Cancer accounted for nearly half of all death claims made to insurer Zurich under life insurance policies last year.
While nearly two thirds of all life cover claims were for cancer and heart related illnesses.
A third of all those claims were for people aged 60 or under, data released by the insurer shows.
In total Zurich paid out €54.1m in death claims last year, with an average payment of around €97,000.
The statistics also show that a further €23.4m was paid out by the company in serious illness claims over the twelve months.
Cancer accounted for 69% of those and the average age of the claimants was 52.
57% of all male claims related to cancer, while for women 83% were cancer related.
Just under half of those claims were connected to breast cancer.
