Drewberry Insurance Reveals the Real Chances of Suffering Illness

LONDON, April 10, 2011 - Drewberry Insurance has compiled data reported by various health
charities on the chances of suffering illness. It is important to be aware of
these risks and to take precautionary steps to avoid sickness and to protect
income in the event of incapacity.

However much we would like to believe that 'it won't happen to me' the
statistics are always stacked against us in the long-run. It is an
unfortunate reality that every year in the UK over half a million people
suffer either cancer, heart attack or stroke.*

Tom Conner, head of protection at Drewberry Income Protection
(www.drewberryincomeprotection.co.uk/), says, "It is vital not only to
eat healthily and exercise regularly in order to reduce the chances of
illness but it is also important to put in place financial protection in case
illness does arise, with income protection insurance often being the first
port of call".

Illness Incidence Research from Leading UK Charities:

Cancer

- Both Macmillan and Cancer Research UK report that there are over 200
different kinds of cancer, each with its own name and treatment;*

- Cancer Research UK reports that there are approximately 298,000 people
diagnosed with cancer each year, which equates to nearly 1 case for every 200
people in the UK.*

Heart Attack

- The British Heart Foundation (BHF) report that there around 124,000
heart attacks each year and around 1.5 million people living in the UK who
have had a heart attack;*

- The BHF also state that there are nearly 2.7 million people living with
heart disease and the UK spends approximately GBP3.2 billion each year on
healthcare costs for heart disease.*

Stroke

- The Stroke Association report every year an estimated 150,000 people in
the UK have a stroke, with about a third likely to be left disabled and
needing rehabilitation;*

- It is argued that suffering a stroke has a greater disability impact
than any other medical condition, with around 250,000 people living with
long-term disability as a result of strokes.*

Mental Illness

- Both the Mind and Rethink charities report that one in four people are
likely to experience a mental health problem every year;*

- The Department for Work and Pensions (www.dwp.gov.uk/) report
there have been over 340,000 applications for state Employment and Support
Allowance due to mental and behavioural disorders.*

Ties to Income Protection Insurance Claims

Income protection plans payout a monthly benefit to replace lost earnings
should the policyholder have to cease working due to illness or injury. These
policies can continue to payout right up until planned retirement if the
policyholder is unable to return to work and represents the most
comprehensive form of illness and injury insurance (
www.drewberryincomeprotection.co.uk/accident-sickness-insurance/)
available.

According to Drewberry Insurance research** across several leading income
protection insurers the largest cause for claims arose from mental disorders
(stress, anxiety and depression, representing around 30 per cent of claims),
followed by musculo-skeletal disorders (such as for back, neck and joint
conditions, representing around 20 per cent of claims).

The next highest causes for claims were for cancer, circulatory system
disorders (such as for heart attack and stroke) and nervous system disorders
(multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, for example). Each of these
medical conditions represents around 10 per cent of total claims.

Given the sheer volume of new serious illness and injury cases each year,
income protection insurance is an ideal policy to alleviate the potential
financial consequences of incapacity, thus protecting household finances at a
time when the focus needs to be on recovery.

Notes to editors

*Please see the following report for further information and a list of
referenced data sources:
www.drewberryincomeprotection.co.uk/chances-of-becoming-seriously-sick/

**Research available upon request.

About Drewberry Insurance

Drewberry Insurance is a trading name of Drewberry Ltd, which operates as
a whole of market insurance intermediary in the health and protection
insurance markets. Drewberry Insurance offer insurance broking services for a
range of individual and group policies, through the following specialised
websites:

Drewberry Group Insurance (www.drewberrygroupinsurance.co.uk/) -
Informational resource for implementing group health and protection schemes
as part of an employee benefits offering.

Drewberry Mortgage Insurance (
www.drewberrymortgageinsurance.co.uk/) - Informational resource for
arranging mortgage protection insurance, such as life insurance and payment
protection.

Drewberry Health Insurance (www.drewberryhealthinsurance.co.uk/) -
Informational resource for arranging both personal and family private medical
insurance (PMI) plans.

Drewberry Ltd is an appointed representative of Chase Templeton Ltd which
is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, register
number 311612. Registered address: Vantage House, 1 Weir Road, London, SW19
8UX.

    For further information please contact:

    Andrew Jenkinson
    Drewberry Ltd
    Vantage House
    1 Weir Road
    London
    SW19 8UX
    +44-(0)20-8432-7333
    www.drewberryltd.com
    enquiries@drewberryltd.com

For further information please contact: Andrew Jenkinson, Drewberry Ltd, Vantage House, 1 Weir Road, London, SW19 8UX, +44-(0)20-8432-7333, www.drewberryltd.com, enquiries at drewberryltd.com