"This has been a long-term strategic aim, so we have been extremely diligent in developing this proposition."
- Nick Homer, Head of Market Management at Zurich Insurance
Zurich Insurance has today announced the addition of Group Critical Illness (GCI) to its suite of group products, designed in response to the changing health landscape where group policies are a necessity rather than a ‘nice to have’ product.
This product has a maximum benefit of up to £500k with cover available to a spouse or partner. Furthermore, it includes child benefit providing 25% of the member’s benefit, flexible maximum benefits with the ability to choose between £25k or £50k child benefit & £250k, £375k and £500k for the spouse/partner cover, and Total Permanent Disability (TPD) cover provided on any of the following definitions: Own Occupation, Suited Occupation, or Activities of Daily Living.
Zurich will cover standard critical illnesses, providing insurance for fifteen defined illnesses and surgeries, including heart attack, cancer, and stroke. Additional critical illnesses provide cover for an extra twenty-seven illnesses and surgeries. There’s automatically included Child Critical Illness (CCI), providing insurance for eleven specific child illnesses and surgeries, including child intensive care cover.
Cancer drug fund cover can be provided up to £100k worth of drugs in total, and Zurich’s pre-claim support team is available to answer any questions before making a claim. Access to a wide range of additional support & services is also included, with Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), virtual GP appointments, and second medical opinion services.
“Launching GCI cover establishes Zurich as a group risk provider which can provide the full suite of products. It changes the conversations we can have with advisers and employers which means we have an enhanced response to emerging health & environmental issues,” explained Nick Homer, Head of Market Management at Zurich Insurance.
He said: “This has been a long-term strategic aim, so we have been extremely diligent in developing this proposition. We’ve designed it to be flexible to give employers the opportunity to match or enhance their existing benefit design, whilst also remaining aware of the current cost challenges facing businesses.
“Employers can include additional conditions such as spouse/partner cover, increasing the maximum child benefit and cancer drug fund cover as extra features, to allow employees to tailor their benefits to meet their personal needs,” Nick concluded.
