Ireland has a low level of Specified Serious Illness insurance cover, despite the fact that 56% of people aged 30 will be diagnosed with a critical illness in their lifetime. According to insurer Royal London, the average age of people who make a serious illness claim in Ireland and the UK is 47.

Royal London research shows the UK has a higher average claim payout than Ireland, which the company states is due to the fact that there is less serious illness cover in this country.

Greg Dyer, head of operations at Royal London in Ireland said: “Based on a comparison of claims experience in Ireland with that of our parent group in the UK, we found that the average claim pay-out, which reflects the level of cover in place, is just over €81,320 in Ireland versus €120,000 in the UK.”

In Dyer’s view, people in the UK are more aware of the need for serious illness insurance because there is more interaction with financial advisors than in Ireland.

Cancer is the most common reason for serious illness claims, accounting for 81% of claims in Ireland and 62% in the UK.

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Dyer added: “What we have seen over the last decade is that cancer has become more and more prevalent in our claims. We know that it affects thousands of people throughout the country each year. One of the reasons for its increased prevalence in specified serious illness claims is that cancer is now often being identified and treated at an earlier stage.

“Other conditions have also seen very positive developments in medical science. For example, people with heart complaints 20 years ago may not have had access to the technologies available now to monitor and manage heart attacks and strokes.”