Cancer & Life Insurance

We understand that being told that you have a cancer is a scary experience, that makes you stop and think about what the future may hold.

For some, it makes them think about insurance, and putting measures in place to make sure that loved ones are financially secure if the worst happens. This is where we step in to help you.

Things we need to know:

• What type of cancer did you have?
• When were you diagnosed with cancer?
• What staging and grading was the cancer?
• Do you undergo chemotherapy or another treatment?
• When did you last receive treatment for cancer?
• Have you been given the all clear?

Life Insurance after you have had cancer is often possible once you have finished treatment and are free of cancer. The insurer that you approach will want to know where the cancer was located, the type of cancer and staging/grading that you were diagnosed with, the type of treatment that you underwent and the time since your treatment ended.

Cancer can vary largely in severity, so providing accurate price guidelines to cover the whole condition can be difficult. There are so many different factors to take into account, that to give you a clear indication of price, there needs to be a good amount of research done for your specific circumstances.

Certain cancers such as low staging and grading basal-cell carcinomas, usually cause little concern for insurance providers and are often accepted at normal terms.

On the other end of the scale if the cancer has been quite serious, with lymph node involvement or been particularly aggressive, then prices can be much higher than those with lower level cancers.

If your cancer was very recent then many insurance providers will ask you to wait for a set number of years before cover can be offered. There are however specialist insurers that you can get life insurance with, if your cancer happened recently.

Please use the links below to access pages specifically focused upon the cancer that you had and the potential ratings that you are looking at.

If you are over the age of 50 and do not want to provide information about your cancer then you may be eligible for Guaranteed Life Cover, with no medical questions. This works well for some people but it is normally worth checking out normal life insurance first, as you will generally get a lower premium and/or higher level of cover that way.

Critical illness cover pays out a cash lump sum of money, if you are diagnosed with a medical condition that is listed in the insurer’s claims set e.g. cancer, heart attack, stroke.

Critical illness cover after cancer, if available, will generally come with special terms. Depending upon the severity of the cancer that you had, and the time since you recovered, your critical illness application will include an increased premium, cancer exclusion, be postponed or in the worst case scenario be declined. 

Some very low staging/grading cancers, such as basal-cell carcinoma that has been recovered from for a while, can sometimes see critical illness cover offered at standard terms. This is assessed on a case by case basis. 

Similarly if you had childhood leukaemia and have not had a recurrence of cancer as an adult, you might also be able to get critical illness cover at standard terms. 

Regardless of the staging and grading of your cancer, the insurer will want to see a report from GP in order to establish your full medical history before they offer policy terms. This is something that we are quite happy to see happen. It means that the insurer has an accurate account of your health before they offer cover, which should make any claims in the future simpler.

Income protection pays you a replacement of your monthly income, if you are unable to work due to ill health.

Income protection after cancer can be more complex to arrange, but it may be possible if you approach the correct insurer for your circumstances.

In certain circumstances it is possible to get standard terms for income protection following cancer, but this will only be available once you have been free of cancer for a number of years, and will depend upon the staging and grading of your diagnosis. 

If you are happy to have an income protection policy with a cancer exclusion on the policy claims set, then you may see more options available to you.

If you find that long-term income protection policy is unavailable to you, or you don’t like the terms on offer, it might be worth looking at Accident, Sickness and Unemployment plan. This policy also replaces your income if your unable to work due to ill health, but can also include cover if you are made involuntarily redundant.

Are you going on holiday? We work alongside a specialist travel insurance broker who can help you choose the right insurance for you. To find out more about arranging travel insurance when you’ve had cancer, please click here.