Breast cancer life insurance
There are two key elements for life insurance with breast cancer, which are will it pay out or can you get it if you’ve been diagnosed previously.
Life insurance gives you peace of mind that your family is financially protected if something happens to you. You can get life insurance to protect against cancer in the future before anything happens, or you can get life cover after you’ve been diagnosed, and here’s how it works.
According to Cancer Research UK, around 1 in 7 women in the UK will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point. It’s also important to note that nearly a quarter of those cases could be prevented.
The most common age for breast cancer diagnosis is in women who are over the age of 50 (highest risks are age 55 to 64), according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
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Here are answers to some of the most common questions surrounding life insurance for this condition.
Will life insurance payout for breast cancer?
Yes – if you die because of breast cancer or something linked to this condition then your current life cover should pay a lump sum to your family.
Cancer is one of the most common claims on life insurance and critical illness cover in the UK. This is one of the main reasons why many of us take out life insurance to protect our loved ones in case it does happen.
Some of the main ways life insurance can be used if you die from breast cancer:
- Pay off some or all of your mortgage
- Clear your debts
- Pay for your children’s school fees
- Costs of living (loss of income)
If you’ve already taken out life insurance then you at least have some cover in place, but it’s often worth reviewing existing policies.
Does critical illness cover payout for breast cancer?
Yes – as with life insurance, cancer is one of the main reasons for claims on critical illness cover in the UK.
Critical illness cover is specifically designed to pay out a lump sum to you if you’re diagnosed with breast cancer. Most of these types of policies will pay you an amount to you to help you and your family financially during a difficult period.
People use critical illness for different reasons depending on their circumstances, for example, if you’re diagnosed with breast cancer then your policy can pay for:
- Mortgage or rent payments
- Costs of living
- Utilities
- School fees
- Medical treatment or care
This type of cover can provide you and your family with vital financial security if you are diagnosed with breast cancer or other types of cancer.
Read more about Critical Illness Cover
Can I claim on income protection for breast cancer?
Yes – if you’re unable to work because you are diagnosed with breast cancer then your income protection policy should payout for up to 12 or 24 months usually.
Most income protection policies will specifically have services that are designed to support people through a cancer diagnosis. This can be an extremely distressing and difficult time for anyone, especially those with children or dependents.
You can access some of these benefits and services through your insurance provider to help you through these periods.
There are also services within your income protection policy that may be able to help you to return to work more quickly. Some insurance providers offer therapies and other services that can give you extra support through your return to work period.
Read more about Income Protection
Can I get life insurance after breast cancer?
Yes – you should be able to get life insurance after a diagnosis of breast cancer especially if it happened several years ago.
There are several stages to consider when you look at your options to get life insurance after a breast cancer diagnosis. Some of the key stages include:
- During treatment: your options for life insurance through this period can be limited to some specialist products which can at least offer some cover rather than none. Most of these types of policies will exclude cancer but can give you peace of mind that you’re still covered for other events.
- Post-treatment (e.g. Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy): After you’ve received treatment then there will be a period of usually 12 or 24 months where you’ll still have limited options for cover. This still gives you some options and does not mean that you’ll need to pay high premiums for these types of policies.
- Remission: Once you’ve completed your treatments and have been in remission for a period of time (usually 2 years), then you should be able to get covered through standard insurers. Options will become cheaper and easier as you go further down the line through your remission (e.g. 2 to 5 years).
How much is life insurance with breast cancer?
Your premiums for life insurance after you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer will depend on several elements. Some of the standard elements that apply to all life insurance policies are:
- Age
- Sum assured (amount of cover)
- Term (length of policy)
- Smoker status
These will determine what your insurance premiums will be for the normal policy, and then your breast cancer elements will include:
- Date of diagnosis
- Treatment (e.g. radiotherapy, chemotherapy, mastectomy, or lumpectomy)
- Grade and Stage
- Lymph nodes affected (spread)
Will I need a medical for breast cancer life insurance?
In most cases, your insurer will ask you to provide a medical report (GP Report) or other medical information as part of the standard application process. This is absolutely normal and should all be done by your advisor as part of their services.
There are 2 main types of medical evidence requests:
- GP Report
- Nurse screen
These will all be paid for by the insurer and just help to give them the information that they need to complete the underwriting process.
Cheapest breast cancer life insurance
There are several things that you can consider to help reduce your premiums and keep the cost of cover down.
Some of the most important things to think about to make life insurance more affordable after breast cancer are:
- How much cover you need
- The purpose of the cover (e.g. family or mortgage)
- How long do you need to take cover for?
- Changing your lifestyle (e.g. diet or exercise)
- Your smoker status
- Have you recently received treatment or surgery?
It’s important to make sure that you apply for life insurance at the optimum time to get the best premiums. You can also reduce your premiums by speaking to an expert and getting specialist advice to find the best insurer.
Types of breast cancer and related conditions
Here are some of the most common types of breast cancer and some other conditions that are linked to breast cancer.
- Invasive
- Invasive lobular
- Triple-negative
- Inflammatory
- Angiosarcoma
- Male breast cancer
- Ductal carcinoma in situ
- Lobular carcinoma in situ
- Paget’s disease of the breast
Common questions about breast cancer
Here are some of the most common questions that people ask about breast cancer or those seeking more information about it.
What are the symptoms of spotting breast cancer?
There are several main indicators that will help you to identify breast cancer:
- Lump on the breast
- Swelling around or in the breast
- Irritable skin
- Nipple or breast pain
- Inward nipple
- Nipple discharge
What is the survival rate of breast cancer?
Most cancers are given a 5-year survival rate to show how likely you would be to live past this period after diagnosis. According to the American Cancer Society, the 5-year survival rate for the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2010 and 2016.
SEER Stage 5-year Relative Survival Rate Localised 99% Regional 86% Distant 28% All SEER stages combined 90% How long does breast cancer take to develop?
In the majority of different types of breast cancer, the divisions each take approximately 1 or 2 months to develop, meaning that once you feel a lump in your breast then cancer will have been present for two to five years.
Useful resources for breast cancer
Here are just a few of the most useful links and resources that we could find to help people get more information about breast cancer.
