Filenews 14 December 2022
The agreement of the Association of Insurance Companies of Cyprus (IAC) and Europa Donna Cyprus to establish the "right to be forgotten" in life insurance for people with a history of cancer comes into force with the new year.
The details of the important agreement were presented yesterday at a press conference, with the agreement making Cyprus a leading Member State of the European Union on this important social issue.
According to what has been said by the stakeholders, this is "a landmark development", since a vulnerable group of citizens, such as cancer patients, can now redefine their lives, without the bad memories of the past being a burden on their dreams, having the possibility of equal access to life insurance services.
In the context of the press conference, the four basic principles agreed between IAC and Europa Donna Cyprus in cooperation with the Ministry of Health were presented.
Specifically, the "right to be forgotten" will be granted to people who complete ten years after the end of recovery (in the case of people who were 18 years of age or older when they were diagnosed), while for people under the age of 18 when they were diagnosed, the period is reduced from 10 to 5 years.
Also, they will apply only in cases of cancer and in relation to life insurance, which is intended to secure a bank loan of up to €200,000, for the acquisition of a primary residence. Condition, the loan is repaid before the client reaches the age of 70.
As clarified at the conference, the person interested in insurance will be asked to indicate the history of cancer in his application and the insurance company on the basis of the above criteria will evaluate whether the "Right to be forgotten" applies to him and if it is applied then the insurance company for the purpose of evaluating the application will not take into account the history of cancer.
The President of the IAC, Evangelos Anastasiades, stressed that "the insurance industry is part of society and listens to its needs, and that is why we came to the discussion with specific proposals for the establishment of the right to be forgotten, which is the epitome of the social contribution of Private Insurance". The General Manager of the IAC, Andreas Athanasiadis, noted that "the restoration of the right of cancer patients to equal access to life insurance products was a top bet for the Association. He spoke of a development "that gives additional motivation" to efforts to be constantly on the side of society.
The President of Europa Donna Cyprus, Mary Theocharous Perdiou, stressed that "cancer patients in Cyprus after their recovery will be able to see their lives and those of their family with hope". Europa Donna Cyprus' executive director, Marios Charalambides, said that "for the first time such an agreement is being made", noting that there has been injustice for cancer patients over the years.
