Life Insurance and Bladder Cancer History – Useful Facts You need to Know
In the absence of an expert agency, securing life insurance for someone with bladder cancer history could be a daunting task. We have a credible record in helping people to get life insurance with cancer cover and secure the best rates available to them and would be happy to do the same for you. Even if you are not eligible for preferred life insurance rates, we can indeed offer you some options for cancer life insurance plans.
If you are apprehensive that age could be a factor, please feel free to contact us. Our expert insurance agentscan help you in the process of finding term life insurance for seniors available to you.
We recommend you to give us a call, but it would be a lot better if you get acquainted with what to expect in the first place. This would help you in making realistic expectations and also bring us a step closer to closing in on a mutually agreed rate for life insurance after cancer.
Overview of Bladder Cancer
At the very outset, you should be aware that if you are suffering from bladder cancer or are less than a year from being entirely healed from it, you will not be eligible for traditional life insurance. But this should not bog your spirits down. Well, you can still be eligible for graded death benefit policies.
On account of the high recurrence rate of bladder cancer, regular follow-up with urine cystoscopy and cytology become essential as per underwriters’ recommendations. Individuals with multiple tumors or high grade (II & III) are generally seen as cases with a high risk of recurrence. It has usually been observed that people who show more consistent follow up secure better rates than those who don’t and quite naturally so,they get the best insurance for cancer.
When you get a life insurance agent on board, some questions will follow:
- What was the mode of treatment used for curing cancer (whether it was chemo, radiation or something else)
- When was the treatment finished?
- Have you been taking any medications?
- What stage was the cancer at?
- Were lymph nodes also involved in the ailment? If so, how many of them?
- Has there been any recurrence?
- Are there any other health problems?
This information is very critical to securing actual rates. Having said that, here are a few things you should know if you are looking for life insurance with bladder cancer history.
Bladder Cancer: Types
You may be surprised to know that almost 90% of all bladder cancer cases are caused by transitional cell carcinomas called Urothelial carcinomas. The remaining 10% of all bladder cancer cases generally consist of both squamous cell carcinomas of the bladder which account for about 4% and Adenocarcinomas that account for around 2%. There are other less common kinds of bladder cancer too that include sarcomas and small cell anaplastic cancerwhich tend to metastasize to other parts of the body.
Life Insurance Rates to Expect
The most ideal situation is if you can receive standard rates for individuals with low-risk tumors. Papillary urothelial neoplasm with low malignant potential is one such condition in which standard rates are available.
The second-best situation is Ta, grade 1-2 with 3 or lesser tumors at one time and all tumors being either 3 cm or less than that in size. In this case, you can qualify for standard rates but only once 3 years have passed. If it’s less than 3 years, you are going to pay a flat extra fee of $5.
This flat extra is basically a surcharge per $1,000 on the actual face value which is imposed on high-risk individuals.
Life insurance underwriters generally consider moderate risk tumors to be either of the two types, i.e., more than 3 tumors at a time or a tumor greater than 3 cm in size. Low grade papillary urothelial carcinoma is also considered as moderate. Only after 7 years of absolutely no recurrence and consistent follow up does one become eligible for standard rates. Nevertheless, you can still secure coverage after 1 year, but most life insurance companies would impose a flat extra fee of $7.50 for every $1,000 until you have completed 7 years.
Tumors that are considered to be high-risk ones are:
- high grade papillary urothelial carcinoma
- high-grade intraurothelial neoplasm and
- T1 – grade 2-3
In such cases, you have to wait for 10 years before you are able to secure ‘Standard’ rates and you will have to shell out an extra $10 per $1,000 flat extra fee until it has been 10 years. You will definitely have to wait at least 2 years before you are eligible to secure coverage with a flat extra.
If all this jargon is confusing to you, give us a chance to help you.
There is nothing to worry if you don’t have all these details. You may give us as much information as possible, and we will cull out all the details when we analyze your medical records.
We would like to reiterate that if we fail to secure rates within your budget, you really don’t have to accept them. We won’t ask you for money until we are able to obtain rates for the best life insurance for cancer survivors within your defined budget.
The Last Word
Even if your bladder cancer is at a more advanced level, it does not mean that you have to accept not being insured. We have several years of experience helping those with bladder cancer find insurance policies they require at affordable rates, and we would love to do that for you. Since we work with multiple life insurance companies and they all have different approaches towards calculating risk, we’ll have you apply with only a company that looks most generously at life insurance after cancer
If you have bladder cancer history and don’t know where to look for the right life insurance, you can connect with us right away. We are just a phone call away from helping you with a competent insurance agent who can advise you suitably.
We hope you found this article beneficial. Moreover, we would be happy to read your comments and suggestions. Thanks for reading!