Critical illness data makes astounding reading

During the first half of 2021, what was the average age of someone claiming on a Zurich policy having needed open heart surgery? Go on, wager a guess. Maybe 55 or 60? What about motor neurone disease – maybe 65 or 70? Or a stroke – maybe 75?

Would you be surprised to learn that the average age of a claim related to open heart surgery was 35, motor neurone disease was 45 and stroke was 50?

Having requested average claimant ages, I was astonished to read the results. The general public perception is that people who suffer critical illnesses such as these are a lot older – in their 60s, 70s or even 80s. The reality, however, is that they are often a lot younger.

Advisers I have spoken to have found the figures astonishing, too. Many are finding them useful when discussing critical illness cover with their clients, many of whom have good earnings power, matching liabilities and families that need to be protected.

Cancer statistics

The biggest area of claims remains cancer, followed by heart conditions, stroke and multiple sclerosis.

It is a well-known statistic that one in two of us will get cancer during our lives. Our first-half claims 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.

It makes sobering reading but the good news is that many cancers are now survivable. Nevertheless, the impact on your life – your ability to work and look after your family, either financially or in terms of caregiving – remains immense. The financial strain at a difficult time cannot be underestimated.

To those customers who are diagnosed with one of two additional payment conditions – less advanced cancer of the breast or prostate – we will pay 25% of the sum assured up to £25,000 to help at a financially and emotionally difficult time when the future may feel very uncertain. If the disease does happen to progress, we will still pay out in full.

Promote protection

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.

Those 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.

Meanwhile, the average age of claimants suffering from liver problems is again low too – 36 for liver resection and 43 for liver failure. This is indicative of increases in alcohol consumption. It promises to be the next big problem for our NHS.

Brain conditions are also frighteningly common in younger people. Claimants for a brain abscess or cerebral aneurysm had an average age of 36. For encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) it was 37 and traumatic head injury it was 39.

A 45-year-old client was out cycling with his son during lockdown, hit by a car and is now paralysed. That tallies with the average age for paralysis at 44.

The figures are hard hitting and may be uncomfortable for younger clients to contemplate. But they can also be put to good effect to address the ‘it won’t happen to me’ mentality and promote protection as the valuable financial safety net that you hope you will not need but if you do, you may be younger than you imagined.

Jude Reynolds is a business development manager at Zurich Intermediary

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