Everything you need to know about enhanced critical illness payments
In the first of a new series entitled “Everything you need to know about…” we look at enhanced payments on critical illness. This series is designed to bring together insights on product features in particular areas to help advisers better understand who offers these features, how and when they can be used and by whom. In this edition we look at what events will lead to an increased critical illness payment.
Enhanced payments have been available within some critical illness plans for a number of years. They will generally provide an additional or increased payment if the life assured or their child suffers from one of the defined critical illnesses where the circumstances around the diagnosis or treatment have a bigger impact on the clients’ life than might ordinarily be expected. Below we provide examples of such events.
Serious Accident
Injuries caused by serious accidents are one of the most common reasons for hospital admissions particularly in younger age groups. For many critical illnesses the symptoms might get progressively worse over a period of time. The symptoms caused by a serious accident however, are often sudden and where this results in permanent disablement the client may have less time to come to terms with their condition.
To help provide more financial support in such circumstances, some insurers offer enhanced or additional payments if the client is hospitalised for an extended period of time or as a result of an accident suffers from one of a select list of conditions. In this insight we explain who provides such features in their critical illness plans, when they will pay this and how much.
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Diagnosis at a young age
For most of the conditions covered by critical illness plans, the likelihood of suffering from the condition increases with age. Whilst it is less likely that a client might be diagnosed with conditions such as Dementia, Parkinson’s disease or one of the Parkinson’s Plus syndromes at a young age, for those that do, the impact on their standard of living can be drastic.
A number of insurers now offer enhanced payments on specific conditions if the client is diagnosed at a young age. These generally cover neurological conditions which have a poor prognosis, however some also cover other conditions that may have a drastic impact on standard of living. In this article we look at which insurers offer such enhanced payments, what conditions qualify, at what ages and the amount that will be paid.
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Standard of Living
Another area where some critical illness plans may provide an enhanced payment is when a clients’ condition is so debilitating it affects their ability to carry out the basic activities of daily living. In such circumstances the client may need care and/or adapt their living accommodation to support them which could put a serious strain on their finances.
Again a number of critical illness plans will pay an enhanced sum to the client if they meet such criteria and in this article we consider who offer such features, what is required to meet the criteria and how much will be paid.
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Better treatment overseas
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole country has applauded and given much gratitude to the NHS. The service is a national treasure and the envy of many other countries around the world. We are one of the world leaders for many aspects of care, however there may still be instances where more advanced treatments or surgeries may be available elsewhere.
In the small number of cases where this might be true and better treatment options are available overseas, the costs of travel accommodation not to mention the actual treatment will be prohibitive to most. To support clients some insurers will pay an additional benefit if they or their child find themselves in this situation and in this article we look at who these insurers are, in what situations they offer this and what support will be offered.
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Watch out for future “Everything you need to know” pieces where each week we will cover a different topic and provide you with the information you need to know to discuss the topics with your clients.
