Tag: life cover
Critical Illness Insurance – What Points Should I Consider?
by admin on Sep.28, 2009, under Critical Illness
Summary
Lots of people with critical illness insurance don’t really appreciate how these plans function. There are calls for tougher rules on the marketing of such insurance. Consumers need more information on products which best suit their individual needs.
The main financial regulating body published its worries four years ago that many thousands of people with life cover failed to comprehend what their policies covered. Those worries are still valid.
The Financial Services Authority announced that industry data showed that insurance providers, including supermarkets, financial advisers, banks and insurersoften made negligible effort to establish if the insurance was adequate and little explanation was given to clients of how the cover work. While most companies were working to stick to better standards, others continued offering an inadequate service.
In the event that a stroke, cancer, heart diseaseor other listed life-threatening illnesses is diagnosed, critical illness cover, cheap life insurance pays out a capital sum. Often, it is customers who are concerned about paying off mortgage, debts and loans if they should be unable to remain working, who purchase this cover.
There are two kinds of policy: those policies where the premium is fixed for ever (a guaranteed premium) and those where the payments increase over time. Figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show that, in total, there are more than of five million insurance plans covering 11 million people. An average policy will pay out sixty seven thousand pounds.
These “protection” policies have proved to have critics. While the plans can bevery useful, these “protection” insurance policies have proved controversial and industry critics say that not many policyholders make a claim. There are no statistics available on the numbers of claims made contrasted with the total money spent on the policies. The Financial Services Authority review did reveal, however, that on average, 25% of the claims made are invalid.
In one situation recently a customer was found to have with cancer but medical consultants could not identify which one. The plan holder was informed it was unlikely the cancer specialists would know for certain until he seven feet under.
Until a diagnosis was available, his insurance policy would not pay out. The policyholder’s childern appealed realising that should he die, the insurer would pay out a life insurance policy worth twenty thousand pounds rather than the critical illness policy which was worth more than £85,000 as only one policy was scheduled to pay out. The argument with the insurance provider caused much more stress to the client. After a report in the press, the insurance company agreed with the claimant and paid out on the policy.
The Consumers’ Association which publishes Which?, said it thinks the situation is more serious than the Financial Services Authority claims and that sales of critical illness plans are at the centre of a far-reaching mis-selling scandal.
John Beer, principal policy adviser, says brokers, commission-hungry advisors and finance companies, saw a chance to make considerable earnings. He said Which? had forecast the mis-selling that was rampant in the selling of pensions and payment protection insurance and would be replicated in the critical illness sector.
His predictions are on the back of complaints in in government regarding the mis-selling of critical illness insurance policies. Max Bing, the MP, says the FSA’s study demonstrates there is a high risk that insurance are being sold to consumers who fail to understand what they are buying or who don’t even need them. The MP wants the Financial Services Authotity to make changes to its rules that would limit sales to specially regulated financial advisers working under stricter FSA guidelines.
