Life insurance after malignant disease.
Forty-five life insurance companies responded to a questionnaire on insurance industry attitudes towards patients with a history of malignancy other than skin carcinoma. Although the criteria for acceptance, provisions of the policy, and philosophy about adjuvant treatment varied, all companies would underwrite such patients provided that at application there was no evidence of persistent or recurrent disease or severe complications of therapy. The concept of excess mortality (observed death rates versus standard expected death rates) is used with other factors in calculating premiums. Legal and ethical responsibilities of physicians associated with insurance applications are briefly discussed.
D002170:Canada; D004608:Eligibility Determination / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D007352:Insurance, Life; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States