Men aware of cancer risk but few with insurance cover

Some 80,000 men die of cancer each year but whilst 56% are aware of the cancer risks, 90% don’t have critical illness insurance in place.

It’s not just cancer either, according to research from Friends Provident, 52,000 men die from coronary heart disease and another 21,000 from a stroke.

Whilst they might not be taking out insurance, 56% of men are aware of the risks of cancer and check for cancerous signs such as lumps and miles.

Insurance is being neglected for other life changing events too, including

• 93% don’t have redundancy cover
• 87% don’t have private medical cover
• 87% don’t have income protection
• 71% don’t have life insurance

and 81% don’t even have a will.

Head of Protection at Friends Provident, Mark Jones, said ‘The ways in which men are regularly taking risks with both their health and finances could have a devastating effect on those men who will unfortunately suffer from a critical illness. We are raising the awareness of this issue and urging men to take action now to protect themselves for the future, both in terms of their finances and looking after their health.

Firends Provident, originally founded in 1832 to help Quaker families facing misfortune, is a life and pensions company.