LV= enhances critical illness cover

The company has also added more ABI+ definitions, partial payments, and introduced unique enhanced payments.

LV= now offers cover on 59 conditions in total (previously 48), with 18 ABI+ definitions (previously 16). LV= has more than doubled the number of partial payments available to 16 (previously seven), and claims it is leading the industry by including cover for minor heart attacks and minor strokes.

Under the new unique enhanced payments, clients will now receive 150 per cent of cover at claim if they are diagnosed with one of a number of neurological diseases before the age of 45, and 200 per cent of cover at claim for certain conditions if it is the direct result of an accident, such as loss of speech, paralysis of a limb or traumatic head injury.

LV= has increased the maximum age for taking out its critical illness cover from 60 to 65. The number of illnesses children are covered for under the CI policy also matches the adult conditions now covered (excluding total permanent disability).

Mark Jones, head of protection of LV=, said: “Before making these changes we spent a considerable amount of time listening to our claims and underwriting teams, advisers and customers to make sure what we are doing is meaningful and adds real value.

“Suffering a heart attack or a stroke are two of the most common reasons that we pay claims, so leading the market by adding partial payments for both of these conditions will make a big difference in being able to make a claim. The new unique benefits, such as ‘double cover’ payment, we believe will also make our CI cover stand out.

“Advisers can feel confident that our product covers the most serious conditions, and that we also look to provide financial support for sudden events like an accident, or an illness that may not be life threatening, but can still have a huge impact on people’s circumstances.”