Cancer patients with private health insurance are finding their policies fail to cover them for the full course of their treatment.
Funding for vital cancer therapies is often suddenly withdrawn by insurers at a critical time when patients are at their most vulnerable, charity CancerBACUP said today.
The charity examined private health insurance policies offered by eight groups covering two-thirds of the market. Only BUPA offered people cover throughout their entire illness.
Types of treatment excluded from the cover tended to be those that slow the progress of the disease, such as chemotherapy and certain breast cancer treatments.
Insurance sales staff often provide misleading information to consumers about the level of cover when they buy policies over the phone, CancerBACUP also found. Three of the eight insurers reassured callers their policies would pay out for any type of treatment, when in practice they did not.
The group is calling for City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority to review the sale of private medical insurance when it comes under its regulation in 2005. It also wants companies to communicate clearly the extent of the cover they offer in a more consumer-friendly way.
Joanne Rule, chief executive of CancerBACUP, said: "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."
Chris Kenny, head of life and pensions at the Association of British Insurers, said: "This survey has helped to identify some important challenges for the insurance industry and we have already started working with CancerBACUP to identify practical ways forward.
"We welcome the suggestion that there should be fuller descriptions for customers of what their policy covers."
