Claims for serious illness up by 62%

CLAIMS for serious illness on life assurance policies jumped by 62% last year, according to one of the country’s major companies.

Cancer claims continue to grow in number, accounting for almost half of all claims. The disease represented 66% of all female claims, compared with 40% of all male claims in 2001, figures released by Canada Life indicate.

Heightened public awareness and early detection are cited as two of the main factors in the growing number of claims. Another factor is the expansion of the life assurance market.

One in three people will get some form of cancer during their lifetime, according to the National Cancer Registry. An estimated 20,000 cases are recorded each year. The disease kills 7,500 people annually, including nearly 4,000 males.

The risk of dying from malignant cancer before age 75 is about one in eight for women, and about one in six for men. Slightly more than four cancer deaths are reported for every 10 cases. Population statistics show increasing trends in prostate cancer and breast cancer.

Due to the link between tobacco use and disease, smokers typically pay twice as much as non-smokers for life cover and serious illness cover. Over the ten-year period to 2002, the premium gap has increased from 50% to 100%.

Men are responsible for almost 94% of all related claims for heart attacks. They also make up 85% of all other heart-related claims. Primarily, those procedures are usually regarded as preventative, such as bypass surgery and angioplasty.

Cover for serious illness is relatively new, with most companies in this country who sell the product entering that market only in the past decade. “It’s only been around since the mid-80s,” Canada Life chief underwriter Tony Battigan said.

“The product was first developed in South Africa and came to the UK in 1985. We were the first company to pioneer the product in Ireland in 1987. It’s a very new product when you think of life assurance, which has been around since the 15th and 16th centuries,” Mr Battigan said.

“So the information on claims is obviously relatively new, compared with disability insurance products and life assurance products. We’re learning about it all the time,” he said.

“Improvements in screening procedures, medical techniques and treatment, and a heightened sense of health awareness on the part of the public, mean that serious illness is being diagnosed earlier, and in some cases, being prevented.”

Cancer at centre of claims increase

* Serious illness claims up 62% last year.

* Cancer accounts for 66% of all female claims.

* 94% of all heart-related claims taken by men.

* 7,500 people die from cancer each year.

* 20,000 cases of cancer annually.