Royal London, the UK’s largest life, pensions, and investment mutual, has introduced a new approach to cancer underwriting, broadening access to cover and helping to address the protection gap for those previously diagnosed with cancer.
The changes allow the mutual insurer to expand the instances it can offer terms for Critical Illness (CI) and Income Protection (IP) where previously it may have been unable to do so. Life Cover outcomes have also been amended to reflect current evidence, resulting in improved terms for customers who’ve had various cancers, including breast, colorectal, and skin.
With around one in every two people likely to develop some form of cancer in their lifetime, and two-thirds of adult critical illness claims related to cancer last year, this disease significantly impacts many lives.
Craig Paterson, chief underwriter at Royal London, said: “Improving cancer survival rates has led to a growing protection need for those who have previously had the disease that could also help address the protection gap. It’s important we continue to keep pace with medical advancements to offer fair and accurate decisions that benefit customers with a history of cancer. The changes we’ve made are part of our commitment to provide evidence-based outcomes and to broaden access to insurance by offering cover to as many customers as we can.”
Royal London has a strong track record in supporting health and financial resilience and has committed over £3m to Cancer Research UK since 2022 to help tackle cancer inequalities and support research into hard-to-treat cancers.
