"With centenarians the fastest growing age group in the UK, and life expectancy increasing, living beyond 100 years will become the norm for today’s children."
The launch comes a year after Vitality launched its Dementia and FrailCare Cover as an optional addition for people taking out serious illness cover.
Dementia and FrailCare Cover Plus (DFCC+) has been introduced to offer a greater amount of cover, in recognition of the growing social issue around funding of later life care. It will provide people with added financial security and support if they receive a dementia, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson diagnosis, suffer a stroke or experience general frailty.
DFCC+ follows the same design as DFCC, but with an additional premium payable from the start of the plan. In return it offers a greater level of cover by allowing up to 100% of remaining SIC to be converted into DFCC following the end of SIC policy and 10% of remaining life cover converted into funeral cover.
VitalityLife's data shows that more than two thirds of eligible policies have opted to add DFCC to their SIC from its introduction last year.
Additionally, VitalityLife is partnering with SuperCarers, a provider of care support services, to offer members two levels of care support benefits. This includes free care advice and care sourcing services for Vitality members and their immediate families and discounted care fees for members with later life options.
Deepak Jobanputra, managing director of VitalityLife, said: “With centenarians the fastest growing age group in the UK, and life expectancy increasing, living beyond 100 years will become the norm for today’s children. Through our Vitality Programme we encourage our members to live healthier lives, not only so they can enjoy their older age, but also to reduce their risk of developing dementia and other later life conditions. Sadly, the fact remains that more people are living with dementia than ever before. Added to this, the costs of care can be substantial, with a dementia sufferer receiving little or no financial support from the state.
“Through our later life options and SuperCarers partnership we have developed a truly holistic approach to later life care. Not only do we provide members with financial benefits that help pay toward care costs if they suffer from later life conditions or frailty, we’re also giving them support in the immediate-to-short term for their loved ones, through access to the right information and advice connecting them with a suitable carer and give them discounted access to the care support they need.”
