Last Updated: February 2021
Let’s make one thing clear when looking for life insurance with a prostate cancer history: very affordable life insurance rates are available if you apply for coverage with the correct carrier.
In this article we will cover:
- Can You Get Life Insurance with Prostate Cancer?
- The Best Life Insurance Companies for People with Prostate Cancer
- Underwriting: What Life Insurance Companies Will Ask About Your Prostate Cancer
- Life Insurance with Prostate Cancer and PSA Readings
- How to Apply for Life Insurance with Prostate Cancer
Life Insurance is Boring. Let’s Get To The Root Of It! Here are the key takeaways…
Obtaining life insurance with prostate cancer is possible. To be approved for life insurance, the life insurance company will want to know the stage of your prostate cancer among other factors such as your PSA levels. Work with an independent agent to find the best company and the lowest rates for your current needs.
Can You Get Life Insurance with Prostate Cancer?
Yes! Obtaining life insurance with prostate cancer is 100% possible.
High risk life insurance can be more pricey, but if you shop around, compare carriers, and find the one that views your risk the most favorably, affordable rates can be possible!
In most situations, the reason for declined applications or extremely inflated premiums is only a matter of applying with the wrong life insurance company.
Life insurance for cancer patients or survivors is more complicated than for a healthy person, but it isn’t rocket science. Additionally, the stage of your prostate cancer will be one of the most significant factors that life insurance companies will examine before approving you for coverage.
Sometimes you are placed in a position to postpone your application until further testing has been completed.
However, with the improvements in treatments for prostate cancer in recent years and the success rate, life insurance companies are beginning to be much more liberal with approvals and the overall rates you will pay for coverage. PSA readings will also have an impact on your application.
The Best Life Insurance Companies for People with Prostate Cancer
This is a question we’re asked a lot on the phone and it’s different for every prostate cancer risk.
I can tell you that we’ve surveyed over 60 life insurance companies and there are 6 life insurance companies we consider when it comes to underwriting life insurance with prostate cancer.
We would list them here, but we don’t want to give away our trade secrets.
We would gladly disclose them over the phone if we get the opportunity to earn your business.
Other Options To Consider For Life Insurance After Prostate Cancer
If you have been told to postpone your application for life insurance due to prostate cancer or declined altogether, it is important to realize that you can consider secondary coverage options.
Companies such as Gerber Life Insurance offer great products for individuals who struggle to secure traditional life insurance known as guaranteed issue life insurance.
These policies do not examine your overall health in order to approve you for coverage.
However, it should be noted that coverage amounts only extend to $35,000.00 with most companies offering this coverage and for 2 years, your coverage will not be fully in force.
For the first 2 years, you are simply completing what is known as the “waiting period”.
If during this 2 year period, you were to pass away, your beneficiaries would be provided your premiums returned plus 10% interest earned with most reputable companies.
Once the two years have passed, your coverage will be fully active just like any other life insurance policy would offer.
Remember, some coverage for your family is always going to be better than no coverage at all.
Underwriting: What Life Insurance Companies Will Ask About Your Prostate Cancer
Here’s what we need to know in order to secure the best life insurance rates available:
- Date of diagnosis
- If cancer was diagnosed, what stage?
- What is your Gleason Score?
- How was it treated? (observation-only, TURP, Prostatectomy, Radiation, Hormone Therapy, etc.)
- Current PSA levels and approx. date. If rising, previous PSA levels and dates as well.
- Current Medications
If an agent doesn’t ask for this information, they are guessing at your life insurance rates.
Our advice is to work with an agent or agency experienced in underwriting this risk.
With this information, we can survey our life insurance companies and suggest a company or two that checks every box on your wishlist.
Life Insurance with Prostate Cancer and PSA Readings
Most life insurance companies and personal physicians routinely include Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test results in their lab testings.
If you have elevated PSA’s, please read this section. If your PSA’s are under control, skip down to the next section.
Really, the main thing you need to know is that there are a few top-rated life insurance carriers that are more lenient than the rest of the industry when it comes to PSAs.
Many consumers find us after being declined and we find them affordable coverage just by knowing which companies are more progressive.
A minimal elevation of PSA levels is very common and little concern to underwriting with progressive life insurance carriers. “One-off” higher than normal PSA readings could be short term inflammation in the gland.
Even a sudden increase in sexual activity or physical fitness can lead to higher PSA’s and these progressive life insurance companies know this.
Many life insurance agents don’t know this, which is why we consistently find great rates for people with prostate cancer or elevated PSA’s.
What PSA Information Will Underwriters Ask About?
Here are some other PSA factors underwriters are looking for.
Acceptable/Normal Life Insurance PSA Ranges based on Age (these are general numbers, every carrier is different):
- Age 40-49 up to 3.0 ng/ml
- Age 50-59 up to 4.0 ng/ml
- Age 60-69 up to 5.0 ng/ml
- Age 70+ up to 6.5 ng/ml
PSA Velocity: This is the measure of PSA changes over time. The faster they rise, the higher the velocity, and the more cancer is suspected.
Generally, an increase in PSA levels greater than .75-1.00 ng/ml per year is of concern for life insurance underwriters, especially if it’s been happening for 2 years or more.
PSA Density: This is the measure of total PSA in relation to prostate size. A lower density is better. This number is obtained by dividing the PSA by the size of the prostate gland from the ultrasound report.
A value greater than 0.20 will be of concern for life insurance underwriters.
How to Apply for Life Insurance with Prostate Cancer
It is important to work with an independent life insurance agent when finding the right company for your current needs.
In our experience, there are 2 main reasons why an independent life insurance agent, like us, always finds the most affordable life insurance rates with a prostate cancer history:
- We know how to present your Prostate Cancer risk to an underwriter in the most favorable way possible. We know what the underwriters look for and “pitch” your risk to them as opposed to just sending them an application.
- Out of hundreds of life insurance companies to choose from, we know which top-rated life insurance companies are giving the most favorable life insurance rates with prostate cancer.
If you have a prostate cancer history or elevated PSA’s and are in the market for life insurance with cancer, please don’t hesitate to fill out our form or give Rootfin.com a call. Remember, we work on behalf of you and not any life insurance company.
Also, be sure to check out our other guides below to learn more about how different types of cancer can affect life insurance approval and rates:
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