Bupa Critical Illness with Life Cover
Our second Bupa review this month is a very different animal and comes from Bupa Individual Protection, which is shortly to become part of the Friends Provident brand at Resolution.
An existing product, Bupa has introduced two main changes to this and the equivalent standalone CI plan:
1. Severe Crohn’s disease and benign brain tumour have been added to the conditions covered. The full list is now: Alzheimer’s disease; aorta graft surgery; aplastic anaemia; bacterial meningitis; benign brain tumour; benign spinal cord tumour; blindness; cancer; cardiomyopathy; chronic rheumatoid arthritis; coma; coronary artery by-pass graft; Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (which, incidentally, is spelt incorrectly in the Policy Summary key facts document); deafness; dementia; heart attack; heart valve replacement; HIV infection; kidney failure; liver failure; loss of hands or feet; loss of independence; loss of speech; major organ transplant; motor neurone disease; multiple sclerosis; open heart surgery; paralysis of limbs; Parkinson’s disease; progressive supra-nuclear palsy; respiratory failure; severe Crohn’s disease; stroke; systemic lupus erythematosus; third degree burns; traumatic head injury; type 1 insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. In addition, the plan also pays out on death or diagnosis of terminal illness. Eleven of the conditions covered now exceed the ABI model definition for that condition.
2. Where the life insured is waiting for an operation on the NHS for aorta graft surgery, coronary artery by-pass graft, heart valve replacement or repair or open heart surgery, the plan pays out the lesser of 25% of the sum insured or £25,000 directly into their bank account. Bupa says it is the first CI provider to offer this benefit.
Other features of the plan remain the same. Options include fracture cover, indexation and a reinstatement option (on the second life). The plan also includes access to a Healthline and the Best Doctors facility.
Plus points: We especially like the idea of pre-releasing part of the benefit if the life insured is awaiting one of the NHS operations specified; Limiting that to 25% of the sum insured looks to be a reasonable compromise and should help customers meet the additional costs they may incur at such a time; Overall, this is a strong plan and the enhancements simply add to that.
Not so plus points: The more we look at CI plans, the more we become convinced that over-complexity and lack of an overall ‘catch all’ definition are holding back the product; This is not a criticism of this or any other provider, but we do think that these are issues (along with the ongoing saga about what total and permanent disability—TPD—should cover). The one thing missing looks to be what customers would actually want their plans to cover. More on that later…
Website: http://www.bupa.co.uk.
Rating (max 10): Innovation: 8.5. Overall: 8. Gold.