Real lives behind the laws
Testimonials show policymakers what financial discrimination looks like in practice. Survivors from across Europe share how a cured cancer still weighed on a loan, a mortgage or an insurance policy.
More testimonials will be posted soon.
A new video in which cancer survivors each share one word about life after cancer.
Hear it from survivors
DiscriminationCorinne: life insurance for her first home loan granted only with a 150% higher premium, 17 years after being declared cancer-free – challenged before the Financial Arbiter. Martina: insurers refuse cover or charge double to triple premiums, though cured for over 12 years.
DiscriminationYoung survivors refused private health insurance, life insurance for a home loan, travel-cancellation and disability insurance – one was told adoption was impossible.
DiscriminationAsked to pay a 50% higher premium on his mortgage insurance in 2021; he was never told about the Belgian reference grid, which would have shortened his waiting period to three years.
DiscriminationAfter first approving a personal loan, his bank changed its conditions once aware of his illness and required an insurance policy or a family co-signatory.
DiscriminationInterview with Prof. Meunier about financial discrimination after cancer (anonymous testimony).
DiscriminationLife insurance for her 2021 mortgage refused for “risk of premature death”, based on outdated data; her appeal to the Belgian monitoring office was rejected.
DiscriminationRefused bank loans to buy a home because of her medical condition; the health cover she had paid for almost 20 years was not renewed after her diagnosis.
DiscriminationDenied credit and even savings accounts for his children, as he was considered a “risk factor”.
DiscriminationRefused a car loan with insurance cover, discouraged from applying for a mortgage, told adoption would be difficult and sidelined at work.
DiscriminationAs a bookshop owner with two employees, her sick-leave insurance was not renewed because she was “no longer profitable”.
DiscriminationOffered a loan on unequal terms, a shortened driving-licence renewal and refused company health insurance – 15+ years after treatment.
DiscriminationMortgage insurance questionnaires with no time limit: higher costs for a 2014 home loan, then a 2017 purchase in Luxembourg without insurance, made possible only with family help.