Canada Life Group Critical Illness
Canada Life, the UK market leader for group life, has updated its existing group critical illness (CI) policy.
Quotes are available now and scheme renewals change from 1 January 2011. The main changes are:
• Partnerships with RED ARC and Best Doctors from 1 January. These will provide enhanced individual support for employees and their families. RED ARC’s service includes unlimited access to a personal nurse adviser, who can also arrange further help if needed. That can include a home visit from a specialist nurse, a course of therapy or a programme of counselling. Best Doctors’ service provides medical second opinions from consultants highly ranked by other doctors.
• The range of conditions covered has been extended from 7 to 12 conditions. Added core conditions are:
o Motor neurone disease
o Parkinson’s disease
o Alzheimer’s disease
o Dementia/pre-senile dementia
o CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).
• Core cover can be extended to a further 26 conditions. These are aorta graft surgery; aplastic anaemia; bacterial meningitis; balloon angioplasty; benign brain tumour; blindness; cardiomyopathy; coma; deafness; encephalitis; heart valve replacement or repair; HIV infection (selected occupations only); liver failure; loss of hands or feet; loss of independent existence; loss of speech; open heart surgery; paralysis of limbs; primary pulmonary hypertension; progressive supranuclear palsy; pulmonary artery surgery; respiratory failure; rheumatoid arthritis; terminal illness; third degree burns, and traumatic head injury. Permanent and total disability and spouse’s and children’s benefits are also included.
• A claims helpline to assist claimants and scheme members with the claims process, including validation and claim form completion.
Improved terms and conditions include the maximum free cover limit being increased to £500,000 and the survival period reduced to 14 days.
Plus points: The two new third party services add to the value of the plan to end users, as do the new conditions covered; It is good to see additional marketing support being offered too and the fact that Canada Life has made it easier for intermediaries to sell and clients to buy such cover through the changes in underwriting limits.
Not so plus points: Both individual and group CI are now complex propositions that still do not provide fully comprehensive cover for those who suffer any critical illness—primarily because they lack an effective ‘catch all’ overarching definition; That said, these changes should prove popular with intermediaries and clients looking for more cover in tough economic times without having to pay significantly more for that cover.
Website: http://www.canadalife.co.uk/group.
Rating (max 10): Innovation: 7. Overall: 8. Gold.