Life Insurance for Cancer Patients & Survivors

Buying life insurance after a cancer diagnosis is complicated and expensive, but you can likely get a policy. However, you'll need to decide whether the cost and available coverage make sense for you financially. Cancer patients typically only qualify for guaranteed issue policies with limited coverage and restricted payouts for the first few years.

Cancer survivors in remission who have been out of treatment for two to five years are more likely to qualify for a traditional term or permanent life insurance policy. Rates will be higher, though, and a few forms of cancer will prevent you from getting coverage.

---

---

Does life insurance cover cancer?

Term and permanent life insurance policies do cover cancer. If you die during the coverage period, your beneficiaries will receive the death benefit. The only policies that don't cover cancer are accidental death and dismemberment. Those only pay out if you are injured or die from an accidental cause.

When buying life insurance — whether you are a cancer survivor or in treatment — it's very important to be up front with your insurance company. Life insurance does cover cancer, but if the company can prove that you intentionally misrepresented your health or were fraudulent on your application, your beneficiaries’ claim could be denied.

During the first two years of a policy, there will usually be a contestability period. This means the company can dispute a claim if information you provided was questionable. Providing a complete and honest history will help ensure your beneficiaries receive the money you intended them to.

Life insurance for cancer survivors

Life insurance is more expensive for cancer survivors, but if you're in remission and otherwise healthy, you will often qualify for coverage. Certain types of cancer can cause you to be rejected for a policy, but if you've consistently been in remission for several years, you'll usually be able to buy term or permanent life insurance. If you're unable to show that your cancer is in remission or you have another condition, such as diabetes, you may get very expensive quotes or not be able to buy a policy at all.

Buying life insurance after cancer

Along with being healthy, a key qualifier for purchasing life insurance is the length of time postcancer. Depending on the company and the type and stage of cancer, you may have to wait two to five years from your last treatment to be approved for life insurance. If your cancer is in remission but you're undergoing more than one follow-up appointment per year, you may still be considered a patient in active treatment.

When you apply for a life insurance policy after cancer, the company will discuss several things about your diagnosis and treatment, such as:

Cancer survivors who are able to answer every question in detail and back it up with medical records will have a much smoother time purchasing life insurance. You may also need to demonstrate that you're following your prescribed treatment plan, including medications and follow-up appointments.

How your type of cancer affects life insurance

Whether you are approved for life insurance depends on the type of cancer you had and how it progressed. Cancers that spread to other parts of the body are considered higher risk and could cause your application to be rejected. If the cancer was in situ, or localized, you'd be considered a lower risk.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer is the only form of cancer that's low-risk enough that you're likely to qualify for a preferred life insurance rate. For that, you would need to be in excellent health and have several years with no issues posttreatment.

Breast cancer, prostate cancer, testicular cancer and thyroid cancer are considered moderate risk, but survivors often qualify for standard rates. Insurance companies will ask about your diagnosis, treatment and health. The longer you've been in remission, the more likely you'll be approved.

If you've had another type of cancer, such as a melanoma or cervical cancer, and been in remission for several years, you'll likely qualify for a life insurance policy, but at nonstandard (higher) rates. A few forms of cancer are generally considered too risky to cover, such as leukemia, pancreatic cancer and colon cancer. Survivors of these cancers are rarely approved for coverage.

---

---

Life insurance for cancer patients

You can qualify for a life insurance policy with cancer, but you may have few options. Most term and whole life insurance policies are not available to current cancer patients, and you'll be rejected if you apply for coverage. Instead, your best bet is to either buy a guaranteed whole life insurance policy, which has restrictions, or get group life insurance, which can be guaranteed issue.

Both routes are available to terminally ill cancer patients, but it's best to pursue only guaranteed issue life insurance with no waiting period, such as group life insurance. Policies with a waiting period will not pay the death benefit to your beneficiaries during the first two to three years of coverage. If you don't expect to live that long, your premiums may be wasted. Unfortunately, guaranteed issue life insurance policies with no waiting period aren't available to everyone. If you can't get coverage through your work or an association, you may not be able to buy a policy.

