We inherit many wonderful things from our families. Hair color, eye color, personality traits, or our sense of humor. Unfortunately, there are also some terrible things we can inherit such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, colon cancer, or strokes.
Recent Studies show that Prostate Cancer may be Hereditary
These hereditary hand-me-downs could mean the difference between getting life insurance and remaining unprotected, especially when it comes to prostate cancer.
Your family medical history is important to underwriters considering you as an applicant for insurance. You may be healthy when you apply. But analysis of your medical history and your family’s allows underwriters to predict the likelihood of some inherited health risks (including prostate cancer) that could mark you as a high risk client.
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Family History of Prostate Cancer
So why does a family history of prostate cancer raise a red flag to underwriters and insurance companies?
Studies show that men are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer if their father or their brother have had prostate cancer.
The good news is that the correlations lessen the further away you get from immediate family. Meaning that if your uncles, cousins, or grandfathers have had prostate cancer but your immediate family has not, there is a smaller chance that you will develop prostate cancer.
If your father or brother are healthy, you won’t necessarily be seen as risk free by underwriters. Other studies have demonstrated potential links between breast cancer and prostate cancer. If your mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer, you may be more likely to develop prostate cancer.
Other Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer
So you have a family history of prostate cancer?
Maybe you think you can hit the gym and improve your health before purchasing life insurance. Sometimes this does reduce your overall risk, and allow you to get coverage. However, it is not always that simple. Certain risk factors, such as age and race cannot be controlled, nor can cancer-causing genetic defects.
The potential for developing prostate cancer rises with age, and men over 40 are particularly susceptible to forming cancer, especially if there is a familial history of prostate cancer. M
en who smoke, are obese, or have poor diets are also more susceptible to developing cancer. African American men are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced-stage prostate cancer and are over twice as likely to die from the disease.
When to Buy Life Insurance?
The question of when to buy life insurance – and why – leads to contradictory answers. Many people are confused about when to buy life insurance.
If you’re like most people, you won’t bother with buying life insurance until you have a family to protect, or you fall ill. Life insurance is used as a tool to prepare for the unexpected and to allow your loved ones to afford your final expenses and to remain cared for even after you’re gone.
Should you buy while you’re still healthy? Or, since your family history is going to impact your premiums anyway, should you just wait until something happens?
The truth is having life insurance is beneficial at any age, especially taking into consideration your family medical history. Buying young can have its advantages, but may not always be the right answer.
The Benefits of Buying Life insurance Early in Life
If you buy young you can lock in your insurability, that is, you can insure that you will be insurable later down the line if something happens.
You’ll probably also be able to get better premiums if you are younger and healthier, because your risk assessment is generally lower.
If something happens to you while you are still young, your policy can be used to pay for student loans, any outstanding debt you may have accrued over the years, or your final expenses.
Your term life insurance may also be converted to whole life insurance further down the line when you are financially stable, ensuring that you and your family are covered if something happens in the future.
Most young people don’t like to think about their mortality and, as a result, life insurance doesn’t even cross their mind until they have settled down.
Even if you buy today, some hereditary conditions may increase your premiums dramatically. These conditions, such as cancer and heart disease, lower your life expectancy and increase your risk, resulting in high premiums.
All insurance companies view risk differently.
← Complete the Life Insurance Quote Form to Begin.
May the Best Quote Win!
Buying Insurance After Being Diagnosed with Cancer
If you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer and are trying to buy life insurance, it is important to know that getting covered may be difficult, but it is not impossible.
Often, common and treatable cancers such as prostate cancer will earn you a standard rating if it’s detected and treated early.
The problem with buying life insurance after cancer diagnosis is that it reduces your insurance options and may box you in with high premiums. This all depends on the type, phase, grade and treatment of the cancer.
And, yes, your family history plays an important role in this consideration as well as your family history dictates your body’s response to the disease.
Still Have Questions?
When you buy life insurance is, ultimately, up to you.
Depending on your health and your family medical history, your insurance buying experience could end up leaving you confused and stuck with high premiums.
I can help.
Give me a call, I’ve worked with people just like you, who have a family medical history of prostate cancer or who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer.