In this article, we wanted to take a moment and try and answer some of the most common questions we get from folks applying for life insurance after they have been prescribed Neulasta or its generic form Pegfilgrastim to help assist the body to make its own white blood cells after receiving certain cancer medications.

Questions that will be directly addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been prescribed Neulasta?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been prescribed Neulasta?
• What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?
• What rate (or price) can I qualify for?
• What can I do to help ensure that I get the “best life insurance” for me?

So, without further ado, let’ dive right in!

Can I qualify for life insurance after I’ve been prescribed Neulasta?

Yes, individuals who have been prescribed Neulasta can and sometimes will be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.  In fact, they may even be able to qualify for a Standard rate provided that they haven’t just “recently” stopped taking Neulasta.

Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been prescribed Neulasta?

Life insurance companies “care” if an individual has been prescribed Neulasta because aside from helping individuals increase the number of white blood cells within their body after having received “other” cancer treatment medications, there really isn’t any applicable use for Neulasta.

Which means that…

Neulasta can be used as a “marker” for when an individual is undergoing cancer treatment/recovery, which is something that a life insurance company is definitely going to be interested in!  This is why, once a life insurance company learns that an individual has been prescribed Neulasta, the first thing that they are going want to learn is WHEN, WHY, and how “SERIOUS” was the cancer that was being treated.

What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?

• When were you first prescribed Neulasta?
• Who prescribed your Neulasta? A general practitioner or an oncologist?
• Why have you been prescribed Neulasta?
• Have you been previously diagnosed with cancer?
  • If so:
    • What kind?
    • What “stage” was it diagnosed at?
    • What treatment options were used to treat it?
    • Have you gone into remission? If so, how long have you been in remission?
  • Are you taking any other prescription medications?
  • Have any of your prescription medications changed in any way over the past 12 months?
  • Are you currently working now?
  • In the past 12 months, have you applied for or received any form of disability benefits?

What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

Now at this point, you may be saying to yourself…

“Wow, that’s not a whole lot of questions!”

And in a way, you’re right, but that’s just because these questions that we have listed above only represent the “tip of the iceberg” because, basically, once the underlying pre-existing medical condition that warranted your Neulasta prescription has been determined, that will then become the driving force behind what kind of “rate” you will be able to qualify for.

Or…

If you’re even able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy at all.  This is because with many “types” of cancer, while it may be possible to one day be able to qualify for traditional coverage, many times it may require having to wait 2, 5, or even 10 years from the last date of treatment!

The good news is that…

Here at IBUSA, we have tons of experience helping folks qualify for traditional term and whole life insurance coverage regardless of how “serious” your pre-existing medical condition might be.  Plus if it turns out that you simply won’t be able to qualify for any kind of “traditional” coverage right now, we also offer a wide range of “alternative” products such as a guaranteed issue life insurance policy or an accidental death policy which won’t require one to have to “medically” qualify for. This brings us to the last topic that we wanted to take a moment and discuss, which is…

What can I do to help ensure that I get the “best life insurance” for me?

In our experience here at IBUSA, what we have found that works best for folks who have been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition where the “severity” of the condition is often “subjective” is for the applicant to make sure that they first find a true-life insurance profession who will work as an advocate for you. Such an agent can help guide you through the application process but also be perfectly “frank” with you about what options may or may not be possible for you.

From there…

You’ll also want to make sure that the very same agent you have chosen has access to dozens of different life insurance companies because, after all, it really doesn’t matter how “great” of a life insurance agent you might have if they don’t have access to the “best” life insurance policy for you!  Now does it?

Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that you’re completely honest with your life insurance agent prior to applying for coverage.  By doing so, you will be helping him or her narrow down what options might be the “best”

So, what are you waiting for?  Give us a call today and see what we can do for you!