An agreement was reached at the headquarters of the Ligue nationale contre le cancer (National League against Cancer) between the French government and insurance companies, which will no longer penalise borrowers who have recovered from cancer. This represents real progress for former cancer sufferers, who will be able to benefit from the right to be forgotten, making it easier for them to take out a mortgage and avoid additional premiums.
The agreement between insurers and the French government, represented by Marisol Touraine, Minister of Health, and Michel Sapin, Minister of Finance, exempts borrowers from having to disclose their former illness in order to obtain a loan or insurance, subject to certain conditions.
A world first
This is a historic step forward for France, the only country to have introduced such a right to be forgotten system.
According to the French National Cancer Institute, over 350,000 people are newly diagnosed with cancer every year, 2,500 of them under the age of 18.
Although they have been cured for several decades, these former sufferers were still stigmatised when it came to taking out loans.
No difference between forms of cancer
The agreement makes no distinction between the different forms of cancer, but aims to give priority to helping people of an age to start building their future.
For example, the agreement provides for two regimes depending on the age at which the cancer first appeared: for people with cancer before the age of 15, they will not be obliged to mention their illness if the therapeutic protocol has been completed for at least 5 years. For others, treatment must have stopped at least 15 years ago.
In addition, the agreement between insurers and the French government provides for the introduction of a reference grid establishing a list of cancers eligible for a loan insurance rate without additional premium. This grid will be updated in line with therapeutic advances.
