Life insurance with cancer
1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives which is pretty shocking. If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer in the past then you might want to know ‘is life insurance still available after cancer?’.
Most of the people that we speak to who’ve had cancer are often concerned about life insurance but don’t know what to do about it.
Here are some of the main areas where we can help with life insurance for cancer patients:
- Recent diagnosis and what options are available
- Previous diagnosis (over 2 years) and paying a fair price for life cover
- Family history of cancer
- Cancerous cells and non-cancerous cells
- Cover to help against the risk of cancer
- Critical illness cover for cancer
If you want to know the answers to some questions about life insurance for someone with cancer then here’s our guide.
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Can I get life insurance after cancer?
For many people, it should be possible to get life insurance after a cancer diagnosis over a period of time. If you’ve applied for life cover insurance past then you might have experience of how it works.
Some of the main things that will come up will be:
- When were you diagnosed with cancer?
- What type of treatment did you have?
- When did you last receive Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy?
- What was the Grade and Stage of cancer?
These are some of the main questions that you’ll be asked and don’t worry if you don’t have all the information. Some people don’t always know the grade and stage of cancer or when they last had treatment, especially if it was several years ago.
Does life insurance cover cancer?
YES – life cover will cover cancer so your family and loved ones will be protected if you get diagnosed with cancer in the future.
You must make sure that you disclose any pre-existing medical conditions when you apply for life insurance. If you fail to tell your insurer about something that you’ve had in the past, such as cancer then your claim could be declined. So be honest and it won’t be a problem.
There are some policies that might not cover pre-existing medical conditions so check your policy details thoroughly. We’ll always let you know if there are any exclusions on your cover.
Can I still get life insurance if I have cancer?
The best advice we can offer here is you should speak to an expert to get the best options available to you. There are often options for someone with a history of cancer that may not be available through some insurance companies.
Here’s a couple of options for life cover for cancer patients
Guaranteed life insurance for cancer patients
If you’ve recently been diagnosed or have only just completed treatment (e.g. Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy) then you’ll be slightly limited in terms of options for standard life coverage.
Can you take out life if you have cancer?
With this type of policy, you can even take out life insurance when you have cancer.
A guaranteed life cover policy will give you and your family an element of protection until 1 or 2 years has passed and more products are available.
These policies will range in cost from around £10 upwards depending on the level of cover and your age.
Life insurance after cancer
If you’ve previously been diagnosed with cancer and been through treatment 1 or 2 years ago, then you should now be able to get life cover. Most standard life insurance providers will accept applications with a history of cancer after this period.
Some insurance companies are much better than others when it comes to offering cover with a history of cancer. It’s definitely better to speak to an expert to get the best options and make sure you pay the fairest price.
Can you get life insurance if you have terminal cancer?
Unfortunately, any terminal diagnosis of any medical condition means that you will no longer be able to take life cover.
We urge anyone who is concerned about this to make sure that they take out life cover before this happens.
What about Terminal Illness Benefit with cancer?
If you have a life insurance policy already and you’ve been given a terminal diagnosis then you could claim on your ‘Terminal Illness Benefit’. You should speak to your current insurer to let them know and they can advise you how to claim.
Obviously any terminal diagnosis is distressing and terminal illness benefit should at least enable the policyholder to sort their finances.
Does life insurance payout if you die of cancer?
Standard life insurance will always payout if you die of cancer. The only exclusion that applies to life cover is suicide in the first 12 or 24 months depending on your insurer.
There are two points to consider here though:
- Non-disclosure: if you intentionally withheld information on your application that has a material impact on your cover, then your claim could be adjusted or even refused
- Guaranteed life cover: some bespoke life insurance policies might exclude anything pre-existing if you take out a guaranteed acceptance plan
Life insurance for cancer in remission
The technical meaning of the term ‘remission’ is a reduction or complete disappearance of the symptoms of cancer. There are two types of cancer remission which are:
- Partial remission:this is where some symptoms of cancer have gone but not all yet. Your tumour may still be there which means that you still have cancer, however, the tumour could be smaller
- Complete remission: meaning that tests, examinations and scans are showing that cancer may have gone. Even though signs and symptoms have gone in this case, cancer could still be in the body
In these cases you might still be able to get life cover in remission, however, it will depend on treatment. If you’re still receiving treatment or under investigations then you might still be limited to a guaranteed life cover policy.
Can a cancer survivor get life insurance?
Yes, you will be able to get life insurance after cancer. Once you have been in complete remission or cancer-free for at least 2 years (1 year for some cancers) then you should be able to look for cover.
If you were last treated for cancer over 5 years ago then you’ll usually find that rates tend to drop significantly.
Types of cancer
There are many different types of cancer and here’s a list from Cancer Research UK
A
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL)
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)
Adrenal gland tumours
B
Bile duct cancer
Bladder cancer
Blood cancers
Bone cancer
Bowel cancer
Brain tumours
C
Cancer of unknown primary (CUP)
Cancer spread to bone
Cancer spread to brain
Cancer spread to liver
Cancer spread to lung
Carcinoid
Children’s cancers
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL)
Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML)
Colorectal cancer
E
Ear cancer
Endometrial cancer
Eye cancer
F
Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma
G
Gallbladder cancer
Gastric cancer
Gastro-oesophageal junction cancers
Germ cell tumours
Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD)
H
Hairy cell leukaemia
Head and neck cancer
Hodgkin lymphoma
K
Kaposi’s sarcoma
Kidney cancer
L
Large bowel and rectal neuroendocrine tumours
Laryngeal cancer
Leukaemia
Linitis plastica of the stomach
Liver cancer
Lung cancer
Lung neuroendocrine tumours (NETs)
Lymphoma
M
Malignant schwannoma
Mediastinal germ cell tumours
Melanoma skin cancer
Men’s cancer
Merkel cell skin cancer
Mesothelioma
Molar pregnancy
Mouth and oropharyngeal cancer
Myeloma
N
Nasal and paranasal sinus cancer
Nasopharyngeal cancer
Neuroblastoma
Neuroendocrine tumours
Neuroendocrine tumours of the pancreas
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children
O
Oesophageal cancer
Ovarian cancer
P
Pancreatic cancer
Penile cancer
Persistent trophoblastic disease and choriocarcinoma
Phaeochromocytoma
Pseudomyxoma peritonei
R
Rare cancers
Rectal cancer
Retinoblastoma
S
Salivary gland cancer
Secondary cancer
Signet cell cancer
Skin cancer
Small bowel cancer
Small bowel neuroendocrine tumours (NETs)
Soft tissue sarcoma
Stomach cancer
Stomach neuroendocrine tumours (NETs)
T
Testicular cancer
Thymus gland tumours
Thyroid cancer
Tongue cancer
Tonsil cancer
Tumours of the adrenal gland
U
Unknown primary cancer
Uterine cancer
V
Vaginal cancer
Vulval cancer
W
Wilms’ tumour
Womb cancer
Women’s cancers (gynaecological cancer)
*Source: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/type
Charity partner 2021 – Teenage Cancer Trust
We’re extremely proud to support Teenage Cancer Trust and be part of the incredible work that they do to help young people with cancer. This incredible charity has been helping to support children between the age of 13 and 24 for over 28 years who have been diagnosed with cancer.
Fundraising target: £15,000
If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer then you know how difficult this can be and especially for children and young adults. The amazing work that Teenage Cancer Trust does helps youngsters to manage this stress throughout diagnosis, treatment, and beyond.
Our work with Teenage Cancer Trust helps to support the charity financially, educate members, and provide support.
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