"We have created this new additional benefit to provide financial support to our members so they can focus on the health and wellbeing of their child."
- Natalie Summerson, Sales & Marketing Director at British Friendly
British Friendly has launched optional Children’s Critical Illness Cover (CIC) which can be added - for an additional cost - to its new Protect & Breathing Space Income Protection (IP) policies from the 7th June 2024.
This option provides policyholders with a cash lump sum if their child is diagnosed with one of fifty-seven 100% payment conditions and twenty additional 50% payments. Additionally, it includes a 100% payment for admission to a UK waiting list for eight named surgeries as well as optional Fracture Cover for eighteen common fractures.
Notably, this benefit includes flexibility to add at a later stage, subject to the policyholder meeting one of the five life change/GIO requirements. This cover doesn’t include Child Death Benefit or Terminal Illness payment.
Applicants can add between £1k-£25k of Children’s CIC, covering children from birth until their 18th birthday or 23rd birthday if they’re in full-time education. There isn’t a limit on the number of children covered, which means any future children are also protected; there’s no survival period requirement after diagnosis.
Policyholders' biological, step, or legally adopted children as well as children under the policyholder’s legal guardianship or who a policyholder has been granted legal responsibility for are eligible.
Members will continue to have access to the BF Care programme which provides financial support through its Bereavement Benefit, Terminal Illness Benefit, and Care Assistance Benefit.
Commenting on the launch, Alan Knowles, Managing Director at Cura Insurance, said “As an adviser who usually prioritises IP over other plans, the ability to add comprehensive Children’s CIC is welcome news. We don’t want to think about these things happening to our children, but if it does, then having some money can help reduce the financial worry.”
“Since some customers won’t have the budget to get their own CIC and some aren’t able to get it due to medical disclosures, being able to add a comprehensive child benefit to their IP will help them widen their protection where they couldn’t previously,” he added.
Natalie Summerson, Sales & Marketing Director at British Friendly, explained that caring for a child with a critical illness can be a “deeply distressing and worrying time and the financial impact on families caring for that child is significant.”
“We have created this new additional benefit to provide financial support to our members so they can focus on the health and wellbeing of their child,” she concluded.
