
After breast or bowel cancer, a melanoma or a lymphoma, a new application for cover can ask when your treatment ended. We help you see what an insurer may ask, prepare an application and check any cover you hold.





Cancer histories
A name on this list decides nothing, and it isn’t a complete list. We’d need to understand your diagnosis, your treatment and any follow-up since before anything can be said about cover. The insurer makes the decision.
What we advise on
How will a past cancer diagnosis come into an application for cover?
Talking through your history before you apply can show what may be asked, so you start with a clear plan.
We can work through your diagnosis, each treatment and the date your treatment ended before you apply.
An insurer’s underwriter decides whether cover is offered, and on what terms. After cancer, the questions can reach the type of cancer, the date of diagnosis, its stage and classification, each treatment, the date of final treatment and any complications or secondary cancer. Insurers can prefer pathology or oncology reports for these details, and each one sets its own approach.
What an insurer may ask about a cancer history:
Would the people you care for be financially looked after if something happened to you?
Life cover can pay your beneficiaries a lump sum, so the people you care for can meet the costs that come after.
Together, we’ll prepare the cancer history a life application asks for, from diagnosis to any follow-up since.
Life insurance can pay a lump sum if you pass away. After cancer, a life application can ask about the type and stage of the cancer, the treatment and the time since it ended, and follow-up results such as scans, blood tests or screening. The insurer weighs those details with your health as a whole, and if it offers alternative terms, we explain them before you accept.
What we prepare with you for a life application:
If you were never able to work again, how could everyday life be paid for?
TPD insurance can pay a lump sum towards everyday life if you can’t work again, as the policy defines it.
We’ll look at how a TPD definition reads against your work since treatment, and any lasting effects.
TPD insurance pays a lump sum if illness or injury means you’re unlikely to work again, as the policy defines it. Own-occupation looks at your usual work, while any-occupation looks at work suited to your education, training or experience. Any lasting effects of treatment on the work you do can be set out from your treating doctor’s reports.
What we check for TPD after treatment:
Have you planned for the bills during time off work through illness or injury?
Income protection can pay part of your income after a waiting period, so there’s money for the bills during time off.
We can read any cancer exclusion offered on income protection with you, and what the policy would still pay for.
Income protection can replace part of your income if illness or injury stops you working, subject to its waiting period, definitions and exclusions. After cancer, an insurer may offer alternative terms, such as an exclusion for the condition or a higher premium. An exclusion can name one cancer, skin cancer or, in some cases, all malignant tumours, so its wording decides what still pays.
What we weigh with you on income protection:
What would help pay the bills during a serious illness?
A lump sum from trauma insurance can go towards bills, for a listed condition that meets the policy’s definition and isn’t excluded.
Together, we’ll go through the cancer and early-stage wording in a trauma policy, line by line.
Trauma insurance pays a lump sum when a listed condition meets its definition. The Life Insurance Code of Practice’s minimum cancer definition leaves out carcinoma in situ, other than of the breast after a total mastectomy, and certain early-stage cancers. A cancer you’ve had may be excluded on a new policy, limiting cover according to the exclusion’s wording. New trauma cover can’t be held inside super, which has been the rule for policies written since 1 July 2014.
What we read with you in trauma wording:
Does it help to know how far back the health questions reach into your treatment history?
It does, and setting your treatment dates beside each question can help you answer fully and with reasonable care.
We’ll work through the health questions with you, using your pathology report and treatment dates.
Since 5 October 2021, the duty when applying for consumer life cover is to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation, which means answering the questions asked with reasonable care. If a question’s wording is unclear, we’ll talk it through with you before you answer.
What we check against your records before you sign:
How does applying for cover work after a cancer diagnosis?
Together, the application can be planned and prepared in order, so it can go in complete and ready for assessment.
We can plan when to apply around your final treatment date and any follow-up result, then prepare the application with you.
Some insurers offer pre-assessment, which gives an indication before a formal application, and some have a lump, lesion or abnormal cervical screening questionnaire. Insurers that subscribe to the Life Insurance Code of Practice commit to telling you how long any alternative terms are intended to apply, and that you can ask for them to be reviewed if circumstances change. A subscribing insurer that declines commits to giving its reasons, and the information it relied on if you ask.
How we prepare an application with you:
What might change if you replaced or cancelled any cover you have today?
Reviewing any current terms before anything changes can help you keep the cover that still does the most for you.
We’ll read any policy that started before your diagnosis with you, so its terms are known before anything changes.
Cover you already hold was issued on its own terms, and the policy wording sets when they can change, so it’s worth reading before you change or replace it. Unless your policy says otherwise, you don’t have to tell an existing insurer about a later diagnosis. Default cover inside super can usually be issued without medical checks, though it may carry pre-existing condition rules set out in the fund’s PDS, and increasing it is usually underwritten like any other application.
What we look over with you before any change:
Your options
| A Ryker financial adviser | Directly from an insurer | An online broker or comparison site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of advice | Personal advice Personal adviceAdvice tailored to you. Like most financial advice, it’s given under an Australian financial services licence.Personal, not general. General advice is a recommendation or opinion that doesn’t consider your circumstances. Personal advice is tailored to your objectives, financial situation and needs.In your best interests. When we give you personal advice, the law requires us to act in your best interests.In writing. You’ll usually receive a Statement of Advice that explains the strategies and cover recommended to you, and why.On the public register. Financial advisers who give personal advice on life insurance, super and investments must be on ASIC’s Financial Advisers Register. See our financial advisers on the register:Ray RegmiRicky (Rajiv) RegmiJack OinezaDean DesoukeyRyker’s financial advisers are authorised representatives of Synchron Advice Pty Ltd, AFSL 243313. | Usually general advice | Usually general advice |
| Advice that considers your health, family, work and goals | Yes, as part of your advice | Not with general advice | Not with general advice |
| Choice of insurers | A wide range | That insurer’s policies only | A panel of insurers, side by side |
| Help preparing your application | Yes, alongside you | The insurer’s own process | Varies |
| Advice on holding cover inside or outside super | Part of your advice | Not with general advice | Not with general advice |
| Support if you need to claim | Yes, we’re in your corner | The insurer’s claims team | Varies |
| Cost of advice | No cost for the initial conversation. Any advice after that is a paid service, with its scope and fee agreed with you in writing first. Choose: | No separate advice fee | No separate advice fee |














