CIExpert’s new Adviser Watch has found that while advisers unanimously believe children’s critical illness cover (CIC) is important, only 42% suggest that a client puts CIC in place before a child is born.
In fact, under half of all CIC policies offer children’s cover as ‘optional’, and a further 36% would only “sometimes” recommend an adult-only policy even if their client thought they would have children in the future.
This raises the question as to how likely it is that clients will be given the opportunity to take advantage of cover for pregnancy complications and congenital conditions that occur prior or during birth.
Alan Lakey, director at CIExpert said: “In recent years we have seen many insurers adding in a host of child-specific conditions to their critical illness cover […] we have also seen a move away from child cover being automatically included as a number of insurers now offer it as a paid-for option.
“This has been known to raise compliance concerns – [if] it’s left until after birth, then the child will not be covered for the various congenital conditions that are generally diagnosed at birth and any pregnancy complications or a still birth may not be covered.”
The CIExpert Adviser Watch found that almost half of all advisers (42%) are unaware that most congenital conditions in children are diagnosed at birth, and if children are not added to a CIC policy until after birth, they may not be covered for these conditions.
In fact, some policies cover significantly more congenital conditions than others, ranging from Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular Dystrophy and Cerebral Palsy – yet only one in two advisers (51%) state that the range of conditions will always influence their policy recommendation.
A fifth of advisers (18%) state that the range of conditions covered has little or no influence on their client recommendations at all.
Paul Reed, director at Vita, added: “As one of the most claimed on reasons for Critical Illness Cover, it’s really important that we take Children’s CI seriously.”
Lakey said: “The CIExpert Adviser Watch highlights the breadth of views and behaviours among advisers when it comes to children and critical illness cover. The vast majority appreciate the value of it, yet there appears to be some lack of awareness and understanding regarding the implications of leaving it until after birth.
“We hope that with the tools and insights that CIExpert offers, we can support advisers to navigate this market and feel equipped to advise their clients as best they can.”
