What do we mean by the right to be forgotten? An analysis of the French case study from a lawyer’s perspective

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Highlights

  • Insurances issues faced by cancer survivors–extra premium, exclusion or refusal– are important but can be partly overcome.

  • Both a conventional approach and a law put France on the cutting edge of the recognition of a right to be forgotten for cancer survivors.

  • It permits every cancer survivor not to declare their cancer 10 years after the end of the active treatment and 5 years if they had cancer under 18.

  • A reference table also defines for different types and stages of cancer, a shorter period of time after which insurers have to apply standard conditions (no extra premium, no exclusion).

  • Even limited to loan related insurance, it’s a significant advance for cancer survivors.

Abstract

The return to normal life of cancer survivors is not easy, especially when it comes to taking out insurance. Therefor, France has put in place the Right to be forgotten in order to promote their insurability: it permits every cancer survivor not to declare their cancer 10 years after the end of the active treatment and 5 years if they had cancer under 18. A reference table also defines for different types and stages of cancer, a shorter period of time after which insurers have to apply standard conditions (no extra premium, no exclusion). After presenting the difficulties encountered by former cancer patients, the content and scope of the right to be forgotten will be presented as well as the key aspects of this important reform.

Introduction

Being diagnosed with cancer is no longer the death sentence it used to be [1]. Medical advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer explain that there is an increasing number of survivors. In 2012 there are around 12 million cancer survivors diagnosed in the past 5 years and France makes 8% (1 million) of the total population [2]. Cancer survivorship raises new societal challenges, in terms of employment or insurances. Insurances are a major issues faced by cancer survivors as soon as the risk assessment is made from a medical questionnaire, especially for life and health insurances [3]. Even if mortgage life and/or disability insurance are not required by law when taking out a loan home, it is often impossible to borrow money without covering the balance due. In order to solve these problems, one of the flagship measures of 2014–2019 Cancer Plan [4] was the recognition of a “right to be forgotten”, which enables long-term cancer survivors to do not inform insurers that they had cancer [5].

This paper has three main objectives. The first is to provide general background on the insurances’ issues faced by cancer survivors (1). The second is to define and explain what does the right to be forgotten mean for cancer survivors (2). The third is to draw conclusions in a pan-European perspective from the analysis of the French case study (3).

Section snippets

Insurances’ issues faced by cancer survivors

As a mean of protection from uncertainty and financial loss, insurances are widespread used in our modern society. When they cover the insured person’s existence, integrity or health, insurers evaluate all the risks related to the individual. Therefore, candidates fulfill a medical questionnaire and have to answer precisely in order to permit the insurer to assess the risks it assumes” [6]. Intentional reluctance or false declaration made by the insured, when it changes the object of the risk

The French “right to be forgotten”

One of the flagship measures of the former President François Hollande’s Cancer Plan was the recognition of the right to be forgotten. Firstly adopted within the framework of the AERAS Convention, it has been voted in the same time into the last French health reform bill. Before analysing the scope and content of the right to be forgotten (Scheme 2), it seems necessary to present its genesis (Scheme 1).

Key aspects

Finally, the “right to be forgotten” is a facility of language and the two mechanisms behind are more complex. And yet, it permits to increase insurability of cancer survivors, by forcing stakeholders to define together and at national level when cancer is no longer an aggravated health risk.

First important step has been to create awareness about cancer survivorship. For this purpose, cancer patients’ organizations play a key role because, in addition to providing support to cancer survivors,

Conflict of interests declaration

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the EORTC Cancer Research Fund.

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