Best Life Insurance for Cancer Patients

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Mutual of Omaha offers comprehensive life insurance for cancer patients, with affordable premiums, flexible coverage, and efficient claims handling.

Mutual of Omaha is the best overall life insurance provider for cancer patients. Cancer patients are eligible for whole life insurance, which comes with a number of benefits, including a cash value component. The only factors that will affect your coverage are age, gender, and the death benefit you choose.

Mutual of Omaha’s whole life insurance policies are guaranteed issue and are available for cancer patients 45 to 85 years old (or 50 to 75 years old if you live in New York State). Coverage is automatically approved without a medical exam or a health questionnaire.

In most states, you can choose a policy with a death benefit between $2,000 and $25,000. While your premium is affected by the amount of coverage you buy, your rate will stay the same for the duration of your policy, even as you get older. 

When you are cancer-free, you may also become eligible for term life insurance through Mutual of Omaha, which is available in 10-, 15-, 20- and 30-year term lengths, with up to $100,000 in coverage. Mutual of Omaha also sells several types of universal life insurance.

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Individuals with low-risk cancer can typically qualify for a whole life or guaranteed issue policy, and Colonial Penn offers both, with flexible payment options and high death benefits.

If you were recently diagnosed with a type of low-risk cancer, a life insurance policy from Colonial Penn is a great option. Individuals with low-risk cancer diagnoses can usually qualify for a simplified issue or guaranteed issue policy, which both have limited medical exam requirements and high coverage limits. 

Note that while guaranteed policies are truly guaranteed regardless of your health, simplified issue policies are not. If you have low-risk cancer, you may not qualify for simplified issue life insurance based on other factors, like your age, pre-existing medical conditions, and family history of illness. The only way to know if you’re eligible is to talk to your insurance company.

Whole life insurance policies from Colonial Penn are available for people ages 40 to 75 and require only a short health questionnaire, which you may be able to pass with low-risk cancer. You can get lifetime coverage with a maximum death benefit of $50,000 and level premiums.

The other option from Colonial Penn is guaranteed issue life insurance, which has no medical exam or health questionnaire. The coverage limits are lower and are mostly based on age and gender. You can purchase this policy between the ages of 50 and 85, and your policy starts to build cash value after the first year.

Another benefit of Colonial Penn’s life insurance policies is that they allow for flexible payments. You can pay your insurance premium monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.

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Many cancer patients’ only option for life insurance is a no-exam policy, and with affordable premiums and no waiting period, Globe Life is the provider we recommend.

Globe Life is the best life insurance provider for cancer patients who want to purchase a policy without taking a traditional medical exam. Unlike other providers that only offer a single simplified issue life insurance policy, Globe Life offers term life insurance, senior life insurance, and family life insurance without a medical exam, giving you greater flexibility to choose a policy that fits your needs.

With any policy, you can select a coverage limit of $5,000 to $100,000. Globe Life’s premiums are very affordable, with monthly rates as low as $3.49. Because medical exams are not required, the approval process is quick, and you can probably get coverage on the day you apply. To get a quote, you’ll need to fill out the request form online. 

Another perk of Globe Life is that the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you are unhappy with your policy for any reason within the first month, Globe Life will give you a full refund—no questions asked. 

Note that Globe Life doesn’t offer guaranteed issue policies. Depending on the type and severity of the cancer you have, it’s possible that your application could get denied, especially if you are older, smoke, or have a family history of illness. We recommend speaking to an agent to make sure you qualify before submitting an application.

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Guaranteed issue life insurance is usually the best option for cancer patients, and AIG Direct’s policies come with living benefits coverage for even more protection.

AIG Direct is our top recommendation for cancer patients who are looking for a guaranteed issue life insurance policy. AIG’s guaranteed issue policies go above and beyond most other guaranteed issue policies on the market. Not only do AIG’s policies not require a medical exam or health questionnaire, but you get two free living benefits riders that provide additional peace of mind for cancer patients.

When you purchase guaranteed issue life insurance from AIG, your policy comes with a chronic illness rider and a terminal illness rider. The chronic illness rider returns the premiums you’ve paid into your policy if you become unable to perform at least two of the six activities of daily living, which include bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting, and transferring, or if you get diagnosed with a cognitive impairment, like dementia. 

With the terminal illness rider, you can use up to 50% of your death benefit to pay for medical bills or end-of-life expenses if you get diagnosed with a terminal illness and are given a prognosis of two years or less to live by a medical professional. Most terminal illnesses, including terminal cancer, qualify for use of this rider.

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If your cancer is in remission, consider a life insurance policy from John Hancock, which has affordable coverage and a healthy living program for even more savings.

When your cancer goes into remission, you have more options for life insurance, but you’ll likely pay a very high rate. We recommend John Hancock to people who have survived cancer because the policies are affordable, and you might be able to avoid a huge premium. You can also enroll in the company’s Vitality program to get an even better rate.

Through John Hancock’s Vitality rewards program, you could save up to 15% on your life insurance premium by tracking your exercise on a wearable device. The program also includes discounts on certain healthy foods at the grocery store, travel and hotel deals, retail discounts, and even a free subscription to the meditation app, Headspace.

John Hancock offers term life and universal life insurance policies but doesn’t offer whole life insurance. Term life insurance is available in 10-, 15-, 20-, and 30-year term lengths, with coverage between $750,000 and $65 million. The company also sells universal, indexed universal, and variable universal life insurance, which include cash value, flexible premiums, and an adjustable death benefit.

If your cancer has been in remission for several years, you can probably qualify for any type of policy, but we suggest speaking with an agent to find out how many years you must be cancer-free in order to purchase coverage.

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Haven Life’s insurance policies are among the most affordable on the market, which makes it a good option for people who have a high-risk family history of cancer, though it often means paying above-average premiums.

Having a history of cancer in your direct lineage often means paying more for life insurance. But with Haven Life, you can get affordable coverage, despite your family history. The policies start at just $13.45 per month for term life insurance, and $15.75 per month for simplified issue life insurance. Remember that you’re not guaranteed to get approved for simplified issue coverage, particularly if you have pre-existing health complications.

Besides the affordable rates, Haven Life is a solid choice for life insurance. The policies are underwritten by MassMutual, one of the most reputable life insurance companies on the market. Haven Life’s policies have level premiums, an accelerated death benefits rider, and a free, no-obligation look period.

We recommend Haven Life because the coverage is generous. Haven Term policies include coverage between $100,000 and $3 million over 10, 15, 20, 30 years, and Haven Simple policies include coverage from $5,000 to $500,000 over 5, 10, or 15 years. So if you want to buy extra coverage for added peace of mind, you can do so without paying a fortune.

To get a quote from Haven Life, fill out the online form with information like your age, state, birthday, your level of overall health, the amount of coverage you need, and your desired term length. You can also submit your application right on the website.