Cancer accounted for half of all critical illness claims made by men in the first six months of 2015, insurer Aegon has revealed.
After cancer, heart attacks, and strokes, were the next two most claimed for illnesses at Aegon, making the top three illnesses unchanged from last year.
More than £10m was paid out with £5m paid out for cancer claims.
Prostrate cancer represented nearly one in every five claims, remained the most common reason men claimed.
Dougy Grant, Aegon’s protection director, who together with a number of Aegon colleagues is supporting the Movember campaign, said: “Many men simply don’t want to talk about health issues or take any action and die too young.
“That is why raising awareness of men’s health issues is so important. Awareness campaigns like Movember help to encourage men to take an interest in their health and catch serious health concerns early enough to be able to treat them.
“People often think ‘it won’t happen to me’ but as our statistics show, unfortunately it does. Early detection and better treatment does mean that survival rates after a diagnosis of cancer are improving.
“But it is vital that men take responsibility for their health and their wealth. Movember is a fantastic platform to raise awareness of men’s health and promote serious conversations.
“We hope that families also recognise and take the opportunity to discuss the importance of protection insurance alongside other ‘what if…?’ conversations.”
In support of Movember, Aegon has renamed its protection web pages Brotection and included the case study of three-time cancer survivor Patrick McIntosh.
Mr McIntosh survived cancer three times and is also director at Chartered Financial Planners.
He feels that raising awareness is incredibly important.
He said: “I walked to the end of the world risking life and limb to raise awareness of how vital it is for men to take notice of prostate cancer and seek constant checking.
“It is a proven fact, I am the extreme example, that early detection saves untimely early death and returns all men to healthy happy fulfilling lives. Living in denial destroys men, their families and creates havoc for those left behind.
“Without critical illness cover and income protection cover I could not have achieved any of this nor got the right treatment at the right time.”
