Funeral Insurance after Cancer Diagnosis
Purchasing funeral insurance after a cancer diagnosis may likely concern you. However, having funeral insurance at this stage in life is essential to provide for your family when you pass away.
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Current Cancer is a life-threatening health condition, and there are no insurance companies that offer 1st-day coverage to cancer patients undergoing current treatment.
We recommend current cancer patients purchase a guaranteed issue life insurance that asks no health questions but does come with a 2-year waiting.
In this article, we will explain your options and help you find affordable funeral insurance if you have had any type of cancer in the past.
FOR EASIER NAVIGATION:
- What Is My Best Funeral Insurance Option If I Have a History of Cancer?
- What Types of Funeral Insurance Should I Avoid?
- What Type of Funeral Insurance Is Best?
- If I Have Cancer, Do I Need a Medical Exam to Qualify for Funeral Insurance?
- Funeral Insurance Underwriting If You Have Cancer
- How Much Insurance Do I Need If I Have Cancer?
- How Should I Pay My Premiums?
- Cancer and Funeral Insurance Riders
- Information We Need if You Have Cancer
- Benefits of Final Expense & Funeral Insurance
- Other Common Uses for Funeral Insurance after Cancer Diagnosis
- How Can Funeral Funds Help Me?
What Is My Best Funeral Insurance Option If I Have A History Of Cancer?
Only two types of cancer will not affect insurance eligibility. If you have basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, you will qualify for the best plan because they are considered non-life-threatening cancer by life insurance companies.
Most life insurance companies will specifically mention these skin cancers as an exemption in the health questionnaire.
If you have other types of cancer, your ability to qualify for funeral insurance depends on the following factors:
- The time you have been cancer-free
- Prescription medications
- The time you have been under treatment
CANCER-FREE FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS
If you’ve been cancer-free for more than two years or your cancer treatment has been over two years, you can now honestly answer “no” to the cancer question in the health questionnaire.
Most life insurance companies have a two-year look-back period on cancer. If you’ve been cancer-free for more than two years, you can now qualify for the best plan with the lowest rate.
With a level death benefit plan, you will be covered from the first day and your beneficiary will receive 100% of your death benefit when you pass away.
Best Option: Level death benefit plan with first-day coverage
CURRENTLY DIAGNOSED OR UNDERGOING TREATMENT
If you are currently diagnosed with cancer or undergoing any of the cancer treatments below:
- Surgery
- Radiation
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy
- Hormone therapy
You will not qualify for a level death benefit plan with first-day coverage because you are considered high-risk by life insurance companies.
Your best funeral insurance option is guaranteed issue burial insurance. This no-health question policy will approve your application regardless of your current medical condition.
Guaranteed acceptance life insurance will pay a full death benefit if you die in an accident during the two-year waiting period; however, you need to live for the first two years of the policy before it will pay 100% death benefit to your beneficiaries.
If you pass away during the two-year waiting period from natural causes or medical-related death, the company will only refund all your premiums plus interest, which is typically 10%. After the waiting period, you are fully covered, and your beneficiary will receive your full death benefit if you die for any reason.
Best Option: Guaranteed issue burial insurance
What Types Of Burial Insurance Should I Avoid?
PLANS TO AVOID | WHY? |
---|---|
Term life | Premiums increase after 5 years. Coverage ends after 80. |
Pre-paid funeral plans | Expensive |
Universal life | Tied with stocks |
No health questions policies | With 2-year waiting period |
Plans offering "teaser rates" | $9.95 per unit plans or $1 buys $100,000 coverage |
Over priced plans | Insurance from TV and junk mail |
Plans that accept mail-in payments | Risky |
Plans that accept Direct Express | High lapse rate |
Plans that accept Credit Cards | High lapse rate |
What Type Of Burial Insurance Is Best?
