Zurich has updated its critical illness plan, adding three 100 per cent conditions and 20 additional payment conditions.
The insurer is now offering additional payments for 22 less advanced cancers, including skin cancer.
It is also simplifying the wording on its main cancer definition and including an additional ‘other’ cancer in situ definition to catch all other known early stages of the disease.
Zurich has also added nine specific heart-related conditions and updated 13 neurological definitions, including stroke and multiple sclerosis, which now pay out on diagnosis, without needing ongoing symptoms.
In total, this means the number of conditions now covered by the product has increased from 58 to 85, while those that qualify for additional payments have increased from 12 to 32.
Nineteen of the illnesses are ABI Plus covered, or exceed recommended industry wording.
Zurich has also grouped 13 complex diseases under three broader definitions to aid customer understanding.
These cover dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, motor neurone disease and specified diseases of the motor neurones, as well as Parkinson’s plus syndromes.
Adviser View
Alan Lakey, partner of Hemel Hempstead-based IFA Highclere Financial Services and director at CIExpert, said: “Zurich was in the relegation zone, but these significant changes ensure survival in the top division.”
peter.walker@ft.com
