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As a reaction against recent criticism that sickness policies are being mis-sold, the industry claims that it has already put new guidelines into place. A review by the ABI provided more rigorous standards, with easier to understand headings on brochures and standard wording to give a clearer picture.

Some providers have also reduced the number of people they refuse – to 15 per cent, at Standard Life, or 11 per cent in the case of Scottish Provident. In total, Scottish Provident paid 45.5million pounds in claims in the first 6 months of last year, with cancer being the most frequent trigger. This brings the amount paid by the insurer to 344m since 1996. Standard Life paid out 5,047 death and health claims in the same period to the value of 134million pounds.

The majority of people, whose claims are refused, are denied a payout because they did not declare a pre-existing condition. Others fail because their illness does not fall within the bounds of the policy. This mistake is easy to comprehend. What is covered as critical illness to one insurer is excluded by another.

If you take out a loan with Sainsbury’s Bank, you will be asked if you require its creditcare protection insurance. The highest price “gold level” includes insurance for critical illness. But what the policy covers will be very different to that on offer from Standard Life.

At Sainsbury’s it covers open heart surgery, strokes, heart attacks, kidney failure, quadriplegia and paraplegia and kidney failure. Cancer also features on the list though there are exceptions, including all but the very serious prostate cancers and lymphoma and skin cancer.

Standard Life encompasses 30 different illnesses including the seven highlighted by Sainsbury’s. They range from the human form of mad cow disease and third degree burns to bacterial meningitis and Parkinson’s disease. The company’s definition of cancer has the same exclusions as Sainsbury’s.

Insurance broker Simon Burgess states he will not sell critical illness cover since, in too many cases, policyholders never claim or the policy fails to pay out “You see adverts which say one in three people will get cancer and how a critical illness policy will help. But these policies are cancelled when people reach retirement age and that’s when most people get cancer. The figures for cancer are nearer one in 40 before 70 years of age, but the adverts don’t tell you this.”

Mr Burgess also says that the financial advice industry is guilty of churning policies. This means that advisers recommend clients to review policies every five years because it may give them a better deal. According to Mr Burgess this is just a money-spinning exercise because each new policy gives commission to the financial advisor. In some cases this can be equivalent to two year’s worth of premiums from the policyholder.

Even some of the largest providers of critical illness insurance agree that there can be better alternatives for paying the mortgage or generating an income when life-threatening illnesses stop you from working.

In today’s world, a person can sometimes be fighting cancer or other diseases for a number of years. If they are unable to work whilst receiving treatment or recovering from side effects, a lump sum payout from critical illness cover could run out very quickly.

It is worth looking into other kinds of policy such as family income benefit or an income protection policy. With the latter, for example, a payout would be made for a bad back if it prevents you from working.Clearly this would not be covered in a critical illness policy.

Mick James from Standard Life says. “For every income protection policy sold, people buy four to five critical illness policies.”

Yet that is an improvement on some years ago when the ratio was 10 to one. The fact still remains that the industry as a whole needs to do more to explain the alternatives to people so that they are able to make an informed choice.

If you are concerned about NHS waiting times for treatment after a diagnosis for cancer or heart disease has been made and you think you might want private medical treatment then private medical insurance (PMI) is usually a better choice.Interested in getting a quote on Life insurance? Please Visit the Life Insurance Angel for more information and other resources. Our sister site Brokers Online offers cutting edge articles and information about Life Insurance and other financial products.

There are many different types of protection policies available in today’s insurance market. The most common of these are income protection, which provides an income if you are ill and critical illness cover which pays a lump sum if you have a serious illness.

Around 90 per cent of men in the UK risk facing financial hardships as a result of ignoring income protection or critical illness cover, this can come in handy in the event of illness or an accident. Despite the fact that 56 per cent of men in the country are aware of the risks of cancer and do check themselves, nearly nine in ten (87 per cent) do not have private medical cover.

Research from Friends Provident published in advance of Men’s Health Week 2009 also shows that 87 per cent of men have no income protection insurance, while 93 per cent do not have redundancy cover. While 71 per cent do not have life insurance and 81 per cent do not have a will, which can have grave implications for any dependants.

This is because more than 80,000 men succumb to cancer each year, while 52,000 and 21,000 die of coronary heart disease and stroke respectively. Mark Jones, head of protection at Friends Provident, said: “The ways in which men are regularly taking risks with both their health and finances could have a devastating effect on those men who will unfortunately suffer from a critical illness.” The awareness week runs from June 15th to the 21st.

Where can find out more about protection insurance?
There are now many online life insurance and protection insurance comparison websites that have detailed information on the latest insurance products. Many explain the difference between the different policies to point you in the right direction.

