Life Insurance after Prostate Cancer? You Can Qualify if…
As we’re nearing the end of Movember, I thought it would be a relevant topic to address. And, if you’ve donated already like I have, great! If not, here’s a link to the Movember Fundraising Site.
Movember Foundation’s Vision
You’ve heard all of the statistics, 230,000+ men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, 1 out of every 7 men will be diagnosed at some point in their lifetime, and if you live long enough eventually you will contract some form of cancer. Now I don’t know this last one to be a fact, but I’ve sure heard it enough to believe it.
What many of the statistics fail to mention are those that are not diagnosed and will NEVER be diagnosed with prostate cancer. The wives. The wives of men who’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Daughters, mothers, sisters of prostate cancer survivors. As men, It’s naturally our role to protect our families in every way possible. We work and work to build and protect our family and homes. We teach, nurture and correct our children for years and years with the hopes of them completing college and beginning their own careers and families. We are willing to literally take a bullet and die for our families, but are we willing to LIVE for our families?
Life isn’t always easy and sometimes we need to do things that are necessary for those that we love. Are you willing to wisely build a self-fulfilling financial plan in case you’re not here physically to do those things? I’ve delivered checks to widows and children, there is absolutely NOTHING that will replace a loved one. Period. But there are things we can do as men to see that they are financially okay if we are not here to see things through.
So your question, “Can I qualify for life insurance after prostate cancer?” The simple answer is, Yes. But a number of factors will decide which company will insure you and the amount of coverage you will be able to purchase. Naturally, life insurance companies will ask several questions before they’re willing to insure anyone for any substantial amount of death benefit, whether you’re healthy or not.
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When it comes to prostate cancer, prostatitis, or an elevated PSA, insurance carriers want to know…
- What was your pre-treatment PSA?
- What is your post-treatment PSA?
- What was your most recent Gleason Score?
- Gleason Score of 2, Gleason Score of 3, Gleason Score of 4 & Gleason Score of 5 – Considered to low-grade.
- Gleason Score of 6 or less – Considered to be well-differentiated or low-grade.
- Gleason Score of 7 – Considered to be moderately differentiated or intermediate-grade.
- Gleason Score of 8, Gleason Score of 9, & Gleason Score of 10 – Considered to be poorly differentiated or high-grade.
- If you in fact do have a previous diagnosis of prostate cancer:
- When were you diagnosed?
- Was it treated, if not why?
- If you did have treatment, what did your treatment consist of?
- When were you treated initially?
- When exactly was your treatment completed?
- Did it include chemo?
- Was it treated by radiation?
- Did you treatment include hormone therapy
- Are you currently under watchful waiting, like Dr. Drew Pinsky was?
- Did you opt for a newer type of treatment such as cryoablation or did you have a radical prostatectomy (prostate removed)?
- Does prostate cancer run in your family?
- If so, who directly related to you has or had prostate cancer?
- Are they alive or have they passed?
- Insurance companies typically ask for general information in regards to immediate family such as mother, father, and siblings but they may ask for additional information upon request.
- If you in fact did have prostate cancer, was it able to spread or was it contained to the prostate gland?
- Where has it spread to, etc.?
- How was your prostate cancer graded?
- How was your prostate cancer staged?
This is an extended list but…
The questions we’ll discuss will help us build a plan around you and your life insurance needs. We don’t need to answer all of these questions in order to answer your initial question, “Can I qualify for life insurance after prostate cancer?”, BUT the better we understand you and your qualities, the better rates we can help you qualify for.
You are more than the sum of your numbers, let us tell your story accurately to the underwriters.
We want you to have the best possible chance of qualifying for affordable life insurance rates.
We work with 50+ insurance carriers and each has their own set of qualifying guidelines that we look to when assisting a client with prostate cancer post prostate cancer, or any high risk health need for that matter. The value of working with an independent life insurance agent like myself may be the difference between obtaining life insurance or being declined. Give yourself the best opportunity to qualify, let us go to work for you! We know which carriers are more flexible in covering men after prostate surgery and which carriers to avoid if you’re under active surveillance.
We also work with carriers that may offer coverage when everyone else won’t but they tend be more expensive as they typically offer coverage to any and everyone with very little to no underwriting. We work with companies that offer non-med life insurance policies which did not require a meeting with a nurse during their underwriting process. This option is for those that are in good to great health and would prefer to avoid a meeting with a nurse or doctor’s needle. We can help you too.
If you’re just getting started on your journey, that’s okay, we’re here to listen. We’re here to answer your insurance related questions and offer some advice where we can. Sometimes, the best option is to not apply but wait until you’ve been able to show a positive history after surgery. We will tell you that. Often times, when working with clients how’ve been previously declined, it’s slightly harder to get that person approved after a previous decline. That’s why it’s important to assess your risk now and to take the proper measures to lower your risk by following your oncologist’s, urologist’s and doctor’s advise. A healthy diet and exercise plan are not only good for us in general but by losing a few pounds and improving your overall health, you may be able to lower your risk class as well. The lower your risk class, generally the lower your life insurance premiums are as well.