Refused Illness Cover? Learn How To Best Protect Yourself

You’ve been refused illness cover so it’s normal to worry about the future.

That’s why you’re here.

But I promise you’ll feel better after reading this article. In it I’ll go through the options still available to you starting with Cancer Only Cover.

What is cancer only cover?

Cancer only cover is an insurance policy that will pay out should  you contract a certain type of cancer. The cancer definition is the exact same one as can be found on a serious illness policy. This gives you the peace of mind that a cancer claim payable under a critical illness policy will also be met on a cancer only policy.

Cancer only cover is available even if you have been refused illness cover,or you think you would be refused illness cover, due to a pre-existing health condition. This includes people with a medical history of:

• Heart attacks
• Angioplasty
• Angina
• Valvular Disease
• Stoke
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Kidney Problems
• Multiple Sclerosis

What proportion of serious illness claims are cancer related?

I was at a presentation from a major insurer recently where they highlighted that 3 in 4 of their serious illness claims in 2014 were for cancer. I was astonished that the figure was so high.

There are around 60 illnesses covered on a critical illness policy yet cancer alone accounted for 75% of all the claims paid.

What were the causes of the cancer claims?

For females, the main causes were as follows:

• Breast 53%
• Bowel 8%
• Skin 8%
• Ovarian 6%
• Endometrial 6%
• Cerival 3%

For males:

• Prostate 23%
• Brain 11%
• Bowel 11%
• Testicular 7%
• Lung 7%
• Melanoma 4%
• Kidney 2%

Females made up for 54% of all claims, males the other 46% so a pretty even split. Again, I was surprised by this as I believed females were more at risk of cancer than males.

Maybe that’s just me being a typical male – sure it’ll never happen to me.

Is it difficult to get cancer only cover?

No, the underwriting is much simpler for cancer only cover compared with serious illness cover so it’s an easier process.

How much is cancer only cover compared to serious illness cover?

I’ll quote for a 40-year-old, non smoker, €250,000 life cover over 25 years.

with €50,000 serious illness cover the monthly premium is €60 per month
with €50,000 cancer cover, the premium is €45 per month

So you get a 25% discount for a product that doesn’t cover 25% of the serious illness claims made. Seems reasonable enough to me.

But really, if you have been refused illness cover, price isn’t the most important thing is it?

Over to you…

Have you been refused illness cover? Would you like more information on cancer only cover? Complete the short form below and I’ll be in touch.

Nick McGowan
lion.ie | making life insurance easier