FUNERAL FUNDS PLAN BENEFITS | INCLUDED |
---|---|
1st Day Coverage | YES |
Rates NEVER Increase | YES |
Coverage NEVER Decreases | YES |
Easy to get approved | YES |
No Medical Exam | YES |
Same Day Approval | YES |
Death Claims Pay Fast | YES |
Builds cash value | YES |
Coverage Up To Age 121 | YES |
If I Have Cancer, Do I Need A Medical Exam To Qualify For Funeral Insurance?
You are NOT required to take a medical exam to qualify for final insurance with cancer.
When you apply for burial insurance, you only have to answer some basic questions about your health. The application process is simple; you don’t need to provide medical records or blood and urine samples.
You’ll get the official approval from the insurance company often within minutes!
Funeral Insurance Underwriting If You Have Cancer
Funeral insurance companies have two ways of underwriting:
FIRST – They may ask you a series of health questions. Your answers to their questions will determine your eligibility.
SECOND – They will electronically review your prescription history to verify your health.
HEALTH QUESTIONS:
Here are the most common ways cancer will be asked in the underwriting questionnaire:
- In the last two years, have you been diagnosed with cancer, or received chemotherapy or radiation treatment?
- In the last two years, have you been treated for any internal cancer?
- In the past 24 months, have you been diagnosed with cancer, or advised to receive chemotherapy or radiation treatment?
- In the last three years, have you been treated for any internal cancer?
If you say yes to any cancer questions in the health questionnaire, you will not qualify for the level death benefit plan with first-day coverage. Your best alternative is to apply for guaranteed issue life insurance.
PRESCRIPTION HISTORY CHECK:
There are many prescription medications used to treat cancer. Here are the most common cancer medications:
- Bortezomib (Velcade)
- Chlorambucil (Leukeran)
- Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, Neosar)
- Gemcitabine (Gemzar)
- Imatinib (Gleevec)
- Irinotecan liposome injection (Onivyde)
- Irinotecan (Camptosar)
- Methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall)
- Oxaliplatin (Eloxatin)
- Tamoxifen (Nolvadex)
- Trastuzumab (Herceptin)
If you are taking any of these medications within the last two years, the insurance company will assume you are a cancer patient.
How Much Insurance Do I Need If I Have Cancer?
The amount of burial insurance you should buy varies depending on your personal and financial circumstances. However, burial insurance should cover the cost of your funeral, burial, and final expenses.
The first step to figuring out how much burial insurance you need is to know your end-of-life expenses. Your funeral cost is often the biggest single expense you need to pay. Other end-of-life expenses to consider are your outstanding medical bills, living expenses, credit card bills, and other debts.
Here’s an example of a funeral cost breakdown from the National Funeral Directors Association.
AVERAGE FUNERAL COST WITH VIEWING AND BURIAL | |
---|---|
Non-declinable basic services | $2,300 |
Removal/ transfer of remains to funeral home | $350 |
Embalming & preparation of the body | $1,050 |
Use of facilities for viewing & funeral ceremony | $965 |
Hearse | $325 |
Service car/van | $150 |
Basic memorial printed package | $183 |
Metal casket | $2,500 |
Vault | $1,572 |
Median Cost of a Funeral With Viewing and Burial | $9,420 |
AVERAGE FUNERAL COST WITH VIEWING AND CREMATION | |
---|---|
Non-declinable basic services fee | $2,300 |
Removal/ transfer of remains to funeral home | $350 |
Embalming & preparation of the body | $1,050 |
Use of facilities for viewing & funeral ceremony | $965 |
Service car/van | $150 |
Basic memorial printed package | $183 |
Cremation fee (if firm uses a third-party crematory) | $368 |
Cremation Casket | $1,310 |
Urn | $295 |
Median Cost of a Funeral with Viewing and Cremation | $6,970 |
Rental Casket | $995 |
Alternate Cremation Container | $150 |
How Should I Pay My Premiums?
The best way to pay your premium is through a savings or checking account. We recommend you set a bank draft from your savings or checking account. That way, the bank will automatically pay your premium each month and you don’t need to worry about your policy lapsing due to non-payment.
