Movember 2021

Movember 2021

I can imagine most people will have heard about Movember but for those that haven’t, Movember is a campaign that runs in November, which focuses on men’s health. 

Not only does Movember raise awareness for a number of topics possibly seen as taboo, such as mental health, prostate cancer and testicular cancer, it also raises huge amounts towards research and support for those who have been affected.

There is a growing number of men who will face a diagnosis of prostate cancer, with 1 in 8 men receiving a diagnosis in their lifetime, and more than 395,000 men living with this in the UK. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men around the world (Movember, 2021).

A man dies from suicide each minute of every day, accounting for 75% of all suicides.

When you see figures in front of you like that, you can see the clear need for campaigns such as Movember that raise awareness around these important topics.

Movember is pretty transparent about where the money they have fundraised for is spent, so everybody can see how positively donations are used. Since it started in 2006, Movember has funded the development of 54 inventions, 70 therapies and 107 diagnostic tests for prostate cancer alone. They have funded 1,250+ men’s health projects across 23 countries and show no sign of stopping. 

Movember has a monumental aim, which is to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25% by 2030.

Access to insurance

There are many reasons that people choose to take out a protection insurance policy, and if you have a health condition then it may feel like there are barriers to accessing it. Using a protection adviser like us at Cura, we can advise on your own individual circumstances, to find you the cover that you need.

Mental Health

Life insurance can be available for people living with a mental health condition. What can be available really does just depend on your situation and medical history. 

Without being too specific to one condition, there are some general questions that insurers will ask, such as 

• What is the mental health condition?
• When were you diagnosed? 
• Do you take any medication? 
• Have you tried any therapies or seen a healthcare professional?

   

It’s likely that the insurer will also ask some more sensitive questions, such as if you have ever tried to self harm or attempt suicide, stayed in hospital overnight because of your mental health or required time off work.

Insurers all have their own underwriting stances and will view your application in different ways. You might get standard terms of insurance, or it could be that there are higher premiums or an exclusion added to your policy. 

Where one insurer may decline an application or add a higher premium, another insurer may give you standard rates (no price increase), which is where a protection adviser comes in super handy. We can research which insurer will look at your application more favourably and do all the running around so you don’t have to.

Some conditions such as depression and anxiety may be accepted straight away by some insurers. It really comes down to your symptoms, the medications that you take and a few other factors. Depending on your specific condition and experience with your mental health, it could be that the insurer will ask for a medical report from your GP surgery, in order to assess your application. This is only ever done with your expressed permission, no one will see your medical reports without your explicit say so.

Applying for critical illness cover is very similar, and insurers are now offering better terms for a person with a mental health condition than they have ever done before. 

If you have been free of any symptoms and your mental health is now better, it could be that you can access a personal income protection with no exclusion on your policy. If you have experienced symptoms within the past three years then it’s likely that the insurer will add an exclusion on your policy, excluding any claims relating to your mental health. If your symptoms were a one off occasion caused by a certain event in your life, protection insurance may be available without an exclusion before three years.

Prostate or Testicular Cancer

Many people think they might come across big barriers when applying for insurance if they have had prostate or testicular cancer. Both of these types of cancer are more common and treatments have massively improved, so often you aren’t as high risk to the insurers as you may think.

If you have a history of prostate or testicular cancer and are applying for life insurance, the insurer will ask the usual, basic questions but also some more specific questions relating to the cancer. The insurer will want to know when you were diagnosed with the cancer and if you still have it, the stage that the cancer reached, any type of treatment that you received, how long it’s been since the last treatment and if you are now clear. 

It’s quite common for an insurer to ask for a medical report from your GP to get a picture of your full health, as each application is assessed entirely on a person’s own individual circumstances. Often, the more time that has passed since your cancer, the more opportunities there are when it comes to protection insurance.

There are a number of insurers who will potentially consider applications for life insurance if you have had testicular or prostate cancer. You can also find that some insurers will offer life insurance to people that are currently living with prostate cancer. It’s always worth asking!

As with a life insurance application, critical illness cover can potentially be available. The application process is very similar and it is quite likely that they will request a report from your GP.

If your cancer was quite a while ago or was of a low staging and grading, it could be that the insurer will offer you critical illness cover with standard rates. Or it could be that there’s a price increase or cancer exclusion added on to the policy. If there is a cancer exclusion this would apply to the critical illness cover, and it’s worth checking if it’s a full cancer exclusion or a specific testicular or prostate cancer exclusion.

Taking out an income protection policy can be possible but again, it may come with an exclusion for claims relating to the cancer you have had. Depending on your own personal circumstances, it could also be that the insurer will increase your premiums rather than add an exclusion.

Case studies

Cura has helped so many people take out a protection insurance policy, and many of them have had a history of a mental health condition, prostate or testicular cancer. Below are some case studies.

• A man in his mid 50s needed to ensure he had financial protection in place for his mortgage. He had received a diagnosis of prostate cancer a couple of years before approaching Cura, and had surgery to remove the prostate. He also had four brothers that had passed away from prostate cancer. We arranged a life insurance policy over a period of 25 years, covering him for £30,000 for just over £25 per month.

   

• A man in his mid 30s came to Cura needing protection to ensure his mortgage could be paid off in the event of his death. He had been diagnosed with stage 1 testicular cancer a few years before coming to us, he had chemotherapy to treat the cancer, and  was given the all clear after just less than two months. . This client now has a life insurance policy for just over £10 per month, covering him for just under £102,000 for 24 years.

   

• A man in his late 20s approached Cura needing life insurance to offer protection to his children. He had experienced mental health issues for over 10 years and had seen mental health professionals on and off for a number of years, he also received diagnoses of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, Psychosis, Mixed Personality Disorder. He had been on different medications within this time and had also had a few days stay overnight in the hospital. We arranged a life insurance policy for this client for 20 years, with a sum assured of £250,000 and a monthly premium of just over £20.

   

It may seem like insurers have a lot of questions, but really the more information you can provide, the better things are as the insurer can make a more informed decision on your application. This means that there shouldn’t be issues regarding these disclosures if you were to claim on your policy. 

At the same point you only have to answer what the insurer asks of you, you don’t need to volunteer information that they have not asked for. With insurance we always need to make sure that we don’t non-disclose, or miss anything out, but it’s also important not to over-disclose too! The rule is, if they don’t ask for it, you don’t need to say it.

Resources

Our Impact. (2021). Movember. [online] Available at: https://uk.movember.com/impact#/ [Accessed 8 Nov. 2021].

Movember. (2021). Movember. [online] Available at: https://uk.movember.com/about/cause [Accessed 15 Nov. 2021].