If you want additional coverage for a life insurance policy you already have, you may be able to do so through your insurance company. It will depend on your existing policy and the coverage you want to add. For instance, if you currently have a term life insurance policy and are happy with the amount but want a longer period of coverage, this is likely possible.

Most term life insurance policies can be converted to a permanent policy with lifetime coverage without additional underwriting. On the other hand, increasing the death benefit on your existing term policy would require additional underwriting and might not get approved. Check the terms of your existing policy. Look closely at conversion options and riders that either were added or could be added that would increase your coverage without a review of your health.

Guaranteed whole life insurance

Guaranteed life insurance, also called burial insurance, can be purchased regardless of whether you have cancer or are undergoing treatment. This is a type of whole life insurance, so coverage extends for your lifetime. Burial life insurance policies are primarily aimed at seniors, and most aren't available if you're under age 45. You won't be disqualified for cancer or other health issues. However, they're more expensive than term or other permanent life insurance policies and have several major restrictions:

Despite these restrictions, guaranteed life insurance is likely the best option for cancer patients, and we recommend comparing quotes and coverage options from multiple companies if you need a policy. Also compare these options to group life insurance, as well as the amount you could leave your family by simply saving. Life insurance quotes for cancer patients will usually be expensive through any channel, so you might do better saving and investing the money you would otherwise spend on premiums.

Group life insurance

Group life insurance may be available if you're a veteran or member of certain organizations, and it's commonly available through employers. You may be able to buy coverage if your or your spouse's employer offers group life insurance policies. These are often guaranteed issue, up to a certain amount of coverage. Higher levels of coverage will have medical underwriting, though, so check the terms of the plan.

Group life insurance premiums are higher than those for standard term life policies. Premiums are primarily based on your age instead of your health, so cancer wouldn't increase your rates with guaranteed issue coverage. If you later leave the job, the policy is usually convertible to permanent life insurance, so you wouldn't have to give up coverage.

Getting life insurance if you have a family history of cancer

Having a family history of cancer will increase your rates — by how much depends on your family's medical history. Insurance companies typically want to know:

Paying for cancer treatment and costs with life insurance

Cancer patients who already have life insurance may be able to use the coverage while still alive, to pay for medical expenses or provide family with supplemental income. Whether you can do so depends on the type of policy, your health and whether you added riders when buying your policy.

With a cash value life insurance policy, such as a whole life or universal life insurance, you can access its cash value through a policy loan or surrender. Surrendering your life insurance policy is similar to canceling it. You will no longer have coverage and won't have to pay premiums. In return, you'll receive the policy's cash value, minus any surrender fees.

Cancer patients can also take out a life insurance policy loan for up to the policy's cash value. Since the company holds the cash value as collateral, there is no credit check, no repayment schedule and very low interest rates. The only downside is that if your cash value drops to zero, your policy may lapse, and the death benefit your beneficiaries receive if you die will be reduced by the outstanding loan amount.

If you're terminally ill or in poor health, you could consider a life insurance settlement, which means selling your policy. The buyer takes over paying premiums and receives your policy's death benefit when you die. Most life insurance settlements are for permanent life insurance policies, but you may be able to sell a term life insurance policy if you can demonstrate that you're likely to die soon.

Life insurance settlements offer a larger payout than a policy loan or surrender while you're still alive, because the buyer pays a price between your policy's cash value and death benefit. However, the amount you receive over the policy's cash value depends on your health. For instance, if your doctor projects that you'll die from terminal cancer in the next year, you'll receive a higher price, since the buyer is likely to pay premiums for only a short period of time.

If your life insurance policy includes "living benefits," riders or policy add-ons, you may be able to use them to pay medical costs while you're living. Every policy has its own set of riders, but one of the most common is an accelerated death benefit rider. This allows you to access the death benefit if you're terminally ill — and sometimes even if you're chronically ill. The terms change by company, though, so verify whether your cancer's progression qualifies you to use any of your riders.