If you find this all too complicated but still feel you have a need for protection advice you can speak to an independent financial advisor. Most independent financial advisors will offer a fee free advice basis though most will do this if they receive commission from the insurance provider.

It is important to remember that most bank or building society financial advisors are not independent this means that they can advise you on the best type of policy for your needs but they do not offer polices from the whole of the market. Instead they will typically be tied to one insurance company for their advice or at best they will have a selection of three or four providers.

I f you are happy with the advice but not happy with the premium there are many online price comparison sites that will allow you to obtain discounted premium quotes on protection policies. Many of these work by reducing the amount of commission they receive from the insurance company for setting up your policy which reduces the monthly premiums you pay.Jason Haines is a protection and mortgage advisor at godirect.co.uk, one of the UK’s most trusted information site about personal finance. So if you are looking for a new mortgage check out the remortgage rates online and see how much you can save, you could also save money on your mortgage protection.

Premiums for Critical Illness Cover (CIC) are escalating due to the rising number of claims and concern about medical advances in the future. Once diagnosed with a life threatening illness, CIC pays you a tax free lump sum, which will support you financially if you are off work due to illness.

Two major insurance companies will be increasing the cost of cover shortly. Legal and General’s premium will increase by 20 to 25 per cent and that of Swiss Life by 20 per cent. These increases are small when compared with the 50 per cent imposed by Friends Provident and BUPA and the 60 per cent announced by Norwich Union and Scottish Equitable. Liverpool Victoria are still considering what increase they will impose next month.

The insurance industry is in turmoil as advances in medical science help patients to survive illnesses, which would have been terminal only 10 years ago. The effect of this sea change in medical insurance is that life insurance claims are decreasing whilst pay outs on critical illness policies have seen a sharp rise. Consequently the cost of life cover is dropping, whilst that of critical illness cover is rising rapidly.

In an attempt to reduce the sharp rise in premiums, the Association of British Insurers has amended the conditions under which cover is provided for prostrate cancer and heart problems.

Many sufferers are now finding that early detection of these conditions results in longer life expectancy. The conditions under which CIC policies pay out are being redefined. This development will help to reduce the number of claims and consequently slow down the rate at which premiums are increasing. (For example, critical illness cover will not pay out for skin cancer unless it is invasive)

Kevin Carr of broker’s LifeSearch says that critical illness policies currently cover conditions, which are easier to detect and treat. Claims are therefore being settled for non-life threatening conditions, which is not the purpose of the policy.
A review of the terms of many policies is likely in the future. CIC for diabetes is being removed by Swiss Life, which leaves BUPA as the only insurer that includes this condition.

Reviewable policies are now being offered by an increasing number of insurers. Illnesses and premiums covered by these policies are reviewed every five years. A typical CIC is a guaranteed policy, which runs for a stipulated number of years. The premiums stay the same whilst the cover is in force, which is normally the term of their mortgage. However this type of cover is becoming more costly.

The Group Director of Liverpool Victoria’s independent financial adviser division, Rye Mills says that you have to pay for the reassurance that a guaranteed policy offers. He adds that people are more likely to choose a renewable rather than guaranteed policy as the increase in cost widens. Whilst Legal and General increases it’s CIC it is also launching a reviewable policy thus giving customers a choice. Skandia has withdrawn it’s guaranteed CIC, whereas Scottish Widows is only offering reviewable cover.

It is understood that Legal and General’s reviewable price will be about 15% lower than the guaranteed cover. If you have a guaranteed CIC it cannot be amended to include new definitions of illnesses.

Mr Carr from LifeSearch believes that although premiums on reviewable policies maybe cheaper customers would rather have a guaranteed policy. He suggests that if you don’t already have cover it would be prudent to take it out now before any further changes are announced.The Life-Insurance-Professionals are specialists in Life Assurance, offering fantastic deals and truly impressive information surrounding Insurance and other great financial products. Our sister site Brokers Online offers cutting edge articles and information about Critical illness insurance cover and other financial products.

A worrying fact is that a quarter of children are classed as overweight before they are old enough to start school. That figure is one in three by the time they enter secondary school at the age of 11.

Obesity can be related to a range of health problems including diabetes, heart and liver disease and even cancer. In less than a decade since 1999 the number of doctors’ prescriptions for obesity drugs rose from 127,000 to more than a million.

And now the insurance companies are going to make the fatties pay.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is the tool used to calculate whether a person is of ‘normal’ proportions, or ‘overweight’, or ‘obese’, which is anyone with a BMI of over 30. This is the figure at which many insurance companies start charging up to 50 per cent higher premiums. In the past a BMI nearer 40 was used, but as it became clear how serious Britain’s obesity problem was, the figure was lowered to 30. However, they might decide to drop lower still, heading closer to the 25 mark where the ‘overweight’ category starts.

