Life insurance after cancer

Unfortunately, cancer is a growing disease in our society, making the question as to whether to secure life insurance or not even more prevalent.

In 2017, 2.5 million people in the UK were living with cancer and this figure is expected to rise to 4 million by 2030^[1].

This highlights the growing need for life insurance. But the question is, can you get life insurance after cancer?

In 2006, thousands of applicants were denied life insurance cover due to previously having cancer^[2].

Thankfully, insurers have reviewed this issue over recent years and whilst there are still some instances where life insurance may be denied, it's now very possible for those affected by cancer to secure a policy.

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about securing life insurance after cancer…

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among woman, affecting 2.1 million women each year. Accounting for 15% of all cancer deaths in women^[3].

Obtaining life insurance after breast cancer is still completely possible.

But, as discussed above, you may experience loaded premiums due to the risk you’ll pose or your application may be postponed until a recovery period has been reached.

It’s also highly likely that there will be an exclusion for breast cancer written into your policy, meaning your loved ones won’t be able to make a claim if you pass away as a result of breast cancer.

Unfortunately, if diagnosed with terminal cancer, you'll be unable to secure conventional term-based life insurance as your risk is too high and the cost of your pay out can't be offset by that of your premium.

However, even with terminal cancer, you still have life insurance options.

If you're aged between 50-85, an over 50s plan offers guaranteed acceptance without a medical. Meaning you have no obligation to disclose your cancer.

The only condition to take into consideration is that you're required to live a minimum of 1 or 2 years from the start of the policy. This is known as the waiting or qualifying period.

As a result, your life expectancy diagnosis will determine whether or not this option is appropriate.

Your policy won't be affected as long as you're honest during the application.

As long as you’ve fully disclosed all the required information about your medical wellbeing during the application process, your existing life insurance won’t be affected and the pay out will be honoured by the insurer.

Certain cover will provide you with a pay out if you're diagnosed with cancer during the term of your policy.

Some life insurance policies contain critical illness cover.

This is an additional level of cover which pays out to the policyholder if they're diagnosed with a particular illness.

Therefore, if diagnosed with cancer during the term of your policy, it's worth contacting your insurer to discuss whether or not you're eligible for an early pay out.

Being diagnosed with cancer doesn't affect your special event option.

A special event option allows you to increase your level of cover without the need for additional underwriting.

For example, this could take place after having a baby, moving house or getting married.

Even if you're diagnosed with cancer, you still have this option available to you and are able to increase your level of cover in the instance of a specified special event occurring.

Some policy add-ons may be affected even if you’re able to secure cover, which can include critical illness.

Critical illness allows you to make an early claim if you are diagnosed with a life-changing, but not terminal, illness. One of which is usually cancer.

However, when arranging a new policy, if you’ve previously had cancer but wish to include critical illness cover the insurer may have it written into the agreement that the previous illness be excluded from a claim.

Alternatively, in some instances, as opposed to the exclusion taking place the premiums are increased to account for the risk of possible recurrence.

On the rare occasion, you could still be declined for a policy.

Always ask the question though, as there’s usually an option available.

A life insurance pay out for a cancer sufferer can vary depending on whether you were diagnosed before or after your application.

As stated, being diagnosed when your life insurance is already in place doesn't affect the terms of your policy.

Therefore, when you pass away, a pay out will be made to your loved ones as it would with any other cause of death.

However, if you had been diagnosed prior to your life insurance application, there's the possibility that death from cancer may have been written into your policy as an exclusion.

If this is the case and your cause of death is as a result of your cancer, the policy will be deemed invalid and your loved ones won't receive a pay out.

For this reason, it's always essential to read the terms of your policy to determine exactly what causes of death are covered.

The vast majority of policies now have terminal illness cover included. Therefore, if you're diagnosed with terminal cancer (given less than 12 months to live), you can receive an early pay out.

Finally, if you've additional critical illness cover and are diagnosed during the policy, you can receive a pay out in the same way as all other illnesses specified within the add-on.