Breast Cancer

Life insurance after Breast Cancer

Overview

Life Insurance can be available for those who have survived Breast Cancer and reached a point of 24 month or more past their last treatment, but each case is individual and such a generalisations should not be taken as any guarantee of cover.

Life Insurance for Breast Cancer Survivors

Typically, Life Insurance underwriters will ALWAYS look for all treatment to have been completed and then for a period of waiting to have passed without your Breast Cancer returning.

The period of waiting for your final all clear can be uncomfortable, especially without access to mainstream life insurance over what can be 5 or even 10 years.

Pulse Insurance work with underwriters who may in some cases consider providing Life Insurance to Breast Cancer survivors from 24 months after treatment.

The following more generic details are likely to be relevant and / or we will need to consider your very specific circumstances.

Key Life Insurance Issues for Breast Cancer Survivor’s

There is a wide variety and depth of complexity to be appreciated and that drive the cost and availability of Life Insurance after Breast Cancer.

 

Breast Cancer Grades & Progression

Your Breast Cancer is usually graded and the stage it reached when diagnosed. While the prevalence of Breast cancer means there are often others “like you”, your assessment for Life Insurance will be based on you and your Breast Cancer.

Where Breast Cancers have progressed or metastised, it may be less likely that affordable cover can be found.

Age & Recurrence

The age at which you have been diagnosed and whether the cancer has been found and treated once or has unfortunately returned will be relevant.

 

Other Conditions or Complications

Sometimes, Breast Cancer or treatment for it can bring other health complications or be affected by other pre-existing medical conditions. These may have a bearing on the availability and cost of Life Insurance.

Treatment

There is a wide variety of treatments in use including radiotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy. Combinations of treatment and ever newer techniques and drugs are thankfully emerging and being trialled all the time.

Our Underwriters closely monitor and analyse these changes to ensure they can objectively and fairly interpret the implications of such progress. This means that they are sometimes able to offer life cover, when a few years ago this was not possible.

“All Clear”?

The time that has elapsed since the last treatment and since scans have revealed no Breast Cancer is present or detectable will have a major impact on pricing.

In some cases, our life underwriters can provide cover from just 24 months after your last treatment for Breast cancer. Your “all clear” may not be given by your doctor for some time or even years after this.

Finding Life Insurance after Breast Cancer

We have designed a simple series of a few questions which will suggest a way forwards.

NB, we have kept this simple and quick to use, but therefore it does not take account of too much complexity, so may not work for every individual. We welcome any feedback.

If you need a specialist underwriter

Pulse specialise in taking your Breast Cancer and any other specific conditions and needs into account and finding you Life Insurance cover, if it is available.

We use our knowledge and experience to find a solution when other Life Insurers have declined to quote.

Why Pulse Insurance?

  • Pulse Insurance have been focused on finding unusual cover since 1998
  • We strive to offer a caring and sensitive service
  • We are knowledgeable insurance professionals who work as a team
  • We provide a personal service to guide you through
  • If we cannot help, it will not be for the want of trying or know-how

While finding cover for everyone is not always possible and the premium will be higher to reflect increased risk, we like to think we are rather good at helping people find the cover they need.

In 95% of Breast Cancer cases we can offer indicative premiums and/or sense of if cover may be available early on; so, you can decide to proceed or not.

Please understand, there are cases where we cannot find a cover solution.

Being Transparent

It is always important to declare your Breast Cancer and any other medical conditions completely.

Your Health & Beyond

Every person who survives Breast Cancer knows that their condition and its complications will be in some way unique to them. Other aspects of your lifestyle can impact your risk and the cover available. These will be explicitly considered when determining the fair premium, you would pay.

Your Pulse underwriting specialist will look to gain a detailed picture of your condition and you should take care to disclose everything.

As you have had a serious medical condition, it is possible that underwriters will need to seek a Doctor’s report or for you to undergo medical examinations, blood tests or other tests that will confirm your health to allow them to quote an accurate premium and confirm cover details. The costs involved in obtaining the medical information are usually paid by the underwriter, but if not, you will be informed before they are requested.

Pulse will never sell your details to anyone. We will use your details to provide the service you have asked for according to the permissions you grant us– read our Privacy and Data Protection policy in full.

Medical Reports

If you have any recent or relevant medical reports, these can enable underwriters to provide a more accurate indication.  Please send these either to [email protected] or post them to us n.b. Do not worry if you don’t have any medical reports as they are not usually needed to give an indication of cover / cost.It may be necessary anyway for separate specific medical reports to be sought if you decide to proceed with an application. If you have any queries, please give a member of the team a call on 01280 841430.

Additional Covers

Pulse may be able to offer covers beyond everyday Life Insurance to give you the peace of mind and protection you desire.

The reasons you may need life cover may be simple or complex, but having the right covers brings peace of mind for you and your family.

Useful Breast Cancer resources

We suspect if you have read this far, you are relatively well informed about your Breast Cancer.

You may know of or find these external resources useful; although Pulse are inevitably not responsible or in control of the accuracy or nature of the information provided.

For Pulse Intermediaries

The following details may help you when competing an application for your client.

Cover is really only ever possible once treatment has ceased. It is useful for the underwriters to be aware what treatment was given including of course chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

It is also important to know if there was a mastectomy, cosmetic surgery or Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

Medications and Treatments

The following are commonly used drugs

  • Anastrozole (Arimidex)
  • Arimidex
  • Avastin
  • Bevacizumab (Avastin)
  • Caelyx
  • Capecitabine
  • Cyclophosphamide monohydrate (Endoxana)
  • Docetaxel (Taxotere)
  • Doxorubicin hydrochloride (Doxorubin, Myocet)
  • Epirubicin hydrochloride (Pharmorubicin)
  • Everolimus (Afinitor)
  • Exemestane (Aromasin)
  • Fareston
  • Faslodex
  • Fluorouracil sodium
  • Fulvestrant (Faslodex)
  • Gemcitabine hydrochloride (Gemzar)
  • Gemzar
  • Goserelin acetate (Zoladex)
  • Herceptin
  • Idarubicin hydrochloride
  • Lapatinib ditosylate monohydrate (Tyverb)
  • Letrozole (Femara)
  • Lomustine
  • Medroxyprogesterone acetate (Provera)
  • Megace
  • Megestrol acetate (Megace)
  • Melphalan (Alkeran tablets)
  • Methotrexate (Maxtrex)
  • Methotrexate sodium
  • Mitomycin (Mitomycin-C Kyowa)
  • Mitoxantrone hydrochloride (Onkotrone)
  • Navelbine
  • Norethisterone (Utovlan)
  • Paclitaxel (Taxol)
  • Paclitaxel albumin
  • Tamoxifen citrate
  • Toremifene citrate (Fareston)
  • Trastuzumab (Herceptin)
  • Tyverb
  • Vinblastine sulphate (Vinblastine)
  • Vincristine sulphate
  • Vinorelbine tartrate
  • Xeloda
  • Zavedos
  • Zoladex

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