"The support provided by a children’s critical illness policy can make a huge difference in helping those during difficult times, yet only 13% of UK employees have taken out a CIC policy."
As part of the optional add-on, Legal & General will pay 50% of the amount of cover, or up to £25,000 for a valid claim. Children will be covered from birth and there is no limit to the number of children a parent can claim for and the child is protected until the age of 22, irrespective of whether they are in full-time education or not.
As well as all the original benefits, CCIx includes a new children’s terminal illness benefit, providing cover of £10,000 if the child is diagnosed with an advanced or rapidly progressing incurable condition, with a life expectancy of less than 12 months by the hospital consultant and Legal & General medical officer.
12 additional illnesses are also covered under CCIx, including Cystic fibrosis, Crohn’s disease, Spina bifida, Downs syndrome and type one diabetes.
Legal & General has also enhanced its original children’s critical illness cover, extending the maximum age of cover from 18, or 21 (in full-time education) to 22, and increasing child funeral benefit from £4,000 to £5,000.
L&G will also continue to provide its range of existing benefits, including a £5,000 child accident hospitalisation benefit, childcare benefit of up to £1,000 if the main policyholder suffers from a specified critical illness and family accommodation benefit of up to £1,000 in the first three months following diagnosis.
Craig Brown, intermediary director at Legal & General, said: “Dealing with a critical illness is extremely challenging for anyone, but when it is a child, this makes it particularly distressing. The support provided by a children’s critical illness policy can make a huge difference in helping those during difficult times, yet only 13% of UK employees have taken out a CIC policy. The UK still suffers from a significant protection gap and as this figure shows, there is a serious risk of leaving children exposed and parents vulnerable to financial difficulty if either suffer from a critical illness.
“As an industry, it is our duty to try and close this protection gap. There is of course more we can do to educate consumers about the importance of cover but improving our offerings to consumers is also part of that mission to close the protection gap by providing clients with the additional support, protection, and peace of mind they need. We always strive to offer the best service for both our brokers and customers alike and we will continue to review our product offering to ensure our customers are well-supported during such tragic events.”
