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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Yes. From 15 October 2026, Ireland’s statutory right to be forgotten can remove a qualifying cancer history from underwriting for mortgage-protection insurance on a principal private residence. You must have finished active treatment at least five years before applying and have been in complete remission for at least five years. The statutory disregard applies to qualifying cover up to €650,000. An insurer can still underwrite any amount above that limit and medical conditions unrelated to the cancer history.
Mortgage protection is life assurance: it pays the outstanding mortgage if you die during the policy term. It is not income replacement if illness keeps you from work. The steps below show how to establish eligibility, prepare evidence, choose an application route, compare policies and respond if an insurer delays or refuses cover.
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What changed on 15 October 2026
The statutory right to be forgotten now applies to qualifying mortgage-protection applications in Ireland. Where the legal conditions are met, the insurer must disregard your cancer medical history when assessing the relevant cover.
The two-part qualifying test
- At least five years must have passed since active cancer treatment ended.
- You must have been in complete remission for at least five years.
Both periods must be satisfied on the date you apply. The insurer may reasonably ask for the diagnosis date, the date active treatment ended and confirmation of the five-year complete-remission period. The legislation permits that information to be requested in a specified form and within a specified period, so keep the dates and supporting records available.
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The €650,000 and property limits
The statutory disregard is tied to mortgage protection for a principal private residence and applies to cover up to €650,000. Ask your lender to confirm that the loan is for the home you will occupy as your main residence and how much cover it requires. If the required sum is above €650,000, the excess remains subject to normal underwriting. The insurer can also assess health conditions that are unrelated to your previous cancer.
Do not use the old voluntary-code test
Older forms and web pages may still quote Insurance Ireland’s voluntary code, introduced on 6 December 2023. That code used seven years after treatment, or five years where the applicant was diagnosed before age 18, and generally referred to cover up to €500,000. Those figures explain legacy guidance; they are not the current statutory test for an application made under the 2026 rules.
What mortgage protection insurance actually covers
Death cover for the mortgage balance
Mortgage protection is a life-assurance policy linked to a repayment mortgage. If the policyholder dies during the term, the insurer pays the outstanding balance to the lender, subject to the policy terms. The cover normally reduces over time with the mortgage balance, although a level-term structure may be offered.
What it does not pay
It does not make your ordinary repayments when you are off work because of cancer, another illness or an injury. Income protection is the separate product designed to replace part of earnings during qualifying illness or disability. Serious-illness cover, if available as an add-on, is also distinct from the basic mortgage-protection death benefit.
Why a lender asks for it
Irish mortgages generally require mortgage protection. Section 126 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 provides the requirement and includes exceptions, including situations in which cover cannot be obtained because of age or health. If you cannot secure a policy, ask the lender to explain in writing whether an exception applies to your case and what evidence it needs.
Step 1: Confirm the mortgage and property scope
Check the loan amount
Ask the lender for the exact sum insured and policy term it will accept. The €650,000 statutory limit concerns the amount of qualifying mortgage-protection cover, not necessarily the total size of your mortgage. A loan above that figure may involve normal underwriting for the excess.
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Check that it is your principal private residence
Tell the lender and insurer whether the property will be your principal private residence. A buy-to-let, holiday home or other investment property may not fall within the statutory mortgage-protection scope described above. Get confirmation before relying on the right to be forgotten.
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Ask about policy format
Find out whether the lender requires a reducing-term policy that follows the mortgage balance, a level-term policy, or another structure. It should also tell you the minimum sum insured, commencement date and any wording it requires before drawdown.
Step 2: Choose where to apply
You can apply directly to an insurer, through an authorised broker or through the lender’s group scheme. Irish lenders cannot require you to buy mortgage protection from their own insurance provider if another policy meets the lender’s requirements.
| Route | What to check | Practical consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Direct insurer | Authorisation, policy terms, underwriting process and the lender’s acceptance criteria | You manage the application and comparison yourself. |
| Authorised broker | Terms of Business, insurer panel, scope of the search and broker fees | A broker can present options from its panel; ask whether the panel covers the providers you want considered. |
| Lender group scheme | Who owns the policy, whether it can be transferred and the policy’s exclusions and premium | The lender owns a group policy and it normally cannot be transferred to a new lender if you switch your mortgage. |
Whichever route you choose, confirm that the provider is authorised and that the lender will accept the resulting certificate before you cancel another policy or commit to a drawdown date.
Step 3: Assemble your mortgage and insurance documents
Documents for the mortgage file
The mortgage application itself commonly requires the identity and financial records listed by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC): proof of identity and address, your Personal Public Service Number, income evidence, payslips or accounts, bank statements and salary information. Your lender may request additional records. Sending the requested documents together reduces avoidable back-and-forth.
Documents relevant to the cancer-history disregard
Prepare a clear chronology before completing the insurance proposal:
- the date of diagnosis;
- the date active treatment ended; and
- evidence that complete remission has continued for the required period.
If the insurer asks for medical confirmation, contact your oncology team or treating consultant for a letter stating the treatment-completion date and the period of complete remission. Ask what format and date range the insurer requires before requesting the letter, because the legislation allows a specified form and response period.
Keep copies and a timeline
Keep copies of every form, letter and message, including the date you sent each item. A simple one-page timeline helps you answer date questions consistently and lets a broker identify a missing document quickly.
