The term ‘less advanced prostate cancer’ was excluded in 2002 but is now included if treated by prostatectomy. As a result, this has now been removed from the ‘less advanced cancer’ of the prostate definition.
This has made Aviva the first insurance provider to react to plans from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to issue amended model wordings for cancer, dementia and heart attack.
Within its upgraded critical illness plan, Aviva has increased the maximum ‘additional payment condition’ sum from £25,000 to £30,000.
Additionally, the life change and separation benefits timeframe has been extended from 90 to 180 days from the event date.
For children’s cover, the definition of ‘partner’ has been extended to include somebody who has lived with the child for at least two years and surrogacy is now included.
DigiCare, the added benefits package offered by Aviva, has been enhanced by a cancer care programme in conjunction with MacMillan Cancer Support.
Alan Lakey (pictured), director of CIExpert, said: “As always, we champion insurers that add conditions or extend wordings which will result in more claims or higher sums being paid.
“Aviva, which pioneered the twin plan approach, has been at the forefront of critical illness cover innovation and these improvements have improved its position within the CIExpert quality tables.”
AIG changes
AIG has introduced two levels of cover for children, now under enhanced children’s cover and core children’s cover.
The enhanced cover has been renamed from the enhanced adult policy with some benefits removed and cheaper pricing.
Children’s cover will still be optional, but congenital conditions have been removed from core policies. Some group 1 and group 2 conditions have also been removed such as the loss of two limbs and Spina Bifida.
Payment for conditions under group 1 have been reduced to pay lower of £25,000 or 50 per cent of an adult’s cover, while payment levels for group 2 conditions have still pay lower of £25,000 or 25 per cent of an adult’s cover.
Birth defect cover is now only available within the enhanced children’s cover.
Additionally, the child death benefit has been cut from £10,000 to £5,000.
Lakey added: “These changes bring AIG’s core children’s cover more in line with the standard level of children’s cover in the market that generally do not include congenital conditions. Many advisers believe that consumers will increasingly favour cost over quality as their financial burden becomes ever heavier. CIExpert has always advocated quality over price but the reality is that any cover is better than none so value-for-money budget plans are likely to become ever more popular.
“AIG’s move will likely resonate with advisers looking for a value budget offering.”
