What is it?
The right to be forgotten aims to help people who have had a serious illness, such as cancer or a chronic condition, gain easier access to certain types of insurance. It concerns a legal framework that prohibits insurers to continue using past health issues as a reason to refuse someone or charge them a higher premium.
The legal framework stipulates that insurers, under certain conditions, are no longer allowed to take a past illness into account when assessing an insurance application. This does not only apply to cancer, but also to other chronic conditions, such as HIV, hepatitis, cystic fibrosis, etc.
People who benefit from this right not only pay less for their insurance, but they can also no longer be refused.
When was it introduced??
The right to be forgotten has existed since 2019 for taking out mortgage balance insurance. Previously, people with a chronic condition or cancer survivors often faced difficulties obtaining this type of insurance or were required to pay significantly higher premiums. Since 2019, however, insurers have no longer been allowed to take into account medical conditions for which treatment has been successfully completed when assessing the insurance risk.
Since 2022, the right to be forgotten has also applied to guaranteed income insurance.
How does the scheme work today?
There is an important distinction between cancer and chronic conditions:
- Cancer: the obligation to disclose no longer applies once a person has been cancer-free for at least five years, provided there has been no recurrence during that period. For certain types of cancer, even shorter waiting periods apply.
- Chronic conditions: the obligation to disclose remains in place. However, insurers may not determine the impact of the condition at their own discretion. Instead, they must comply with a legally established reference grid that sets the maximum premium surcharges and applicable conditions.
Since 1 June 2026, cancer survivors who meet the legal conditions are no longer required to disclose their previous cancer when applying for insurance.
