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Protections | Critical Illness | “It won’t happen to me” Mentality

Writer's picture: Penn Financial Penn Financial

Updated: Aug 8, 2023

Critical illness cover is something we talk to our clients about every day, and it is one of those “it won’t happen to me” topics and often something people believe it affects the older generations only, from 60 years of age and over, or 70 and over.


Would you be surprised to learn that the average age of claim related to a stroke is 50 years of age?


The public perception is that people who suffer critical illnesses are older, but the reality is that they are often a lot younger.


Jude Reynolds, in an article from Zurich, covers some eye-opening statistics on the topic:

Their figures show that the average age of claimants for various cancers was typically in the late 30s, 40s and 50. Testicular cancer was 38, leukaemia was 39, ovarian and cervical cancer were both 44, lymphoma was 45, breast cancer and melanoma were 47, renal cancer was 50, bowel cancer 52, lung cancer 57 and prostate cancer 58.


And their claimants for heart conditions are typically even younger than cancer patients. The average claimant age for cardiomyopathy (a general term for diseases of the heart muscle) during the first six months of this year was only 31. For a heart valve replacement, it was 50, a heart attack it was 52, angioplasty (surgery to open a blocked or narrowed artery around the heart) it was 56 and coronary bypass surgery it was 58.


They have highlighted that the people diagnosed with degenerative conditions were also a lot younger than you might expect – 44 for multiple sclerosis, 56 for Parkinson’s and 61 for Alzheimer’s.


Read the full article HERE.


The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute professional advice and neither is it a recommendation. You should take full and comprehensive legal, accountancy or financial advice as appropriate on your individual circumstances by a fully qualified Solicitor, Accountant or Financial Advisor/Mortgage Broker before you embark on any course of action.


We are here to help you get the policies you need, suitable to your personal circumstances. Please contact me directly to discuss your options.



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