Voluntary Benefits: Cancer Insurance Overview
This “Know Your Benefits” article explains what cancer insurance provides and how it works.
Cancer is scary. You might know someone who has had cancer, and you understand the worry that goes along with this disease. If you are diagnosed with cancer, the last thing you want to do is add financial problems to your concerns. Cancer insurance is designed to relieve your financial burden if you get cancer so you can focus on recovering your health.
What Is Cancer Insurance?
Your employer may offer cancer insurance as a voluntary benefit to help protect you financially in the case of a cancer diagnosis. Cancer insurance can supplement your regular medical and disability insurance as you incur various medical and related expenses during cancer treatment.
What Do Cancer Insurance Benefits Provide?
Cancer insurance benefits may be used to cover various expenses associated with cancer and may help pay for the following:
Out-of-pocket medical expenses
Out-of-network services
Experimental cancer treatment
Travel and lodging costs
Home health care
Child care and household help
Routine living expenses, such as rent or mortgage payments, utility bills and groceries
How Does Cancer Insurance Work?
When you purchase a cancer insurance policy, you can typically choose a benefit amount, often between $10,000 and $50,000, and your premiums will be based on the chosen benefit amount. You can pay your monthly premium through automatic payroll deductions. Cancer insurance will generally only pay benefits for the first occurrence of a cancer and will not provide benefits if you have already been diagnosed before purchasing the insurance.
When you are diagnosed with cancer, most plans will send a lump-sum payment directly to you or your designated recipient. You then choose how to spend the benefit money—whether it’s for out-of-pocket medical expenses or replacing lost income as you buy groceries and pay the utility bill. Make sure you read your policy benefits carefully for any listed exclusions; for example, many plans do not cover most skin cancers.
Dealing with cancer can be challenging, but cancer insurance can help ease your financial worries.