PMI insurers 'letting down cancer patients' says charity

Private health insurers were failing to cover vital cancer treatments, said cancer information charity CancerBACUP.

The charity said most PMI policies did not cover cancer patients throughout the full course of their treatment, meaning funding was being withdrawn at a time when policyholders were at their most vulnerable.

Based on a survey of 14 PMI cover providers, which it said covered more than two thirds of the PMI market, CancerBACUP said only Bupa policies covered patients throughout the entire course of their cancer treatment.

The charity also said PMI sales staff were providing misleading information to consumers buying policies over the phone.

Sales staff of three of the eight insurers reassured callers that their policies would pay out for any type of treatment, when in practice they do not. In other cases, sales staff from the same company gave out contradictory information, it said.

Survey results contained in the report showed that the majority of private health insurers were unclear about if and when cover would be withdrawn, said the charity.

Many used the phrase ‘active treatment' to explain the extent of their cancer coverage, but the phrase was neither defined by them nor easily understood by consumers, leading to inconsistencies in cover, it said.

CancerBACUP chief execuitve Joanne Rule said: “At present most insurers are able to be vague about the level of cover they provide and can decide whether or not to fund cancer treatments on a case by case basis

“This cannot be allowed to continue.

“The patients we speak to are shocked and distressed to discover that their private insurance company is refusing to pay for cancer treatment at a time when they are most vulnerable.

“We believe that insurance companies should fund cancer treatments which are given to slow progression of the cancer, when a cure is not possible.

“At the very least, they should make it crystal clear what they cover and what they do not so people can make an informed decision when purchasing private medical insurance.”

The charity has called on the FSA to review the selling of PMI policies