Can I Get Life Insurance If I Have Cancer 2024

When you are diagnosed with cancer there are a lot of things to consider and for some sorting out insurances becomes quite a high priority. 

Having cancer can by physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting and navigating the world of insurance can sometimes feel too much. This is why we are here, to give you a clear idea of the best life insurance options for you now that you have cancer.

Don’t rush to change your existing insurances

If you already have life insurance do not rush to change or cancel it. With the majority of life insurance policies in the UK, the insurer gives you the insurance based upon your health and circumstances on the day the policy starts. Insurers do not then change your insurance policy if you then develop cancer in the future. 

We sometimes have people contact us saying that they need to get new life insurance because they been diagnosed with cancer and their existing policy is worthless. 99% of the time this simply isn’t true and the life insurance you already have is fine.

The times that there can be difficulties is if you knew about the cancer, or were having symptoms that you did not declare to the insurer when you applied for the insurance. Let’s say you speak with your GP and they say that they want you to have some tests to rule out cancer, even a conversation like that would need to be declared to most insurers in the UK when you apply for life insurance.

If you did set up your life insurance in this situation then it is best to speak with your insurer as soon as possible, as it might mean that your life insurance is not valid.

What insurers want to know about your cancer

In some countries there is something known as the ‘right to forget cancer’ which means that insurers cannot ask you about any cancer you have had after a certain period of time. This rule does not apply to the UK and the majority of life insurance providers here will ask you:

• What cancer were you diagnosed with?
• When were you diagnosed with cancer?
• What staging and grading was the cancer (you might have been given a TNM score instead)
• Have you had any surgery and are you now fully covered?
• Have you had chemotherapy, radiotherapy or other treatment?

You will find most insurers will want you to have completed your cancer treatment before they can consider your application for life insurance. An exception to this is if you are taking tamoxifen, this treatment is often considered to be ok when you apply for life insurance.

Life insurance options when you have cancer

Most insurers will want you to have finished your treatment for cancer before they are able to consider your life insurance application. There are some exceptions to his including prostate cancer and some forms of leukaemia.

A lot of the time insurers will want you to have fully recovered from prostate cancer and it’s treatment before they are able to offer you life insurance. But there are times that they can accept applications for life insurance when you are living with prostate cancer. This is highly dependent upon your age, your PSA readings, Gleason score and treatments that you are having.

There are also options at times for some blood cancers including chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). The insurer will want to know about your treatment plan and information regarding the staging or phase details that you have of the cancer.

Guaranteed life insurance acceptance

There are some insurers that can offer you life insurance if you are living with cancer, without asking you any details about the cancer you have.  When you arrange a personal life insurance policy this way, with no questions about your health, it means that the life insurance policy will exclude claims relating to pre-existing health conditions. This exclusion might be active for a few years or it might be permanent.

With this type of exclusion the insurer will usually consider a pre-existing condition to be a medical condition that you have, or have had in the last few years, until you have been symptom, medication, treatment and follow-up free for a couple of years. This kind of life insurance can work for some people, but it’s incredibly important that you get chance to discuss what the exclusions mean to you and your circumstances.

Our award winning advisers will listen to your circumstances and research the life insurance market with your medical information to hand. We will make sure that your life insurance is going to do what you want it to do, at a competitive premium. We offer no obligation quotations and give you the time that you need to consider your options, before making any decisions.

Contact us today so that we can help you get the life insurance that you need.

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