Bowel cancer was the second most claimed for form of cancer last year, according to the latest Critical Illness Claims Report from Scottish Provident. 

Of the £94 million paid out by Scottish Provident in 2012 in critical illness payments, 60% of this was for cancer claims. Bowel cancer was the second most common cancer claim made in 2012, rising from the third most common claim in 2011.

Statistics also indicated that men were more likely to claim for bowel cancer (68%), with women accounting for only 32% of claims. The average age of a claimant was just 50 years old.

Scottish Provident’s cancer claims paid summary 1 January to 31 December 2012

Jennifer Gilchrist (pictured), senior product development manager, Scottish Provident said: “Our statistics reveal how important it is to raise awareness of bowel cancer this month.  As a lesser thought of form of cancer, it accounted for 10% of all cancer claims last year.  It is particularly important that people are aware of this due to the relatively young age of claimants.

“Experiencing a critical illness will be traumatic for both the sufferer and their family, without having to worry about the impact it might have upon their finances.  However, protection is often at the bottom of the list of financial priorities that families have, meaning they risk leaving themselves unprotected financially in the face of a serious illness.

“Our aim is to provide financial security and peace of mind so that people can focus on their health. We continuously promote the value of protection to encourage more people to put a protection safety net in place, so they have support should they find themselves facing a critical illness.”