As providers increasingly look to partial payments on critical illness policies, Phil Jeynes warns advisers to be careful in their comparisons.
Last year, following the launch of a couple of revamped critical illness cover policies, it was noted many providers were making moves to include partial payment elements to their plans.
It was considered a good thing for consumers since, in general, the cover on offer was now broader and encompassed some conditions which, while not ‘critical', would doubtless have a serious impact on their lives.
However, there were still the details to consider and the savvy intermediary would be wise to dig a little deeper when deciding which product is right for their client.
HEART OF THE MATTER
An example used then was Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp's heart condition, which may or not have been covered under a partial payment and would certainly not meet the definition of a bone fide critical illness claim.
A few monthsa on and another football-related example helps illustrate the point. It will not have escaped anyone's attention that Bolton Wanderers player Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch during an FA Cup game back in March.
Having been treated on the pitch for several minutes, Muamba was transferred to hospital where emergency treatment continued until, eventually, he was stable enough to be moved to intensive care where he remained until his release in mid-April.
The layman's explanation of what happened to this otherwise super fit, elite athlete is that he had a sudden ‘heart attack'. Reports from his doctors, however, suggest, technically, this might not have been the case and perhaps something called ventricular arrhythmia was to blame.
If so, this would not meet the ‘heart attack' definition of any critical illness policy on the market. Imagine this is not a millionaire footballer, but one of your clients. Their heart has ceased beating for upwards of one hour, they have been in intensive care for weeks and their ability to return to their career remains in doubt. Will they accept the fact that the policy you sold them may not pay out a penny?
This is merely one tiny example, of course - statistically irrelevant, one might think. Yet these anomalies exist throughout many critical illness definitions, even down to those partial payment additions that have become popular of late.
One of the most common anomalies provides cover for low-grade prostate cancer - a vital area of protection given the number of men this type of cancer affects in the UK (about 37,000 each year, according to the BBC).
