Last Updated: February 2021
Obtaining life insurance can seem like a daunting and time-consuming task no matter what your situation may be.
Especially for anyone currently battling skin cancer or recently recovered from skin cancer.
We get it and we see it all the time.
We have been helping individuals obtain great rates for life insurance with skin cancer for more than a decade now and we can tell you that it is 100% possible to be approved for coverage and to be approved at great rates.
In this article, we will cover:
- Can You Get Life Insurance with Skin Cancer?
- Types of Life Insurance Available to People with Skin Cancer
- The Best Life Insurance Companies for People with Skin Cancer
- Life Insurance with Basal Cell Carcinoma
- Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Life Insurance
- Life Insurance with Malignant Melanoma
- Underwriting: What Life Insurance Companies Will Ask About Your Skin Cancer
- How to Apply for Life Insurance with Skin Cancer
Life Insurance is Boring. Let’s Get To The Root Of It! Here are the key takeaways…
Obtaining life insurance with skin cancer is possible. To obtain life insurance with skin cancer including squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, or a malignant tumor, the life insurance company will want to understand if cancer has re-occurred and the current prognosis and long-term outlook of the cancer. The actual kind of skin cancer you have could also impact the overall rates you pay.
Can You Get Life Insurance with Skin Cancer?
If you’re one out of the five Americans who have developed skin cancer, whether it’s basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or malignant melanoma, you might be wondering how your diagnosis affects your ability to qualify for life insurance, as well as what rates you might expect to obtain.
The first thing that you should know is, yes, you can get quality and affordable life insurance with cancer.
If you’ve ever been told that you would be declined, or you’ve been declined for coverage in the past, our focus will be to find a company that deems you insurable.
This is because every company is different, and all of them look at various preexisting conditions through a different lens. 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!
A preexisting condition shouldn’t keep you from getting the insurance protection that your family deserves.
Types of Life Insurance Available to People with Skin Cancer
There are many options available to you. If you are declined approval for one type of coverage, there are many others to choose from.
You can always consider another form of life insurance if you have struggled to secure traditional life insurance after skin cancer.
Policies that require no medical questions to be asked are known as guaranteed issue life insurance.
Top-rated life insurance companies currently offer this coverage such as AIG or Gerber Life Insurance.
While your policy won’t be fully in force for the first two years, it is still a good way to get a base layer of protection in place for your family and loved ones until you can re-apply for traditional coverage.
The Best Life Insurance Companies for People with Skin Cancer
When choosing a life insurance company after skin cancer, it can be tricky to understand which company may be the best for your specific situation.
It is much more advised that you work with an independent life insurance agency that has experience in handling cases in the same situation.
When you do this, you open the door to work with 50+ life insurance companies and your agent can effectively shop your case to find you the approval you and your family need.
Not only approval, but your agent can keep working on your behalf to ensure you get the coverage amounts and the price you are ultimately looking for.
So, to recap, always work with an independent life insurance agent experienced with skin cancer cases in order to effectively find the best life insurance company after skin cancer.
Life Insurance with Basal Cell Carcinoma
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer. Because basal cell carcinoma typically does not spread to other tissues and is easily treatable by surgery, most insurance companies view this type of skin cancer more favorably than the other two types. In fact, life insurance companies most often offer preferred rates once the cancer treatment has been completed.
However, preferred rates may not be available if the basal cell carcinoma reoccurs, especially in young people.
If you’ve been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma and you’re interested in purchasing life insurance, it is important to tell your agent the following:
- Date of the diagnosis
- How and when the cancer was treated
- If cancer has reoccurred
Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Life Insurance
If you have been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, you’re among one of 700,000 Americans who has been diagnosed each year.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, Squamous cell carcinoma occurs twice as frequently in men than in women. This type of skin cancer is seen most often seen in individuals in their 70s and rarely appear before age 50.
It is possible to obtain preferred rates with squamous cell carcinoma, but this will depend on the stage and grade of cancer, in addition to the number of occurrences (one occurrence being the maximum).
If you’ve been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, it is important to tell your agent the following:
- Date of the diagnosis
- How and when the cancer was treated
- Stage and grade of the cancer
- If cancer has reoccurred
Life Insurance with Malignant Melanoma
Malignant melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer and is therefore of the greatest concern to life insurance underwriters.
Because of the risk associated with insuring this type of skin cancer, you might expect to pay higher rates for life insurance.
The details of your skin cancer will determine your exact rate class and vary between insurance carriers, so it’s best to provide your insurance agent with the pathology report including the following:
- Date of the diagnosis
- How and when the cancer was treated
- The Clark Level of the cancer
- The Breslow Scale of the cancer
- If any other Grade was given to the cancer
- If cancer has reoccurred
Because insurability and actual ratings for individuals with skin cancer vary greatly depending on factors such as the specific condition and severity of the condition, you’re best served by working with an independent agent who has experience underwriting this risk.
There are several other factors that the insurance company is going to be concerned with, aside from the type and diagnosis of skin cancer.
Just like with any other applicant, the company is going to want an overall picture of your health.
They are going to want to know how good your health is to calculate how much of a risk you are to insure.
The higher risk that you are, the more that you’re going to pay for insurance coverage.
Underwriting: What Life Insurance Companies Will Ask About Your Skin Cancer
Before the insurance company approves your application, they are going to require that you take a medical exam, unless you choose to purchase a no medical exam life insurance policy, which will also come with a higher premium rate.
During the exam, they are going to take basic vital signs like your blood pressure, weight, and heart rate. Additionally, they are going to take a blood sample and a urine sample to see if there are any unknown preexisting conditions.
The insurance company is also going to look at your marital status, as well as how much money you make every year.
All of these factors are going to be accounted for when the insurance company is looking at insuring you as well as calculating how much you’ll pay for your coverage.
How to Determine the Right Amount of Coverage
Maybe you are wanting a small amount of coverage or a million-dollar policy. We can help.
Regardless of the type of skin cancer that you have, we can find an insurance company that is going to give you affordable rates. Aside from getting life insurance, it’s vital that you get enough coverage for your family.
Not having a large enough plan is just as bad as not having a policy at all.
It could leave your loved ones with massive debts and no money left over to pay for them.
As you determine the amount of insurance you want to buy, don’t just blindly think a specific number is right. Follow these tips to figure out the most accurate face value to cover your needs.
- You need to total up your debt that would need to be paid off if you passed away, and also look up any major credit card or car loan bills that would need to be taken care of as well.
- The next factor to look at is your annual salary. The secondary goal of your life insurance is to replace your paycheck if you were to pass away.
- If you’re the main income earner in your household, they would suffer financially if anything tragic were to happen to you.
That’s where your life insurance policy comes in.
How to Apply for Life Insurance with Skin Cancer
At the end of the day, skin cancer is another high-risk medical condition that certainly presents plenty of options for life insurance coverage.
Work with an independent agent. An independent agent will be able to find the lowest rates for your situation. Have your information organized and ready to present for the application process. Life insurance after skin cancer will not be as hard as you may believe.
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:
- Life Insurance with Breast Cancer
- Life Insurance with Prostate Cancer History or High PSAs
- Life Insurance with Bladder Cancer
- Life Insurance with a Family History of Cancer
Source: Skincancer.org
Looking for 10 k simplified issue or 1 year term without skin cancer question
Depending on your age, there’s guaranteed issue life insurance options that don’t have any health questions. Fill out the form on our site and we’ll reach out and go over your options.