I'm just curious because my grandfather died of cancer when my mom was 13, in the early 1970s, and she said that he had some kind of life insurance policy.
I'm just curious to know whether he would have organized it before or after he found out about the cancer.
It was probably life insurance he had purchased before being diagnosed with cancer.
There is a way to purchase life insurance after a diagnosis called Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance.
The policies have small face values, usually less than $20,000.
Because guaranteed issue life insurance polices do not rely on medical information to set your premiums, the cost tends to be very high.
The high premiums, combined with a low face amount for the death benefit, make guaranteed issue life insurance a less desirable option for relatively healthy individuals.
The policyholder may end up paying more in premiums over the life of the life insurance policy than the beneficiaries will receive upon their death.
In addition, these life insurance policies have "graded benefits". A graded death benefit policy pays out only a portion of the death benefit if you die within the first 1-3 years you own the life insurance policy. In the first two to three years your beneficiary might only receive a return of the premiums paid up until that time.
Here's how to learn about cancer life insurance options that may be available for people who have survived cancer.
Insurance without any Medical Exam,
Just a Few Health Questions.