Pathology and Treatment Dates in Order
Pathology, oncology and discharge reports, with your final treatment date, brought together before anything is lodged.
Terms and Their Duration Explained
Any alternative terms offered, and how long they’re intended to apply, explained before you decide.
Cancer Definitions Read With You
The cancer and any early-stage definitions in a trauma policy, read through with you before you accept or claim.
Any Buy-Back Option Checked
Whether a trauma policy lets you buy back cover after a paid cancer claim, and any exclusions that apply.
Super Cover Looked at Before a Change
Any cover in your super, and what leaving work or cutting your hours could change, looked at first.
A Review of Earlier Terms Considered
Whether and when to ask an insurer to review an exclusion or loading from an earlier application.
A Partner’s Cover in the Same Plan
Cover for a partner, if you have one, considered alongside your own application.
Claim Paperwork Lodged With You
A trauma, TPD or income protection claim lodged with you, with your doctors’ reports, through to the insurer’s decision.

A cancer history, your own or in your family, can bring its own set of questions, and planning for what comes next deserves time and care. We start by listening, so we understand where things are for you before anything else is discussed. You set the pace, and we work around any appointments and check-ups still in your calendar. Before anything is lodged, you’ll know what an application would ask and what it would involve, and each decision stays with you.
The forms and the contact with insurers are handled with you, and you’ll hear from us at each step as things move. If you’d like someone with you, such as a partner, a friend or a family member, they’re welcome at any point, from the first conversation onwards. Where it helps, we can request the reports an application needs, with your consent. Any plan we make together is built around your life.

Every financial decision impacts the next
Great advice starts with understanding the bigger picture. Every stage of life presents new opportunities and challenges, from buying property and changing careers to growing your family, planning for retirement and protecting what matters most. At Ryker, we help connect every piece of your financial world into one clear strategy.
Your
Wealth