Cancer And Funeral Insurance Riders
Insurance policy riders add benefits to your policy. Adding insurance riders will enhance your policy to fit your needs. Some riders are built into your policy, while other riders can be added at an additional cost. Most riders are affordable, and it involves little to no underwriting.
Here’s a list of common burial insurance riders:
FUNERAL FUNDS ADD-ONS | AVAILABILITY |
---|---|
Terminal Illness Add-On Benefit | Included with most plans |
Nursing Home Care Add-On Benefit | Included with most plans |
Information We Need If You Have Cancer
When applying for funeral insurance with cancer, it is important to provide as much information as possible.
We will ask you a series of health questions to better understand your condition. These questions include:
- What type of cancer do you have?
- When were you diagnosed with cancer?
- What cancer treatments did you have?
- When did you stop cancer treatments?
- What medications are you taking?
- How long have you been cancer-free?
We need to know your medical condition to be able to provide you with the best recommendation. The more information we get, the better our chances of finding affordable insurance coverage for you.
Benefits Of Final Expense & Funeral Insurance
Here are some of the benefits of purchasing a burial or funeral policy:
- No medical exam or doctor’s visit required – easy to get approved.
- Ease of issue – easy to qualify and get insurance coverage.
- No Money Down to get approved – have your policy start whenever you want.
- Level premium – your premium will never increase.
- Fixed death benefit – your death benefit will never decrease for any reason.
- Permanent protection – your policy can not be canceled by the life insurance company as long as you continue to pay your premiums.
- Tax-free – the death benefit is directly paid to your beneficiary tax-free upon your death
- Cash value builds up – burial insurance is a whole life policy that builds cash value over time.
Other Common Uses For Funeral Insurance After Cancer Diagnosis
All of these examples are appropriate uses for Funeral Life Insurance:
- Burial insurance plan with cancer
- Cremation insurance plan with cancer
- Funeral home insurance plan with cancer
- Funeral insurance plan with cancer
- Prepaid funeral plan insurance with cancer
- Mortgage payment protection plan with cancer
- Mortgage payoff life insurance plan with cancer
- Deceased spouse’s income replacement plan with cancer
- Legacy insurance gift plan to family or loved ones with cancer
- Medical or doctor bill life insurance plan with cancer
We can help you with any of the plans above. Your pricing will depend on your age, health, and coverage amount for each program option.
How Can Funeral Funds Help Me?
Finding a policy with a history of cancer needn’t be a frustrating process; working with an independent agency like Funeral Funds will make the process easier and quicker.
We will work with you every step to find the plan that fits your financial requirements and budget. You don’t have to waste your precious time searching for multiple insurance companies because we will do the work for you.
We work with many A+ rated insurance carriers that specialize in covering high-risk clients like you. We will search all those companies and match you up with the best burial insurance company that gives the best rate.
We will assist you in securing the coverage you need at a rate you can afford. So, if you are looking for cancer funeral insurance, or cancer burial insurance, or cancer life insurance, we can help.
Fill out our quote form on this page or call us at (888) 862-9456 and we can give you an accurate quote.

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4 Comments
Renee Widmer
I am looking into a funeral policy for my Daughter in law who is 33 and has been diagnosed with cancer with a survival time of 10-12 years .
Renee
Funeral Funds
Renee – It would depend on a few things on what would be the right direction to go. What state your daughter lives in, what type of insurance she wants, and what your daughter wants to spend on this coverage. With a 10-12 year life expectancy window, there are a few different options that may make sense for your daughter. If you have any questions, just give us a call directly at (888) 862-9456 and we can help you understand the options available to your daughter.
Juanita Danzy
I am looking for a burial insurance policy for my husband in the amount of 10,000.00 as he has locally advanced pancreatic cancer and may not live long. Already got suckered by an agent who sold me an expensive policy that I will only be able to get back what i paid when he passes because of the cancer.
Funeral Funds
Juanita – We are sorry that you are going through this right now. Feel free to reach out to us if you need help understanding your limited options with a person who is terminally ill. Here is a copy of our free Funeral & Estate Planning Guide – https://funeralfunds.com/planning-guide/