We help bladder cancer survivors find affordable life insurance.
This Bladder Cancer Life Insurance Guide Covers:
- How Does Bladder Cancer Affect Life Insurance?
- Life Insurance by Bladder Cancer Stage
- Bladder Cancer Underwriting Questions
How Does Bladder Cancer Affect Life Insurance?
Most bladder cancers (95%) are transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) that originate in the inner lining.
Other types of bladder cancer such as adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are considered higher risk than TCC and will be considered on a case by case basis.
The following underwriting guidelines apply to TCC bladder carcinoma.
The underwriting concern with bladder carcinomas has to do with the high rate of repeat cancer.
Our guide, Cancer Life Insurance by RiskQuoter provides detailed underwriting advice regarding what life insurers look for when underwriting life insurance for cancer survivors.
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Life Insurance by Bladder Cancer Stage
There are many variables when it comes to bladder carcinoma underwriting.
The best way for us to help you will be to gather your cancer history details and shop out to companies for feedback…more on this later.
Stage Tis bladder cancer
Unlike most in situ cancers that are considered to be low risk, in situ bladder cancers are high-risk tumors.
In situ bladder carcinomas may be hard to spot and have a greater risk of becoming invasive bladder cancers.
For that reason, in situ bladder cancers typically require a 2 year postpone period after completion of treatment, a 50% table rating and a flat extra (for up to 10 years) of $1,000 per every $100,000 of coverage.
Stage Ta bladder cancer
Life insurance may be available as soon as you complete your follow-up testing if there were less than 3 tumors and none were 3 cm or greater in size.
If you meet these criteria, standard rates plus an additional expense called a flat extra is available.
The flat extra is temporary but would add $500-$750 per every $100,000 of coverage.
Flat extras typically last 3-4 years and then drop off.
Greater than 3 tumors or greater than 3 cm in size?
If this is the case, life insurers will postpone offering coverage for 1 year after completion of follow-ups.
At that time, standard rates with a flat extra of $600 – $750 per every $100,000 of coverage is common.
In this case, the flat extra would last for 5 years.
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Stage 1 bladder cancer
The availability and price for stage 1 bladder carcinomas depend on:
- The number of tumors
- The size of the largest tumor in the bladder
- The cancer grade – low grade or high grade
- The number of occurrences
- Use of BCG as part of treatment
The best case scenario for a low-grade bladder carcinoma is a 1 year postpone, a 50% table rating and a flat extra (for 5 years) of $600-$750 per every $100,000 of coverage.
Most high-grade bladder carcinomas will require a 2 year postpone period, a 50% table rating and a flat extra (for up to 10 years) of $1,000 per every $100,000 of coverage.
The number of times you’ve been treated will impact underwriting and could result in companies declining you.
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Stage 2 bladder cancers
Life insurers will most likely decline to offer life insurance to you unless a radical (total) cystectomy has been completed.
Once the total cystectomy has been completed, life insurers will postpone offering coverage for 3-5 years from the date of surgery.
Once life insurance is available, standard rates with a 50% table rating are common, and some insurance companies may add a flat extra expense of $1,000 for every $100,000 of coverage.
The duration of the flat extra would depend on your exact medical history.
Stage 3 and Stage 4 Bladder Cancer
Guaranteed issue life insurance may be the only option available.
This type of policy is typically limited in coverage to approximately $25,000 and benefits are limited during the early years of the policy.
Accidental death benefit insurance is available but keep in mind that this type of policy only provides coverage for death by an accident.
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Bladder Cancer Underwriting Questions
Here’s what we need to know about your bladder cancer history:
- When were you diagnosed with bladder cancer?
- What stage was the bladder cancer?
- Were any lymph nodes positive for cancer?
- Was cancer a low grade (well differentiated) or high grade (poorly differentiated) cancer?
- How was the bladder cancer treated?
- Transurethral Resection (TURBT)
- Cystectomy – Partial or Radical
- Chemotherapy – Either intravesical (entered into the bladder) or systemic (injection or pill).
- If you had a TURBT, did you receive BCG or mitomycin after the TURBT?
- If yes, please include start and completion dates.
- Has the bladder carcinoma recurred? (If yes, we’ll need the dates)
- How often do you visit your physician for follow-up testing?
- When was your last cystoscopy and urine cytology test completed?
- What medications and dosages do you take?
- Are you a cigarette smoker?
- If you quit, when did you quit smoking?
- Have you had any other health issues in the past or present? If yes, please describe.
For our clients with HIV who’ve also had recurrent urothelial bladder cancer, it’s best to start with our guide life insurance for HIV positive guide first and let us know about your cancer history.
The best way to get life insurance after bladder cancer is to let us shop your information out to a number of life insurance companies on an informal basis.
Once we receive feedback from life insurance companies, we’ll give you a range of pricing and what to expect from life insurance underwriting.
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Bladder Cancer Conclusion
We’ll work with you to find the best life insurance options available to you today.
Also important for you to know is that over time life insurance rates may improve based on your health history.
We will help you map out a plan for life insurance now and for re-shopping your life insurance in the future.
In addition to bladder cancer, some of the other cancers that we specialize in include:
You’ll find more information here on life insurance after cancer.
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