible for life insurance.

Get Life Insurance While You’re Healthy

The best time to buy life insurance is always when you’re young and healthy, because your age and health are two key factors in what you’ll pay for coverage. You’re also much more likely to get a high amount of coverage at a better price. Not to mention, your insurability will be guaranteed for the entire term of your policy, meaning you won’t lose your coverage and your rates won’t increase if you are diagnosed with a health condition like cancer.

Getting Life Insurance After Cancer

However, if you didn’t have life insurance before a cancer diagnosis, there is still opportunity to buy life insurance now.

Typically, life insurance companies want to see that you’ve been cancer-free for a certain number of years before they’ll consider insuring you. The number of years typically depend on the type of cancer that you’ve had. For example, less severe forms of cancer that don’t require chemotherapy or bone marrow transplants can have waiting periods of one to three years after last treatment, whereas more severe cancers can have waiting years of five to 10.

Every insurance company is different when it comes to their waiting periods, but here is an example of waiting periods after last cancer treatment.

• Bladder cancer – 2 years
• Bone cancer – 5 years
• Breast cancer – 2 years
• Cervix cancer – 1 year
• Colon cancer – 2 years
• Kidney cancer – 3 years
• Leukemia – 10 years
• Lung cancer – 3 years
• Lymphoma – 2 Years
• Metastatic cancer – 5 Years
• Ovary cancer – 3 Years
• Prostate – 1 Year
• Rectum cancer – 2 Years
• Skin melanoma – 1 Year

When you apply for life insurance coverage, you will be asked questions about your current health, your medical history, and your family’s medical history. Your medical records, prescription drug history, driving record, and other information will also be evaluated to determine which “risk class” you belong to. That risk class, along with your age and gender, will be used to determine your life insurance rate.

Typical underwriting risk classes are:

• Standard – This is the baseline for insurance rates
• Preferred – This rate is lower than the standard rate and is assigned to those in good health
• Super Preferred – This is the lowest rate available and is assigned to those in excellent health

If your past cancer diagnosis prevents you from qualifying for the standard risk class, insurers may use a table rating system to determine your rates instead.

We Are Here to Help

We work with several insurance companies and will know which ones are more willing to insure cancer survivors. We specialize in impaired risk underwriting and have extensive knowledge and experience in underwriting health conditions.