In this article, we wanted to take a moment to answer some of the most common questions we get from folks applying for life insurance after being diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer.

Questions that will be addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance if I have been diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer?
• 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’s dive right in!

Can I qualify for life insurance if I have been diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer?

It is possible to qualify for life insurance if you have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, but the terms of the policy and the premiums you will pay may be affected by your medical history.

Life insurance companies generally consider several factors when determining your eligibility for coverage and setting premiums, including your age, gender, health status, and lifestyle. If you have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, the insurance company will likely consider the stage of your cancer, your treatment history, and your prognosis when evaluating your application.

In general, people with thyroid cancer who have been successfully treated and are in remission may be able to qualify for life insurance at standard or slightly higher premiums, depending on the specifics of their case. People with more advanced stages of thyroid cancer or those who have not been successfully treated may have more difficulty qualifying for life insurance, or may only be able to qualify for coverage at significantly higher premiums.

Why do life insurance companies care if I’ve been diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer?

If an applicant has been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition, it’s pretty safe to say that most  of the best life insurance companies are going to want to learn a little more about that condition before making any decisions about their application.

Now…

When the pre-existing medical condition in question happens to be called CANCER, well, you can bet that that is definitely going to pique an insurance underwriter’s interest. The good news is that unlike many other types of cancer, Thyroid Cancer isn’t necessarily associated with a high mortality rate. 

This is mainly because…

There are a variety of different methods one can use to treat Thyroid Cancer, and Thyroid Cancer tends to be diagnosed earlier than many other forms of cancer simply because of it’s location and the symptoms that it can exhibit early in its development.

Despite this fact...

Applicants should be prepared to answer a series of questions about their Thyroid Cancer while applying for traditional life insurance coverage and not become too “alarmed” if an insurance company requests medical records form their primary care physician before making any final decisions about their application.

This is why…

Most life insurance companies are going to be very nervous about insuring anyone who has been previously diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer because even in the most successful cases, individuals will often fall out of remission and discover that their cancer has either returned to their Pancreas or to some other part of the body.  

It’s also why most life insurance companies are going to want to ask you a series of questions about your disease before they will be willing even to consider your application for approval.

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

When applying for life insurance, you will typically be asked to provide detailed information about your medical history, including any diagnoses of thyroid cancer. The insurance company may ask you to provide the following information:

• When were you first diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer?
• How was your Thyroid Cancer Diagnosed?
• What led to your diagnosis?
• Were you experiencing any symptoms?
• What stage of Thyroid Cancer were you diagnosed with?
  • Stage 1:  In patients younger than 55, their cancer will be fully contained within one’s thyroid gland and not spread to any signs that it has spread to any nearby lymph nodes. This will hold true for patients over the age of 55 only in this case, the tumor will be less than 2 cm ins width.
  • Stage 2:  For patients younger than 55 years of age, their Thyroid cancer may or may not have spread to nearby lymph nodes. For those older than 55, their cancer WILL have spread to nearby lymph nodes.
  • Stage 3:  In patients younger than 55 years of age, we will begin to see that their cancer is beginning to invade the strap muscles surrounding the thyroid gland. In older clients, we will begin to see that their cancer has begun to “attack” nearby tissues, including the larynx, trachea, and esophagus.  
  • Stage 4:  In younger clients, we’ll now begin to see one’s cancer begin to invade one’s spinal area, including nearby blood vessels. In older clients, their Thyroid Cancer may begin to invade distant parts of the body, including other internal organs and one’s skeletal structure.

• What “type” of Thyroid Cancer were you diagnosed with?
  • Papillary, the most common type and one that responds well to treatment.
  • Follicular, the second most common type, which tends to be quite aggressive.
  • Medullary, which tends quite rare and treatable, particularly when diagnosed early.
  • Anaplastic, which is the least common and most dangerous type.
• What treatment options did your doctor recommend?
  • Radiation therapy?
  • Medications?
  • Surgery?
• Are you still treating your Thyroid Cancer? In not, when was your last date of treatment?
• Have you been diagnosed with any other pre-existing medical conditions?
• Are you currently taking any prescription medications?
• Are you currently working now?
• In the past 12 months, have you applied for any disability benefits?

With this information in hand, most life insurance companies (and us as well) will have a pretty good idea about what “type” of life insurance policy you may be able to qualify for as well as what “kind” of rate you might be expected to pay.  

What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

Now, as one can see, there are many factors that can come into play when trying to determine what “kind” of rate an individual might qualify for. This is why it’s almost impossible to know what kind of “rate” you might qualify for without first speaking with you directly.

That said however…

There are a few “assumptions” one can make about someone who has been diagnose with Thyroid Cancer that will generally hold true and allow us to provide some with a general idea about what they may or may not be able to qualify for.

For example…

If you are currently treating your Thyroid Cancer or recently been declared “cancer-free” (within the past two years), you will not be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy. In cases like these, you may need to consider purchasing an “alternative” product such as an Accidental Death Policy or a Final Expense Insurance Policy.

The same may be…

True for those who were diagnosed with more “server” types of Thyroid Cancer such as the Follicular and/or Aplastic varieties due to their “aggressiveness” and high mortality rate when not diagnosed early.

The good news is…

Individuals diagnosed with the most “common” types of Thyroid Cancer can and often will be able to qualify for a Standard rate after three years or so, and even a Preferred rate if it’s over 10 years since their last date of treatment.

This, of course, is assuming that your cancer didn’t demonstrate any signs of metastasis, and you would otherwise be able to qualify for these “types” of rates. And, of course, you choose to purchase your life insurance policy from an insurance company that is best suited to meet your needs.

Which brings us to the last topic that we wanted to discuss with you today, which is…

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

In our experiences here at IBUSA, we’ve found that usually, the “best” approach in helping someone find the “best” life insurance policy for them is to first:

• Fully understand what an individual is trying to achieve by purchasing their life insurance policy.
  • Are you looking to:
    • Cover the cost of a mortgage?
    • Replace lost wages?
    • Protect a child or spouse?
    • Or just cover one’s final expenses?
• Then provide one with plenty of options to choose from so that you’re not limited to just one or two different options.

This is why…

We here at IBUSA choose to work with so many different life insurance companies so that when it comes time to help you decide “which” life insurance company is going to be the best for you, we don’t have to apply a…

“One Size Fits All”

Approach. Instead, we can make dozens of different life insurance companies compete for your business.

So, what are you waiting for? Give us a call today and experience the IBUSA difference.