For ‘In Focus‘, Russell Young, Commercial Director at Reframe Cancer, highlights the growing impact of cancer across the UK and what this means for individuals, employers and advisers, as well as the increasing importance of protection planning in building long-term financial resilience.
Before we look at the importance of protection planning as the foundation of financial resilience, we need to first look at the impact of cancer in the UK. The number of people under 50 being diagnosed with cancer has increased by 24% in recent years, and 1 in 2 UK adults will get cancer in their lifetime.
These statistics alone point to the need to prepare for life’s uncertainties, and many people underestimate the full impact cancer can have, across health, work, lifestyle and long-term financial stability. The National Cancer Plan has also recently confirmed that the UK has one of the highest cancer mortality rates globally, lagging behind much of Europe and other developed nations. This underlines the importance of protection insurance as a cornerstone of financial resilience, stability, and planning, ensuring you are safeguarded in the event you are unable to work.
Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working report also recently outlined the economic impact of people not working in the UK due to ill health, which is now £212 billion. £12 billion of that is cancer-related. On average, people with cancer are missing 75 days off work, for some people, it can be a lot more.
Financial and human needs
Advisers and insurers have an important role to play in terms of meeting the financial and human needs of the working-age population when it comes to cancer care. At the same time, this can also help reduce the practical and economic burden on the economy, the NHS and employers. At Reframe Cancer, we have seen a 60% increase in cancer support insurance cases in the last year alone.
This reflects what is happening in the market, with the number of working-age people being diagnosed with cancer rising. At the same time, the ABI has stated that cancer remained the most common reason for a critical illness payout, representing 62% of all individual protection claims paid. Whilst Grid cites cancer as the trigger for 68% of group protection claims. Despite around 4 in 10 cancers being preventable, we expect these figures to continue to rise in 2026.
We are seeing changes, however, with more employers understanding and accepting the need to be proactive with cancer care, and what this means when it comes to insurance and protecting the financial resilience of their workforce. Employees are also increasingly asking more of employers in terms of healthcare support, to help combat rising costs and NHS waiting lists.
Action and education: advisers, insurers and employers
This is really important, and employers should embrace the fact that employees want cancer support. Action and education here will bring down incidence rates, and this is where employers, advisers and insurers all have a role to play. For example, the survival rates for breast cancer if found at stage 1 compared to stage 4 are startlingly different.
With stage 1 breast cancer, most women will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis. At stage 4, just 25% will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed. The stats for bowel cancer are even more stark, with 90% surviving for five years or more at stage 1, and just 10% surviving at stage 4. Whilst the cancer is not curable at stage 4, it may be controlled with treatment for some years.
The Mayfield Review is now in a three-year Vanguard Phase; this time is a pivotal moment for advisers and insurers to take prevention and cancer care seriously. We know that people need the financial stability that protection policies provide, but we also know the wider support protection policies can give around prehabilitation, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, counselling and nutritional support and guidance, for example, is what helps get people back into work. We see this every day and the positive impact it has on health and, in the long term, financial stability and resilience.
One in two people will get cancer in their lifetime, but around 4 in 10 cancers are preventable, so education matters. Having the right protection policy in place to provide financial resilience and wider support is more important than ever in 2026. It can help patients navigate their cancer pathway and lessen the financial impact that cancer can have.
