CANCER ACCOUNTED for more than four in ten deaths covered by Irish Life life assurance and two-thirds of all claims for serious illness last year, according to figures released by the insurer today.

Almost one in five death claims (18 per cent) were linked to heart disease.

Accidents accounted for more than one in ten of all claims (11 per cent), while 40 per cent of accidents involved a person under 40 years of age. Irish Life says that alcohol was a factor in one in seven of all accident-related death claims last year.

Irish Life head of underwriting Martin Duffy said the figures show that although significant progress has been made in fighting cancer in Ireland, “the reality is that cancer continues to be a dominant cause of illness and death”.

Of the 603 cancer-linked claims settled by Irish Life last year, 28 per cent involved breast cancer, prostate cancer accounted for 8.5 per cent, and colon cancer for 4.8 per cent.

A recent study by the World Cancer Research Fund warned that the number of people being diagnosed with cancer in Ireland is set to jump by 72 per cent by 2030.