Summary
The need to clarify the wording of policies, in particular those relating to critical illness cover. The innovative introduction of placing illnesses into types, which will provide clients a much better choice of cover.

 Few of us are covered against severe illnesses even though it may appear without warning. Norwich Union, the income protection provider, has carried out  that reveals only 5.2 per cent of the Britons work force have critical illness insurance, even though they will collect a large sum if they have  a heart attack, stroke or suffer from cancer.

17% of the population think the insurance to be too dear, the survey reveals, which explains the low take up.

Potential clients are also puzzled by the phraseology of policies and the disparity between permanent medical insurance and critical illness insurance.

A working party put together by the Association of British Insurers, is a present re-evaluating the  phrasing of policies. The situation might become even more baffling if the  operational party choose to reduce the amount of diseases defined as a critical illness.

UnNum Provident have introduced a new plan named Elixia 123, which it declares cuts the cost of critical illness cover by around 30 per cent and sometimes by upto 45 per cent.

This will be accomplished by letting customers to select the illnesses for which they require cover. There are three groups of risk. Category one. Heart attacks, strokes and invasive cancer. The policy will only pay out if the disease is life threatening or leads to major life style changes.

Group two. Conditions that do not have so much impact on life expectancy but do significantly affect life style. Motor neurone disease, blindness and Alzheimer’s  are incorporated in this category.

Group three. Conditions

Critical illness insurance is not that pricey so it is sensible to opt for a comprehensive plan, which will give you peace of mind.

Jennifer Green, the distribution development manager at PruHealth, is concerned about how the jargon is explained. She emphasises that customers must comprehend precisely what they are purchasing. For instance, when is a condition defined as major? The first and the third categories need explaining before taking insurance as there is not much difference between them in her view. Difficulties can occur later if the consumer has not fully understood the terms of the life insurance policy when they sign.