Jason Fisher Finding affordable life insurance after cervical cancer isn’t impossible, but it can be annoying. Any time there are current or previous health concerns, life insurance underwriting becomes more complex.
We make it much, much easier.
Cancer is a risk many life insurance companies shy away from, but we have several within our arsenal who are more than willing to offer affordable coverage. While there are more hoops to jump through, our process is tried and true, and we’ll help you protect your family financially. Get a quote from the sidebar to get started, or continue reading to further understand our unique process.
Life Insurance After Cervical Cancer
This year, roughly 13,000 women throughout the United States will be diagnosed with some form of cervical cancer. Life insurance underwriters use the statistics for survival from these women to calculate what level of risk a women has to outlive the cancer.
Women who are diagnosed early have greater than a 90% chance to live through the next five years; those who are diagnosed too late where the cancer has had an opportunity to spread see as little as 1 in 5 chance to live the next five years. For these reasons, it’s critical for life insurance companies to get an accurate assessment of your history of cancer before they can consider an offer of any kind.
Other factors need to be considered as well, such as previous bouts with cancer, a family history of cancer, heart disease or diabetes, or other long term health risks. These, of course, are all in conjunction with standard underwriting elements, such as height, weight, gender, tobacco use, and more.
Our Process
We take every applicant’s risk seriously. We know with certainty our process yield more positive experiences and approvals than the typical life insurance agent. Our advantages include years of experience, superior pre-qualifying, advanced underwriting knowledge, and the ability to work with more than fifty companies who all accept different risks at different levels.
Let’s walk through what a typical application process is with us.
First, we don’t start with an application right away. In fact, when done properly, we can have a pretty good idea of an outcome before ever sending in an application, so long as you can provide us with excellent detail of your cervical cancer history. We begin by asking very direct questions, each of which allows us (and the underwriters we work with) to get an accurate depiction of risk.
Here are some of the questions we’ll need you to answer:
- When were you first diagnosed with cervical cancer or HPV (Human Papilloma Virus)? How old were you at the time?
- What stage was your original diagnosis, and did it advance further? (In Situ, I, II, III, IV)
- Which treatments did you undergo?
– Brachytherapy
– Cervical Conization
– Cervicectomy
– Cryosurgery
– Hysterectomy
– Lymphadenectomy
– Radiotherapy/Radiationtherapy
– other… - What types of medication did you take, or are currently prescribed? (Carboplatin, Cisplatin (Platinol-AQ), Gemcitabine (Gemzar), Paclitaxel (Taxol))
- Have you, or do you, currently use tobacco products of any kind?
- Do you have any other medical history?
- Does your family have a history of cancer?
These questions are merely the tip of the ice berg, as there are many others which apply to all applicants and are not exclusive to those with cervical cancer. Life insurance has to take into account all possible mortality risk, which includes occupations, lifestyle choices and activities, criminal and driving records, and more. It is a comprehensive analysis.
With this information, we are finally able to make an educated decision on whether you are a candidate for a fully underwritten life insurance policy or if you’ll need to resort to other types, like graded or guaranteed.
Even after you’ve done your part and an application is submitted, the underwriters at the insurance company are going to request medical records around every aspect of your health, including from specialists, hospitals and treatment centers you’ve attended. In addition, you’ll be required to perform a medical exam from a third party examiner which includes both blood and urine tests.
Possible Outcomes of Applying
In Situ
Because of the growing preventative measures for women like the Pap Smear, HPV vaccines (which account for more than 70% of the types of contracted HPV), and sexual education, prevention and early detection for cervical cancer has lead to high rates of effective treatment. For this reason, many fall into this classification.
For those who are diagnosed with Stage 0, called carcinoma in situ, successful treatment is very likely. Women who have dealt with this stage could receive as high as Standard ratings, dependent upon what type of treatment was involved (usually surgical removal or excision), prevalence of tumors, or medications prescribed.
Stage I
There are four classifications of Stage I cervical cancer and life insurance ratings hinge on the specificity. There are:
- Stage IA1
- Stage IA2
- Stage IB1
- Stage IB2
First, the region is localized to the cervix, and has not spread. The most progressive of the four, IB2, is a result of visible, malignant tumors no greater than 4 cm in diameter, and this would be the final stage in which life insurance may be offered. One could expect high Sub-Standard rates, at best.
For those in the first three sub-stages, where cancer cells are not greater than 7 mm in width or all other localized cancer is not visible to the eye, mild to medium Sub-Standard rates are available with successful treatment and a enough elapsed time since the last date of treatment.
Stage II, Stage III, & Stage IV
Unfortunately, the advanced stages of cervical cancer require alternative types of life insurance.
- Graded – minimum health questions are asked, no exams are required, and limited death benefits are available. Typically, the full benefit will not pay out in the first two or three years, with the exception being accidental death.
- Guaranteed – no health questions are asked, no exams are required, and maximum death benefits are no greater than $25,000 per carrier, although more than one carrier can be utilized. Payouts may not be paid in the first two three years, either, although they could be partial.
Final Thoughts
We know finding the right company to work with is key to getting the best rates for life insurance after cervical cancer. It also takes an expert, independent agent who knows the marketplace, understands the guidelines of each company, and one who is dedicated to ensuring the applicant gets top notch service.
Contact us if you have any questions, and we’ll be happy to help.
