HSBC Life (UK) has introduced significant developments to its critical illness (CI) products for new customers.
As part of the enhancements, policyholders can benefit from a top-up payment feature, available until age 60 on the CI Plus product.
If a claim is made for one of nine listed conditions- including motor neurone disease and Parkinson’s – an additional payment is provided.
This will be either £200,000 or the sum assured (whichever is lower), helping to recognise and support the additional costs policyholders may face following a diagnosis.
In addition, HSBC has enhanced its critical illness definitions across both CI Core and CI Plus products to provide greater clarity on what is covered, while also broadening protection to include improved cover for conditions such as less advanced prostate cancer and Parkinson’s Disease.
The updates will also cover several differen pregnancy complications on the CI Plus product.
This features a payment of £5,000 on seven different types of complication, including stillbirth after 24 weeks’ gestation, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) or eclampsia and ectopic pregnancy with surgery to remove a fallopian tube.
The enhancement was guided by customer feedback, with 68% of those surveyed saying it was important or very important to include.
HSBC is also now offering accelerated payouts across CI Core and CI Plus products when policyholders are placed on the NHS waiting list for qualifying surgeries.
With NHS data showing that, as of July 2025, 7.4 million patients in England were waiting for treatment – including around192,000 waiting over a year – this change means policyholders can claim as soon as they join the waiting list, rather than waiting for the procedure itself.
Richard Waters, head of protection distribution, HSBC Life (UK) Ltd, said: “We have considered feedback and insight from advisers, customers and industry experts and developed a series of enhancements that ensure we can financially assist more people who are facing difficult health diagnoses.
“According to research, 45% of advisers said their clients would be more likely to purchase critical illness cover if a payout was made as soon as they were added to the NHS waiting list.
“Furthermore, 60% of advisers said if additional/severity payments were paid quickly enough to pay for private treatment, their clients would be more likely to buy critical illness cover.
“Lastly, 67% of advisers said if their clients received a payment quickly enough to pay for private treatment for early-stage cancers, they’d be more likely to buy critical illness cover.
“Our Critical Illness payout rate of 94.4% last year highlights our commitment to paying claims and our latest enhancements will make customers more financially resilient.”
