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Submitted by: Amy Rose Herrick
Amy's skills combine Tax Planning, Income structuring, Cash Flow, Divorce Settlements, Debt configuration, Estate Plans, Portfolio Planning and Distribution Alternatives. She assisted an institutional investor base from '86-90, then focused her practice in '91 to the present for individuals and small business exclusively. Amy holds various professional licensing in several states. She has provided planning advice to multiple media outlets including Newsweek. Interviews are available.
In a recent press release that garnered little mainstream press, one major life insurer has turned what has been a difficult insurability situation for many prostate cancer survivors into a non issue going forward. To date, no other life insurance carriers have announced they are following suit.
In the past, if you had been treated for prostate cancer, it could be as long as two to five years from the date of surgery, with no recurrence, before you would be eligible to be considered for private life insurance coverage industry wide.
Even if you were approved and given an offer of coverage, you could generally expect to pay a higher or rated premium over the policy lifetime for additional life insurance.
Your only other option during this already stressful time frame could have been the guaranteed issue group coverage at your employer for minimal amounts of coverage amounting to usually less than $50,000 per person, if it was even available.
The advances in early detection, successful prostate cancer treatment protocols, plus the resulting excellent survival rates for many forms of the disease have changed the life insurance availability options for men of all ages with that little distributed press release.
Now, the majority of these men will be able to apply for life insurance coverage at one highly rated company, Hartford Life and receive it at Standard rates with no ratings or premium increases. When can they apply? In as little as three months after surgery depending on the diagnosis and pathology reports, a fraction of the prior waiting period.
Simply put, the diagnosis of the disease is no longer the instant life insurance disqualifier it was only a few short months ago. Unfortunately, the vast majority of men who have successfully beaten prostate cancer who could benefit from this news today don’t know anything about the opportunity before them. They go on assuming they have to continue waiting for up to five years to be considered insurable once again.
The underwriting guidelines indicate only surgically treated prostate cancer survivors will be eligible. There are no exceptions for no radiation or watchful waiting treatment protocols at this writing. The applicant needs to be age 60 or older at the time of diagnosis, a Gleason score of 6 or less, organ confined to T2a,T2b & T2c, pre-treatment PSA of 10 or less, clear surgical margins, no perineural involvement and finally a follow up visit with an undetectable PSA is required (generally three months after surgery).
If you are a prostate cancer survivor, or you know one who purchased any type of life insurance coverage in the past that had ratings imposed with corresponding higher rated premiums due to the disease, you should have a professional comparing what you have in force with the new product pricing at standard rates. You may be pleasantly surprised at the difference in costs. I would encourage you to apply for coverage without delay before you turn one insurance year older to determine if this change in pricing is a viable option for your needs.
Even if you are a little, or a lot older than when you secured the current in force rated policy, in many cases, even with the increase in your age, you will find substantial premium savings. Another bonus is the ability to lock in new long term premium guarantees when the ratings disappear.
Contact an experienced agent without delay to take advantage of this second victory in your battle over the after affects of the disease, you’ve earned it.
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