Step 4: Complete the insurance proposal accurately
Answer every question
Read each health and lifestyle question carefully and answer it fully and honestly. If the proposal asks about cancer, state the diagnosis and treatment dates even when you believe the statutory disregard applies. The disregard changes how a qualifying history must be underwritten; it does not authorise an inaccurate application.
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Omitting a condition or giving an incorrect date can lead to a postponed decision, a cancelled policy or a claim dispute. If a question is unclear, ask the insurer or broker to explain it and record the answer. Do not guess a treatment date: obtain confirmation from your medical records or clinician.
Separate cancer questions from other health questions
The statutory rule concerns the qualifying cancer history. The insurer may still ask about and underwrite unrelated conditions, current medication, smoking or other matters included in its proposal. Answer those questions in the same complete way.
Step 5: Submit evidence and understand the underwriting boundary
How the insurer can use your evidence
The insurer can verify the dates needed for the statutory test and check that the application relates to the qualifying property and amount of cover. It can also underwrite the portion of cover above €650,000 and medical issues unrelated to your cancer history. A request for evidence is not, by itself, a refusal.
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If your dates are close to the threshold
Use the actual date active treatment ended and the actual start of complete remission shown by your medical evidence. Applying even one day before a required period has elapsed may produce a different underwriting outcome, so ask the provider how it calculates the date if your anniversary is close.
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If the mortgage exceeds €650,000
Ask the insurer or broker to show in writing how it will treat the amount within the statutory limit and the amount above it. The excess may receive ordinary underwriting, which can result in a different premium, loading, exclusion or decision from the qualifying portion.
Step 6: Compare written offers, not verbal indications
Once an insurer issues terms, compare the documents side by side. A cheaper initial indication is not useful if it does not satisfy the lender’s conditions or excludes a benefit you expected.
| Comparison point | Questions to ask |
|---|---|
| Eligibility and evidence | Has the provider applied the statutory rule to the qualifying cancer history? What dates or remission evidence does it require? |
| Sum insured and term | What amount is insured, for how long and does it meet the lender’s required figure? |
| Reducing-term or level-term design | Does the benefit reduce with the mortgage, or stay level? Which structure is the lender accepting? |
| Premium and loading | What is the quoted premium, and is any loading or special term attached to the offer? |
| Exclusions | Which circumstances are excluded, and are the exclusions written into the formal schedule? |
| Ownership and portability | Who owns the policy? If it is a lender group policy, can it move with you to another lender? Group cover normally cannot be transferred. |
| Serious-illness cover | Is it included, optional or absent, and what separate definitions and exclusions apply? |
| Broker and provider details | Is the broker authorised, what is its panel and fee, and is the insurer authorised? |
| Lender acceptance | Has the lender confirmed that this exact policy and certificate satisfy its mortgage conditions? |
Do not rely on a broker’s summary alone. Read the formal quotation, policy schedule and terms, then send the certificate to the lender for approval.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Costs, processing and what cannot be promised
There is no single premium for someone who has completed cancer treatment. The amount, any loading, exclusions and the final decision depend on the application and provider. No universal processing time or guaranteed acceptance applies. Ask the insurer or broker for a written estimate of next steps and for notice if further medical evidence is needed.
If you use a broker, review its Terms of Business before proceeding. It should state the panel it searches, how it is paid and any fee you may owe. Compare the total cost over the policy term, not just the first payment, and check whether the quoted premium is fixed, reviewable or subject to a stated change mechanism in the policy documents.
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If an application is delayed, postponed or refused
Request a written decision
Ask the provider to state whether the issue is missing evidence, a request for further medical information, a postponement, a decline or terms that differ from standard pricing. Ask which part of the application drove the decision and whether the statutory cancer-history rule was considered.
Correct missing or conflicting information
Compare the insurer’s questions with your documents. If a date or remission statement is incomplete, obtain the requested clarification from your clinician and resubmit it through the channel the provider specifies. Keep the original and corrected versions so you can show what changed.
Try another authorised route
You may approach another authorised insurer or an authorised broker. A different provider may have different underwriting rules for unrelated medical conditions or different requirements for evidence. You are not limited to the lender’s group scheme.
Ask the lender about its statutory exception
If no provider can offer cover because of age or health, ask the lender whether the Consumer Credit Act exception applies and what alternative evidence it requires. Do not assume an exemption is automatic; obtain the lender’s position in writing.
Escalate a fairness or conduct concern
For a concern about a lender’s regulatory treatment, the CCPC directs consumers to the Central Bank. For a complaint about a financial-service provider that remains unresolved through its internal process, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman is the relevant external complaints route. Follow each organisation’s current complaint procedure and retain your correspondence.
Quick Recap
A practical application checklist
- Ask the lender for the required sum insured, term, policy format and confirmation that the property is your principal private residence.
- Check your treatment-completion and complete-remission dates against the statutory eligibility test.
- Choose a direct insurer, authorised broker or lender group scheme; review broker Terms of Business and fees.
- Gather identity, address, PPSN, income, payslip or accounts, bank-statement and salary documents for the mortgage file.
- Prepare diagnosis and treatment dates and request an oncology confirmation if the provider requires it.
- Complete every proposal question accurately, including cancer and unrelated health questions.
- Submit the application and evidence together, then respond by the deadline to any medical-information request.
- Review the written sum insured, term, policy structure, premium, exclusions, ownership and any serious-illness option.
- Send the final certificate to the lender and obtain confirmation that it accepts the policy before mortgage drawdown.
- If delayed or declined, obtain written reasons, correct missing information, try another authorised route and use the appropriate complaint channel if necessary.
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