The Big C

Dr Ian Cox

The first presentation of the afternoon will be from Dr Ian Cox, CMO of GenRe on the early detection of cancer. This session will look at: up to date information on diagnostic techniques and prevention, including the current position on screening programmes and their impact on patients. We will also look at improved practices and technologies to make testing less invasive.

Peter Banthorpe and Yunus Piperdy

“The Changing CI Proposition” by Peter Banthorpe, Actuarial Research Manager and Yunus Piperdy Underwriting Research and Development Manager, both at RGA. Peter and Pip will discuss the changing face of the CI proposition including the design and impact of new CI definitions in terms of research, pricing, definition construction, partial payment ideology and what it all means for underwriters and claims assessors.

Professor Robert Rubens

Professor Robert Rubens, Chief Medical Officer to Swiss Re, will be discussing the problematic areas of assessment for cancer claims when applying the critical illness definition. He will talk us through the transition from a pre-malignant condition to an established cancer, discuss if a neoplasm is benign or malignant and how to tell if invasion has occurred with particular reference to carcinoma, sarcoma, leukaemia and lymphoma.

Dr Andreas Armuss

Dr Andreas Armuss, Medical Consultant at Munich Re, will talk us through advances in treatment of cancers and the impact on mortality rates. We will discuss the underwriting of late residual mortality risks for people diagnosed decades ago and if we can be more generous than we have previously been with some cancers.

Cancer was the main reason terminal illness benefit was included on policies but how have things evolved? We explore if cancer could now be regarded as a chronic condition rather than terminal; whilst looking at the factors assessors should consider on claims that now rarely meet policy criteria purely on just a diagnosis.

Testimonials

The final oncology session of the afternoon moves away from the scientific and focuses on the human side of illness with thought provoking and insightful testimonies from cancer patients, Shirley and Alister. They have generously offered to share with us their own experience of being diagnosed and treated for breast and prostate cancer respectively and their experience of health insurance. As claims assessors and underwriters, it is an opportunity for us to look beyond the application or claim form at the human experience behind the condition.

Dr Chris Derry

For the evening event, we are delighted to have Dr Chris Derry, Consultant Neurologist at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh. His presentation “A neurological review” will be an interactive session with Dr Derry performing a typical neurological examination and discussing the key indicators and tests used in the diagnosis of a neurological disorder.

The presentation is intended to bring to life some of the key elements of the review process and will be of interest to both underwriting and claims.