【Cancer Recurrence】Comparing Multi-Claim Critical Illness Insurance: Is More Payouts Better?

Nowadays, an increasing number of people are being diagnosed with cancer, and cancer is affecting people at younger ages. Many people therefore hope to establish a safety net early, so that if they unfortunately develop cancer in the future, they will have some financial support to face it positively and receive treatment.

According to the Hong Kong Cancer Registry, the number of new cancer cases in Hong Kong has continued to rise, increasing from over 17,000 cases in 1992 to over 35,000 cases in 2022¹. With advances in medicine, patients’ survival rates have improved significantly. However, the risk of recurrence remains high for some cancers. For example, lung cancer, the most common cancer in Hong Kong, has a recurrence rate of 30% to 60% for stages one to three².

In view of the high recurrence rate of cancer, when choosing insurance, many critical illness policyholders consider whether a product allows multiple claims, so as to cope with the lengthy journey of fighting cancer. Multiple claims are undoubtedly highly attractive, and many insurance companies promote their policies as allowing multiple claims for cancer. However, multiple claims are subject to certain restrictions. How should policyholders analyse the options and select a critical illness policy that suits them? In this analysis, 10Life examines the multiple-claim cancer coverage of six popular critical illness products in the market, from Generali, FWD, Manulife, AIA, Sun Life and Prudential. 

Cancer often requires a prolonged period of treatment and recuperation, and recurrence is common. As a result, next-generation critical illness products generally provide multiple-claim coverage to protect policyholders against the substantial financial pressure arising from ongoing treatment, recurrence or metastasis. Among the six critical illness products compared, there is a significant difference in the maximum number of claims that can be made for cancer. Generali’s 「LionGuardian Beyond」offers unlimited claims, while other insurers offer a maximum of 5 to 9 claims, and Prudential provides coverage for 3 claims. 

The more times cancer can be claimed, the better the cover—is that really the case? In fact, insurance companies impose a waiting period for each claim, and the length varies. Policyholders are not covered if they are diagnosed with cancer again during the waiting period. Waiting periods are also categorised by type, broadly including waiting periods for recurrent cancer, new cancer and persistent cancer. Basically, the vast majority of insurance companies impose a three-year waiting period for the recurrence of the same cancer or for persistent cancer. After a cancer claim has been made, if the policyholder is diagnosed with another type of new cancer, some companies may impose a waiting period as short as one year. These include Generali, FWD and Sun Life.

As this article focuses primarily on multiple cancer claims, the number of multiple claims is calculated based on cancer. In fact, besides cancer, multiple claims may also cover stroke and heart disease, depending on the definitions adopted by different insurance companies. Some policies may allow the insured to shorten the waiting period to one year and receive cancer compensation in the form of ongoing cash payments. The insured can decide whether to receive compensation as ongoing cash payments or as a lump sum, depending on their circumstances.

Further reading: 【Living with Cancer】Understand Persistent Cancer Compensation under Critical Illness Insurance in One Article

Generally speaking, the risk of recurrence is relatively high during the first five years after cancer patients complete treatment. Therefore, treatment outcomes are usually expressed in terms of the “5-year survival rate”, which represents the percentage of patients who remain alive five years after diagnosis or the commencement of treatment. Policyholders should therefore pay particular attention to the 5-year multiple-claim payout amount of a product.

Based on the assumption that the same type of cancer is being treated, Table 2 calculates the maximum total amount that may be claimed for each critical illness over different treatment periods (received as a lump-sum payment). Taking a 5-year treatment period as an example, if a policyholder continues to undergo active treatment after making the first cancer claim, they can make a maximum of only two claims within five years, as the waiting period for “continuous cancer” is generally three years.

However, Manulife recently launched the new critical illness plan IncomeGuard Critical Illness Protector, which shortens the waiting period for “continuous cancer” to one year, meaning that up to five claims can be made within five years. The plan also has the highest 5-year total multiple-claim amount among all the products, reaching 500% of the sum assured, while the maximum total claim amount is capped at 900%. FWD’s “Crisis USupporter Pro” ranks second in terms of its 5-year total multiple-claim amount, as its first cancer claim structure differs from those of other products: the first claim is 100% of the sum assured, the second and third claims are 120% of the sum assured, and the fourth to eighth claims are 150% of the sum assured. Therefore, adding the first two claims (a total of 220%) to the additional cash benefits for three major illnesses provided by FWD (10% per year, payable for four years)³, the maximum total claim amount over five years is 260%. 

We compared both a 10-year treatment period (equivalent to making three claims) and a 20-year treatment period (equivalent to making six claims), and the difference in the maximum total claim amounts for the six critical illnesses became increasingly pronounced.

In terms of premiums, based on a 35-year-old non-smoking male with a sum assured of US$150,000, FWD had the highest premium among the six products, at US$4,955 per year.

Multiple cancer claims undoubtedly provide cancer patients with greater protection, allowing them to undergo treatment with greater peace of mind throughout their long journey against cancer. In addition to paying attention to the number of claims, policyholders should also review the detailed terms and conditions to work out the level of cover that suits their actual circumstances.

In addition, you should carefully read the definitions of different terms. For example, in relation to “cancer claims”, some companies calculate the relevant period from the date of the first cancer diagnosis, while others calculate it from the date the first cancer treatment is completed. Therefore, when choosing a critical illness product, you must assess your own needs and actual circumstances. The terms and conditions of critical illness insurance products can be relatively complicated for the general public. If you would like to learn more about how to choose a critical illness product that suits you, please feel free to contact 10Life’s insurance advisers.

Last updated: 6 June 2025

Notes:  

1. https://www3.ha.org.hk/cancereg/pdf/overview/Overview%20of%20HK%20Cancer%20Stat%202022_tc.pdf
2. https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/press-releases/2015/lung-cancer-indicators-recurrence
3. When a multiple benefit claim for cancer under the critical illness benefit or specified critical illness benefit has been paid, and the insured person is still receiving active treatment or palliative care for the same cancer one year after the date of diagnosis of the cancer for which the critical illness benefit or specified critical illness multiple benefit was paid, FWDCrisis USupporter (Enhanced Version) will pay the Three Major Illness Cash Benefit for cancer, at 10% of the original sum assured per year, for a maximum of 5 consecutive years. The Three Major Illness Cash Benefit may be claimed no more than twice under this policy. However, the Three Major Illness Cash Benefit for cancer and the Three Major Illness Cash Benefit for acute myocardial infarction or stroke will each only be paid once under this policy, regardless of how many times the insured person may suffer from cancer, acute myocardial infarction or stroke. This benefit will terminate on the policy anniversary immediately preceding the insured person’s 86th birthday. 

This English version of this article has been generated by machine translation powered by AI. It is provided solely for reference purposes. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between this translation and the original Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.