Skandia UK Critical Illness, CI, May 2013
Skandia Life has re-entered the protection insurance space, having temporarily exited it in August 2010 after around two decades in the market.
It has done so with a new critical illness plan which includes life cover and offers terms of 5-40 years or a rolling ten year term. Some 44 conditions are covered, five having the standard ABI definition, 18 an ABI+ definition
and 21 other conditions. Amongst the latter are serious accident, which pays a partial benefit after 28 days’ hospitalisation.
There are 12 partial payments in total for less severe conditions, paying the lower of £25K or 25% of the sum assured. Children’s cover is 50%/£25,000, and doubles if both parents have Skandia CI cover. There is a ten day survivability clause and benefit is paid up to age 21 (regardless of whether the child is in full-time education).
The plan also includes surgery benefit (up to half the sum assured in advance, or half the children’s sum assured up to £25K) to pay for certain fixed price operations; cover continuation benefit (after a claim on joint life plans); immediate cover for business assurance (and on accidental death during the application process for all), and guaranteed insurance options.
GIOs are mortgage increase; marriage/divorce/birth/adoption; salary increase due to promotion/job change; business assurance revaluation, and loss of
employer-provided group cover on retirement. Business loan and key person GIOs are also available.
Premiums are guaranteed throughout the policy term and exclusion premium discounts apply for certain excluded conditions.
Optional benefits include premium protection benefit (PPB); total and permanent disability (TPD); cover reinstatement option (buyback), and inflation (RPI) linked annual cover increases, which can never be lost.
Comment: Welcome back Skandia, it’s been a long time. Skandia now covers 56 critical conditions. Too many? We don’t think so—it simply brings cover closer to being a full critical illness policy (a definition that no policy yet meets). Skandia also says it has higher non-medical underwriting limits and no GPRs. It also offers tele-underwriting.
The key now will be keen pricing and exemplary service.
Plus points: Development of previous plan with a thorough spring clean of benefits; Good CI claims record (92% of claims paid in 2012); Extensive cover with some new ideas.
Not so plus points: Skandia has been away for almost three years—will its service be rusty?
Website: http://www.skandia.co.uk.
Rating (max 10): Innovation: 8.5. Overall: 8.5. Gold.