Usually very little, and often not at all. Basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas are frequently underwritten at standard or preferred rates. Melanoma is assessed differently and depends heavily on depth and stage.
This is the cancer question with the most reassuring answer, and the one where the distinction between types matters most.
Basal cell and squamous cell
These rarely metastasise, and carriers treat them accordingly. A treated basal cell carcinoma commonly has little or no effect on the rate class, and preferred rates remain achievable at many carriers. Squamous cell is assessed slightly more carefully but sits in similar territory.
Multiple recurrences may prompt questions, mostly about sun exposure and surveillance rather than about mortality.
Melanoma is a different assessment
Melanoma is staged and underwritten as a serious cancer. What drives it is Breslow depth — how far the tumour penetrated — along with ulceration, node involvement and stage.
A thin, early-stage melanoma excised with clear margins is a materially better file than the stage alone might suggest, and practitioners report it reaching good outcomes after a defined clear period. Thicker or node-positive melanoma carries longer postpone periods.
What to supply
The pathology report, every time. “Skin cancer” on an application without the pathology invites the underwriter to assume the least favourable reading. Give them the type, the depth if melanoma, and the margin status.
The full treatment of this topic is on Cancer history.