Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer with millions of Americans diagnosed every year. So will that stop you from getting life insurance, well surprisingly not really. Although any type of cancer raises a red flag when applying for life insurance, skin cancer is different. Most applicants with skin cancer can qualify for regular life insurance rates as any other healthy applicant. Of course, approvals depend on each individual’s cancer severity and picking the right life insurance company.
Over the years life insurance companies have gathered more data which showed people with skin cancer have normal life expectancies. That’s why it is no surprise that acquiring a policy won’t be a hassle, most of the time. Now before you go filling out applications remember there are companies who deny the risk and others who welcome it. This is the reason we work with over 60 companies, that way we can hand pick the ones that will offer you a policy. We work hard to know all the intricacies of different carriers and their products. Anyhow you get by now that we are the only agency you should work with, so let’s see what companies will use to determine your eligibility.
When applying for life insurance the underwriters will look at your health, build, family history, background information and whether you are a smoker. In addition to that if you have skin cancer they will want to know the date of diagnosis, type of cancer, type of treatment, completion date, pathology report and follow up results from your doctor. The factor that makes a big difference in approvals and pricing is the type of skin cancer you had. There are 3 types: Basal Cell aka Non-Melanoma, Squamous Cell and Malignant Melanoma.
In Summary:
- Skin cancer is looked upon better than most other cancers when applying for life insurance.
- If you work with an independent high-risk broker you’ll have better luck securing a policy for a better rate.
- If you have basal or squamous cell carcinoma you may qualify for preferred rates with few particular carriers.
- For more severe cases with more treatment required you’ll get a substandard rating and a surcharge that will last for a few years.
- Prepare your application correctly by applying with the right company, attaching a cover letter and prepping your doctor for medical records.
- If there are no options left you can always go with a graded death benefit or guaranteed issue policy.
Basal Cell Carcinoma
If you had this form of skin cancer you can relax as most life insurance companies will offer standard or better rates as soon as it is surgically removed. Some companies will even do it without requiring a year or two to pass before consideration also know as postponing. If you had skin cancer in multiple spots on your body, you can be charged a higher premium. In most applications, there are no road bumps when applying for life insurance with basal cell skin cancer. For anyone with this type of skin cancer you don’t need to continue reading, so feel free to click one of the boxes to your right and run quotes.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma
More dangerous type of skin cancer than Basal Cell but with a similar type of underwriting. You can get standard rates or better once cancer has been surgically removed. There are a few carriers who will give you life insurance policies with this type of skin cancer. Now if you had a more severe form of squamous cell that either spread or were in higher staging. You can still get coverage, however, expect to pay a little extra. Life insurance companies will base their decision on what they find in your pathology report. You can run quotes yourself too but for anything outside of normal contact us for a custom quote.
Malignant Melanoma
Happens to be the hardest type to qualify for life insurance coverage with. Since it can be fatal in some instances. But still very possible to get life insurance as long it has been treated and some time has passed. Your eligibility and monthly premium will depend on TNM staging. The company will look into the size of your tumor, whether it spread to lymph nodes and whether it metastasized. If your cancer was in situ with early detection and removal, you can get standard to preferred rates. Otherwise, you will pay a flat extra on top of your monthly premium. Flat extra is a surcharge charged per thousand of coverage which the company will set for a certain period of time. In this case, you can expect $4-$7 flat extra for a period of 3 or more years. For deeper lesion, you might have to wait until 2 to 5 years pass after treatment to apply for coverage. When this happens I usually recommend getting a graded policy for the meantime until you can apply for traditional plans again.
Application Process with Skin Cancer
If you are applying for life insurance with a previous history of skin cancer it is important to follow some additional steps to get you the best possible outcome with your life insurance application. The first thing to focus on is making sure your agent picks a company for you that specializes with skin cancer cases. We do this by emailing underwriters at few high-risk companies to get an estimated offer so we know which ones have the best outlook. This process is called a quick quote in our professional industry, so just ask your agent to do it before you pull the trigger on a plan of your choice.
Once you identify the best company the next step is to complete your application. At this step, you want to make sure that your application is filled out correctly and includes details about your treatment. If you want to go an extra step ask your agent to include a cover letter. A quality drafted cover letter will provide additional details to the insurance company so they can make the best decision. This is where we will typically include details that can’t be provided on an application for the purpose of the coverage, your occupation, hobbies, lifestyle and family details. If done properly a good cover letter will help you get a much more competitive rate with your application.
Now, if you work with an independent broker that specializes in high-risk applications you can expect them to do all the steps for you. This will also be useful if you get turned down for coverage since they will utilize your already completed medical exam and doctors records to simply apply with another company. That way you won’t have to jump through all the hoops all over again if you were to apply to different companies by yourself. If you get turned down for life insurance altogether they can help you secure a graded death benefit or guaranteed issue life insurance coverage. These policies are capped at a certain amount like 100k for graded and 25k for guaranteed issue but multiple application can be stacked together for a desired amount of coverage.
Work with the Best!
Here at InsureChance, we work with over 60 top rated life insurance companies and specialize with hard to place cases. After years of working with unique cases we have built the experience necessary to do the best that can be done. And let’s not forget to mention that life insurance rates are fixed by the law and by working with us it won’t cost you a penny! That’s right our service is free to you so feel free to compare quotes on our state of the art quote engine or simply reach out to us by chat. You can also call one of our friendly advisors at 888.492.1967. Welcome to InsureChance, where life insurance is made simple!
