According to the American Cancer Society, one in six men will be diagnosed with some form of prostate cancer. The good news is that prostate cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer and has a very high survival rate. When you are shopping for life insurance with prostate cancer, it is important to understand how life insurance companies will rate your case. They will look at factors such as your age of diagnosis, stage of cancer, treatment received, your PSA and any other health factors. Here is what you need to know about life insurance with prostate cancer.
Interesting Facts About Prostate Cancer
Here are some other interesting statistics about prostate cancer according to National Cancer Institute:
- Prostate cancer is the 2nd most common type of cancer affecting men after skin cancer
- 5 year survival rate has increased steadily to 98.9%
- Estimated new cases of prostate cancer in 2016 was 180,890
- Estimated deaths from prostate cancer in 2016 was 26,120
- The median age at diagnosis is 66
- Prostate cancer is most frequently diagnosed among men aged 65-74
- African American men represent the largest group of new cases of prostate cancer
- Median age at death from prostate cancer is 80
- The percent of prostate cancer deaths is highest among men aged 75-84
What the Life Insurance Underwriters Will Ask About Your Prostate Cancer
Here are some of the questions that will be asked by the life insurance company about your prostate cancer. If you have prostate cancer, life insurance companies will always request your medical records for review as well.
What is the Date of Diagnosis?
What was Date of Last Treatment?
What was the Stage of the Cancer Diagnosed?
What was the Prostate Cancer’s Gleason Score?
What was the Prostate Cancer’s Grade?
What was the PSA prior to Treatment?
What was the Latest PSA?
How has the Cancer Been Treated?
Do You Take any Medications?
Was there any Evidence of Reoccurrence?
Can You get Life Insurance with Prostate Cancer?
If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, your doctor might suggest active surveillance. This means waiting to see if the cancer progresses. Getting life insurance with prostate cancer will mainly depend on your age at diagnosis. The older you are at diagnosis, the better. If you are under the age of 50 and you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you will most likely be declined. If you are diagnosed at an older age, you might have a chance of getting coverage.
- If you are in your 50’s or 60’s, it will come down to your PSA, Gleason score and the stage of your tumor. Life insurance underwriters are going to want to see stable PSA levels for several years as well as Gleason scores of 6 or less.
- If you are in your 70’s or 80’s, underwriters may allow a presence of low stage cancer if your PSA level is less than 10 and your Gleason score is 6 or less.
- You may be required to pay a flat-extra for several years until it is determined that your cancer is not progressing rapidly.
It is important to understand that underwriters want to be able to see a history of your PSA and Gleason score data by reviewing your medical records. This will give them the best opportunity to track the progress of your cancer.
Life Insurance After Prostate Cancer Treatment
If you’ve had treatment for your prostate cancer, it will increase your odds of getting life insurance if it was effective. There are a couple of important factors that need to be evaluated before the life insurance underwriter can decide on your case.
What Type of Treatment Did You Receive? There are several ways to treat prostate cancer. The most common treatments for prostate cancer are surgery (radical prostatectomy) and radiation therapy. If your cancer is confined to your prostate only, your doctor might suggest removing your prostate gland with surgery. Surgery is the most thorough approach to treating prostate cancer. Another way to treat prostate cancer is radiation therapy. With this treatment, internal or external radiation may be used to kill cancer cells.
How Long Ago Did You Receive Treatment? If your prostate cancer was treated with surgery, you might be able to qualify for affordable life insurance rates shortly after surgery. Your Gleason Score and PSA levels must be low to qualify for the best rates. If you’ve had radiation therapy, there will most likely be a waiting period before you can apply for coverage. This is necessary to determine if the treatment was successful in removing your cancer.
What Has Been the Follow Up Readings for Gleason Score and PSA? Once you’ve received either type of treatment, close monitoring of your Gleason score and PSA levels will be necessary. After surgery, your PSA level should be nearly undetectable and your Gleason score should be less than 6. After radiation therapy, your PSA level should be less than 1 and your Gleason Score should be less than 6. These are best case scenarios where you can expect to find the most competitive rates.
Is There Any Evidence of Reoccurrence? It goes without saying that close monitoring of situation is required to ensure that your prostate cancer is gone and there is no evidence of recurrence. This is accomplished with regular checkups with your doctor.
Getting the Best Life Insurance Rates with Prostate Cancer
The best way to get the lowest rates on life insurance with prostate cancer is to use an independent agent. Independent agencies like ours can shop your case to multiple insurance companies and match you with the company that will offer you the lowest rates. We will gather the specifics of your case and informally shop it to multiple companies to get feedback on potential offers. This will give you an idea of where you stand before you even fill out an application. If you have prostate cancer and need life insurance, email us or give us a call. We’ll be happy to give you a no obligation consultation on your case.
About Us
Archstone Insurance Services, LLC is an independent agency that shops over 40 of the top life insurance carriers to provide huge savings on life insurance coverage for our clients. We are happy to answer any questions you might have about any of the insurance products we offer, your planning needs or your existing coverage. Feel free to call us directly at (888) 687-9444 or email us at info@archstoneagency.com.
