Insurance

The eight insurers now disregarding certain cancer diagnoses in mortgage insurance applications

The proposal to launch the voluntary code was made by Insurance Ireland followed a series of reports from the Business Post highlighting the issue

Cancer survivors often find it more difficult to obtain insurance, particularly in relation to mortgage protection, despite the fact that some have recovered and ended treatment.

Insurers will disregard cancer diagnoses in certain circumstances when underwriting mortgage insurance, under a new voluntary code of practice which comes into force today.

Insurance companies will from Wednesday disregard a disclosed cancer diagnosis where treatment ended more than 7 years prior to their application or more than 5 years if the applicant was under 18 at the time of diagnosis.

The proposal to launch the voluntary code was made by Insurance Ireland, an industry group, earlier this year after a series of reports from the Business Post which revealed lobbying efforts to stall Irish and EU legislation to make providers disregard for cancer diagnoses after a certain period of time has passed since treatment.