If you are obese and also have other high-risk factors such as being a smoker or suffering from certain medical conditions, the increase in the cost of your premiums could soar to a staggering 400 per cent!

An example for 150,000 pounds of life cover for a 55-year old man in good health, who is a non-smoker of normal weight, is about 1,000 pounds a year. Let him become obese and his 25-year policy could cost him 500 pounds more.

Not all insurance companies use the same BMI rate. The second largest insurer, Norwich Union, uses 35 as the figure at which to raise the premium costs, and the third largest, Friends Provident, goes from 33.

Legal & General, Britain’s leading insurer, uses a BMI of 30, and said that 13 per cent of new customers would have to pay the higher premiums.

L&G’s director of underwriting and claims, Russ Whitworth said, “Most people understand that poor diet and lack of exercise can lead to health problems but they might not realise that being significantly overweight would also make their life insurance more expensive.

“Although it is not an exact science, we find that BMI is the best indicator of the risk of being overweight, so it pays to stay in shape.”

The Association of British Insurers backs its members’ decision to charge higher premiums for the obese, claiming that it is no different from charging more for a smoker or somebody with a previous medical condition

Problems could arise for super-fit sportsmen who would have to convince their insurers that their high BMI score is due to building up solid muscle rather than being obese.
It’s no point being economical with the truth when an application form asks for your height and weight. In the event of a claim, the company won’t pay out if it catches you out in a lie.
The Financial Ombudsman Service says it constantly throws out cases where a claim has been rejected for this reason.

Recently a man of 37 claimed on his application to be six foot tall and to weigh 16 stone. When he died of a blood clot five months later it turned out he was only 5 foot nine inches tall and five stone heavier. Needless to say there was no pay out. His premiums would have increased by 275 per cent if his true details had been known, but his claim would have been valid.

The Financial Ombudsman ruled that there was such a difference between what he put on the form and what he actually measured that it couldn’t have been a mistake.

Matt Morris, a policy adviser at specialist financial advisers Life Search, explained, “ In an ideal world, insurers want the healthier clients. There is an element of cherry picking. They don’t want the burden of the heavier client.”

The Prudential is doing something to help. It now offers free gym membership, and if you use it at least twice a week you get a 2.25 per cent discount as well.Get great deals on Life insurance from The Life Insurance Protection. Please visit our site for helpful articles on Life Insurance. Visit Brokers Online to benefit from its extensive article library covering most areas of uk finance.They also offer Life Insurance Quotes, Mortgage Quotes and much much more all online.

Not only do the majority of men appear to ignore the need for income protection and critical illness cover, it now appears that many take the emu approach when it comes to their health as well.

New research has highlighted the attitude of UK men towards their health by revealing that 18 million have chosen to ignore medical symptoms over the last year. Coming in the wake of research commissioned by Scottish Provident showing critical illness cover is only taken out by one in five people, the findings highlight how many individuals are jeopardising the financial futures of their dependants.

According to the research, 44 per cent of men do not check themselves for cancerous signs such as lumps and moles, while more than a third (34 per cent) does not know how to check for testicular cancer. “By ignoring symptoms and not visiting their doctor men could be leaving themselves vulnerable to future health problems,” said Mark Jones, head of protection at Friends Provident.

“We are encouraging men to take more care of themselves by being aware of their health now to secure their long term health.” Because illnesses can strike at any time, taking out critical illness insurance is especially vital, according to according to Richard Jones of Scottish Widows, who recently stated that people need to be made aware of the benefits of cover.

Where can find out more about protection insurance?
There are now many online life insurance and protection insurance comparison websites that have detailed information on the latest insurance products. Many explain the difference between the different policies to point you in the right direction.

If you find this all too complicated but still feel you have a need for protection advice you can speak to an independent financial advisor. Most independent financial advisors will offer a fee free advice basis though most will do this if they receive commission from the insurance provider.

It is important to remember that most bank or building society financial advisors are not independent this means that they can advise you on the best type of policy for your needs but they do not offer polices from the whole of the market. Instead they will typically be tied to one insurance company for their advice or at best they will have a selection of three or four providers.

If you are happy with the advice but not happy with the premium there are many online price comparison sites that will allow you to obtain discounted premium quotes on protection policies. Many of these works by reducing the amount of commission they receive from the insurance company for setting up your policy which reduces the monthly premiums you pay.Jason Haines is a protection and mortgage advisor at godirect.co.uk, one of the UK’s most trusted information site about personal finance. They have the latest best life insurance online quote system and offer free critical illness insurance quote engine for the best insurance quotes.