Travel insurance provider cuts cancer rates
AllClear has become the first travel insurance provider to cut its premiums for those diagnosed with major cancers; including bowel cancer and lymphoma.
The rate reductions come as part of a review analysing real claims data, enabling AllClear to pass on savings to customers resulting from improved claims performance.
Having helped cover over 1 million people with over 1,300 different conditions, AllClear has access to extensive data that enables it to accurately assess the risk of a claim being made. AllClear then proactively adjusts its pricing structure to reflect the real experience, on a daily basis.
The review includes a sample of thousands of claims made between 2013 to 2017. Claims from people declaring bowel cancer and lymphoma were compared to other commonly declared medical conditions such as diabetes. This analysis led to AllClear cutting its premiums by over 15% for those declaring bowel cancer and 10% for lymphoma.
AllClear found that while cancellation claims involving people living with bowel cancer were 60% more frequent than those declaring certain other conditions, costs involving medical expenses and repatriation were significantly lower.
In comparison to other commonly declared conditions such as diabetes, average claim costs where medical expenses had been incurred, were 53% lower for bowel cancer and 43% lower for lymphoma.
There was no significant difference in the frequency of claims for medical expenses or repatriation between bowel cancer, lymphoma and the other commonly declared conditions that were analysed.
According to bowelcancer.org.uk, over 41,200 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year, with 268,000 people living with the disease. Lymphomas.org.uk reports that lymphoma is the fifth most common cancer, with a total of 17,000 people diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and 2,000 diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma ever year in the UK.
Three years ago, AllClear was also the first insurance provider to reduce its rates for breast cancer, and Mike Rutherford, Founder and Chairperson of AllClear, says the reductions are part of an ongoing analysis:
“AllClear takes many factors into account when calculating the price of a policy. These include destination, duration, age, medical condition and importantly the claims frequency for the medical condition, as well as the size of the claims,” he says.
“This allows us to determine a premium that reflects fair and sustainable pricing for both the customer and the insurer. This approach means we are able to provide cover where other companies are not – supporting our firm belief that everyone has the right to travel and no one is uninsurable.”
With the new pricing, a single trip policy to Spain for a 62 year-old diagnosed with bowel cancer in the last three years, who is no longer receiving treatment, would cost just £9. This equates to a 13% reduction.
A single trip policy to France for a 66 year old who has been diagnosed with Lymphoma in the last five years has been reduced by 12% to £156.
Not all insurance policies will cover a person still receiving treatment. However a single trip policy to Spain from AllClear for a 66 year-old still undergoing chemotherapy for bowel cancer is available, and would cost of £289, representing a 17% discount.
“The issue of availability and cost of travel insurance for those diagnosed with, receiving treatment for, or in remission from cancer has been heavily debated recently,” adds Mike. “We understand that each individual cancer, and indeed medical condition, warrants careful analysis in order that we continue to offer travel insurance as widely as possible.”
Chris Rolland, AllClear CEO concludes that these price reviews are an important part of providing fair and accessible cover: “I’m proud of the focus the business has on providing the best cover for underserved segments of our society.”