If you were diagnosed with melanoma, you might have started thinking about the future.
A lot of people start making serious decisions after being diagnosed with severe health problems.
At this point, you might be wondering if you can still get life insurance after melanoma.
If the cancer has been surgically removed, and you have been cancer free for one or two years, however, you could be eligible for life insurance.
A lot of patients who have had melanoma in the past assume they can’t get life insurance coverage.
Regardless of your health or any complications, you may have had in the past, there are options for life insurance protection.
Don’t let your loved ones go another day without the life insurance coverage they deserve.
How Can You Qualify for Coverage?
The truth is that many people who have Melanoma can even qualify for traditional types of life insurance.
One reason for this is because Melanoma – when detected early – is highly treatable.
Therefore, not only can an individual oftentimes qualify for life insurance coverage, but they can do so at standard policy rates.
The chances of obtaining a policy, then, really depend a great deal on the type, stage, and grade of your cancer, as well as on your particular plan of treatment.
Prior to applying for coverage, you will be asked many detailed questions regarding your condition, as well as about your treatment and medications.
Having this information readily available can help to speed up the application process and avoid having to go back for additional information at a later date.
Even if you’ve been rejected before, we can hook you up with a guaranteed policy. Nobody is declined for these plans. Be aware, these plans only offer up to $25,000 of coverage.
What the Underwriters Want to Know
When assessing your application, the underwriters will be looking for more detailed information about your condition. They will ask:
- How long have you had Melanoma?
- Have you had any surgical excision done, and if so, when?
- Do you have regular check-ups with a dermatologist?
- In the past 12 months, have you had any relevant biopsy results and/or diagnostic exams?
- Do you currently have any symptoms of lesions?
- What is the stage and grade of cancer?
- What is the tumor size (if applicable)?
- What is the mitotic rate (how quickly are the cancer cells dividing)?
- Do you have any other health issues?
In addition, the underwriters will also want to know if you are a tobacco, drug, or alcohol user, as this, too, will have an effect on your policy’s overall approval and on the rating of the policy should you be approved.
In order to help in improving your chances for approval, it is important that you not skip any scheduled doctor visits, and that you continue your treatments and medications as prescribed. This can help you to stay on track for a positive outcome.
Classifying Your Policy
Once your application has gone through the underwriting process, the underwriters will either approve or deny it for coverage.
If your condition was detected early, it is likely that your application will be approved and that your policy will be provided at a Standard rating.
This means that your policy and premium rate will be in line with other insureds who are of “average” health, height, and weight.
Should your condition be considered somewhat more risky to the insurance company, your policy may be rated as a substandard. Such policies typically are also charged a higher amount of premium rate.
Improving Chances of Getting Approved
Not only are they going to ask about your melanoma diagnosis, but they are also going to ask you dozens and dozens of other questions about your general health and your lifestyle habits.
Smoking is the first thing to go. If you don’t already know, life insurance for smokers is twice as much. If you like to smoke, you might as well toss your wallet out the window. Take a year to kick your habit and then you can get the tobacco-free rates.
After you’ve weened yourself off those smokes, let’s continue to improve your health. For most people, the medical exam is the biggest barrier between them and affordable life insurance, but it doesn’t have to be. Get in shape by being more active and losing weight.
The best way to get the highest chance of getting approved for cheap coverage is to contact a dozen companies about life insurance for applicants with melanoma. Each company will give you a different answer on how they view melanoma.
Some offer competitive rates while others are going to reject you. How are you supposed to know which is best? Use one of our agents!
What makes us so different? We aren’t normal agents. We have the ability to give you more than one quote. In fact, we can show you rates from over 30 companies.
Taking the Next Step Towards Getting Coverage
As an applicant diagnosed with melanoma in the past, you’ll be looked at as a high-risk applicant. This doesn’t mean you can’t be approved for a reasonably priced plan. You need to find a company who specializes in working with high-risk clients.
In doing so, you will be working with specialists who understand the additional paperwork and information that is required to get an applicant with a health condition such as, breast cancer, or prostate, approved for coverage. This can help to speed up the overall underwriting process, getting you an answer back from the insurance company much faster.
In addition, you should also consider working with an agency that has access to several insurance companies. The chances of getting approved by a single “one size fits all” insurance company are typically slim – especially with an adverse health condition.
But, by having several insurers to choose from you can instantly look at the different companies and compare apples to apples. This will help you get a better idea on your coverage goals, and budget – narrowing down a policy to exactly what you need.
If you want to compare life insurance quotes, use our quote form on this page, or call us at 800-712-8519 to discuss your situation and we can let you know what type of rates you can expect.
