Finding a Life Insurance Policy With Breast Cancer

Having had breast cancer does not necessarily make you ineligible to get covered for a life insurance policy.

Because it’s possible to not only beat this cancer and receive successful treatment, you may very well be able to find affordable life insurance with a breast cancer history.

With modern medical treatment, many women who are afflicted with breast cancer have a better chance of beating this disease than ever.

Insurance companies keep up with medical advancements. They’ve begun offering more coverage to cancer survivors than they would have even five years ago.

What is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer generally begins as a growth in the cells of the breast which becomes malignant. Although the vast majority of individuals who are afflicted with this cancer are women, it is also known to occasionally occur in men as well.

Cancer begins with an abnormal growth of a cell which replicates itself. These may metastasize or spread throughout the breast and into other parts of the body.

Not all abnormal cell growths result in cancer. They can also be benign cysts or a benign (non-life threatening) tumor such as a fibroadenoma.

However, abnormal growth of the cells can also result in breast cancer.

Frequently, most breast cancers originate in the cells of the milk ducts which carry the milk to the nipple and is called ductal carcinoma.

The other main area which sees the occurrence of breast cancer are the cells located in the lobules which is a series of glands that actually produce the milk. This form of breast cancer is called lobular carcinoma.

Most of these cancers start and will for a time remain “in situ” which means that the cancer hasn’t yet migrated to other areas of the breast or the body. The cancer is termed “invasive” when it migrates into the surrounding tissues.

There are also other less common forms of breast cancer such as:

• Triple negative and basal-like breast cancers
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• Sarcoma

How Does Breast Cancer Affect Your Life Insurance Rating?

If you have just been recently diagnosed with breast cancer, you will initially and most likely be automatically declined should you apply.

Do not be discouraged because this is common practice for most insurers and for many other types of cancer. The reason is that the life insurer needs more information on the state of your cancer or diagnosis, and the prognosis of how well the treatment has treated or even eliminated the disease.

For invasive breast cancer many insurers will want you to wait a certain period before considering you for a life insurance policy. There are quite a number of insurers that will require a waiting period of up to two years after you have been cancer free before they will consider underwriting a policy regardless of your diagnosis. For early stage in situ breast cancer an offer can be found soon after successful treatment.

However, just keep in mind that not all insurers are the same and some are more lenient than others when it comes to certain situations as it pertains to breast cancer.

Other factors that can affect how you are rated depends on the grade and stage of the cancer and how well you have responded to treatment and/or surgery.

If your treatment has been successful you could be eligible for a standard rate or less depending on your individual circumstances.

Even if your health situation is severe (or combined with another illness like ovarian cancer) then you might still be eligible for other types of insurance coverage such as a Graded Death Benefit or Guaranteed Issue life insurance.  We can help you with these policies as well.

Information Required By Life Insurers To Rate Breast Cancer

The following information will be used by our underwriting advisor to help determine your health classification rating for breast cancer:

Date of breast cancer diagnosis, and clinical and diagnostic circumstances of the breast cancer

• The type of breast cancer diagnosed
• The “Stage” and “Grade” assigned to the tumor
• Whether estrogen or progesterone “receptors” were positive or negative
• What types of treatment were used – such as surgery, radiation therapy, medications, or chemotherapy
• Date treatment was completed and whether there have been any recurrence

Why You Should Use Abrams Insurance Solutions

The type of rating assessment for those who have breast cancer will depend on many different factors. Fortunately, here at Abrams Insurance Solutions we work with an underwriting advisor on staff who will evaluate your medical situation.

This allows them to not only thoroughly review the health history of our clients, but they can help guide us towards the life insurance company that will provide the lowest rates for your particular and unique situation.

Our experience, access to an underwriting advisor, independent status and selection of the nation’s best life insurance companies makes us an excellent choice to help you secure the right life insurance policy for your needs.

If you have any questions, concerns or need advice during the process of finding life insurance approval with breast cancer, or any other health-related concerns, then call us at 888-905-0333 today because we can help.