The survey also found than men were more likely to have had a scheduled health screening delayed due to the pandemic compared to women. (22% v 15%)
Simon Jacobs, head of underwriting and claims at Aegon comments: “This is concerning news to receive during November – a month when men’s health gets a lot of attention.
“Cancer is one of the main reasons men claim on their critical illness cover. Many men learn that they may potentially have cancer following a planned screening or doctor’s appointment, so delays to any health screenings or appointments with a GP will potentially lead to many going undetected for longer.
“Early detection is key for treatment and better treatment for cancer means that survival rates after a diagnosis are improving.
“Campaigns like Movember have gone a long way over the years to motivate men to be more aware of their health and wellness.
More men are taking notice of serious health concerns early enough to be able to treat them, which can save lives. It would be a real tragedy to see this deteriorate because of the pandemic.”
Aegon also reveals that the volume of new critical illness claims received by them between April and September 2020 is 24% lower than in 2019.
Jacobs continues: “The impact of the pandemic and the reduction in detection can be seen in the volume of critical illness claims and it’s worrying. The number of critical illness claims we received between April and the end of September compared to the same period in 2019 has fallen by 24%. And for example in the first half of 2020 Aegon has paid out less than a fifth on prostate cancer critical illness claims than was paid in the whole of 2019 for this type of cancer.
“As the pandemic continues, we would urge people to seek medical advice should they have any concerns and if offered a screening appointment to do their utmost to make it happen if it is safe to do so.”
Cancer as a whole accounted for 52% of all male critical illness claims Aegon received in 2019. Prostate cancer was by far the most common, accounting for 27% of these cancer claims followed by cancer of the bowel, colon and rectum which accounted for 14% of critical illness claims.
Heart attack accounted for 19% of all male critical illness claims.
Three most common male critical illness claims in 2019:
• Cancer, 52% (prostate cancer accounted for 27% of these claims)
• Heart attack, 19%
• Stroke, 10%
Aegon has a range of factsheets to help both customers and advisers understand more about prostate and testicular cancer, highlighting the specific underwriting considerations for these illnesses:
• Spotlight on testicular cancer
• Spotlight on prostate cancer
• Spotlight on bowel cancer
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