Ryker’s financial advisers are licensed to give personal advice under Synchron Advice’s Australian financial services licence (AFSL 243313). We start with you: your cancer history, your family, work, income, assets and goals. Then we recommend the types and amounts of cover that suit your life.
With a financial adviser, you also have:
Going directly to an insurer can mean no separate advice fee, but you’ll only see that insurer’s policies, and you’ll generally receive general advice only, which doesn’t consider your personal circumstances.
Going through an online comparison site or broker, you may see more options side by side, but they also generally provide general advice only, which doesn’t consider your whole financial picture.
When we give you personal advice, the law requires us to act in your best interests, which we take personally. The insurer still decides whether to offer cover and on what terms.
We’re invested in your long-term success. What we do is personal, and we take it personally.
Your financial decisions connect, so we consider the parts of your financial life that are relevant to the advice you need:
This is how we help you make decisions today with your longer-term goals in view.
Everybody’s situation is different, so we listen first, understand what matters to you and explain your options clearly before we make a recommendation.
We’d need to learn about your situation before saying how it bears on cover. An insurer may ask about the type of cancer, the date it was diagnosed, its stage, each treatment you had, the date your final treatment ended and any follow-up since. The time since treatment is one of those details, and each insurer sets its own approach.
An application can be offered on standard terms, with a premium loading, with an exclusion for a named condition, deferred for a period, or declined. The insurer decides. We’ll set out your history with you and explain what an application would involve before anything is lodged.
The application’s own questions decide that, so we’d go through them with you. Questions can ask about skin cancers, lesions or lumps, and a BCC or SCC removed at a skin clinic is part of your history wherever a question asks about it. Some insurers offer a skin lesion or lump questionnaire, which may let an underwriter decide without further medical evidence.
Since 5 October 2021, the duty when applying for consumer life cover is to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation, which means answering the questions asked with reasonable care. If you leave out important details, the insurer may change or cancel your cover or refuse a claim (Moneysmart). We’ll help you set out the number removed, the pathology and the dates from your records.
We’d want to understand your situation before saying anything about cover. An insurer may ask about the type and stage of the cancer, your treatment and when it ended, any lasting effects and the work you do now. If it offers alternative terms, they can include an exclusion for the condition or a higher premium.
An exclusion can name one cancer, skin cancer or, in some cases, all malignant tumours, so its wording decides what the policy still pays for. If you’re thinking of resigning or cutting your hours, it’s worth checking any cover you hold first. We’ll go through any offer with you before you decide.
It’s a payment some trauma policies make for a cancer that doesn’t meet the full definition. Under the Life Insurance Code of Practice, the minimum cancer definition leaves out carcinoma in situ, other than of the breast after a total mastectomy, and certain early-stage cancers, such as some early prostate, thyroid and skin cancers.
Some policies pay a partial benefit for carcinoma in situ, CIN 3, early-stage melanoma or early chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, each with its own wording. Whether a policy has one, and what it requires, is set out in its definitions. On a new policy, a cancer you’ve had may be excluded, and that can include these benefits. We’ll read your policy’s wording with you, and the insurer assesses any claim we lodge with you.
Not necessarily, and the wording of your offer is the place to start. Insurers that subscribe to the Life Insurance Code of Practice commit to telling you how long any alternative terms, such as an exclusion or a loading, are intended to apply. They also commit to telling you that you can ask for those terms to be reviewed if your circumstances change.
The insurer decides whether to change them. We can read the offer with you, line up current reports from your treating doctors and put the request together with you once your circumstances have changed.
Unless your policy says otherwise, you don’t have to tell your insurer about a diagnosis made after your cover started. Cover you already hold was issued on its own terms, and the policy wording sets when they can change, so it’s worth reading before you change or replace it.
Increasing the cover usually means answering new health questions. Leaving work can affect insurance held through super or an employer, and withdrawing all your super can end the cover attached to it. Time limits may apply to a claim, so we’d look at those with you early. We’ll read the wording with you, and the insurer assesses any claim we lodge with you.
It’s quick to buy, though the cover can be narrower than it first looks. If an insurer doesn’t ask for your medical history, it may mean the policy has more exclusions or narrower policy definitions (Moneysmart). Any limits for pre-existing conditions are set by the policy’s own wording, so they’re worth reading before you buy.
A fully underwritten application takes longer, but your diagnosis, treatment and follow-up are considered before cover starts, and any exclusion is named in the offer. We can put the two side by side with you, so you can see what each would pay for.
Your accountant and financial adviser bring different expertise to the same decisions. Your accountant can advise on tax reporting, structures and consequences; we help you plan how cashflow, debt, super, investments and protection work towards your goals. We can coordinate before important decisions.
What an accountant does
What a financial adviser does
Professional roles and authorisations matter. We provide financial advice within our authorisations and work with your accountant for specialist tax advice and lodgements.
Where they work together
Yes, and there’s no need to have your reports or dates sorted first. Share as much of your cancer history as you’d like, at whatever pace suits you.
There’s no cost for the initial conversation. Any advice after that is a paid service, with its scope and fee agreed with you in writing first. We’ll ask what cover you’re after, what you already hold and where things stand with any treatment and follow-up.
Any reports can be gathered later, together, and you decide if and when to take the next step.
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