Group critical illness

Introduction

Did you know that people are five times more likely to suffer a serious or life-threatening illness before the age of 65 than they are to die before retirement? Statistics show that one in four people will suffer from a critical illness between the ages of 30 and 60, proving that it isn’t just the elderly who suffer from the ‘big three’ of cancer, heart attack and stroke.*

*Source: Datamonitor UK Health Insurance, 2003.

Our critical illness cover is unique - we're the only group risk provider to offer access to an independent care advisory service, provided by RED ARC Assured Ltd. We believe critical illness cover should offer more than just money: RED ARC's service provides individual support and advice to any employee diagnosed with a critical illness, to help them deal with the situation.

And our innovative approach has been recognised - intermediaries voted us Group Critical Illness Provider of the Year at the 2006 Cover Excellence Awards.

What is group critical illness cover?

Group critical illness cover is designed to provide financial security if an employee or one of their children is diagnosed with a critical illness. It can remove additional stress and so help them and their families to concentrate on recovery. Cover can, for an additional cost, be extended to employees’ spouses or partners. We offer:

• group critical illness cover
• voluntary group critical illness cover

Our group critical illness and voluntary group critical illness cover can be arranged for groups of 10 or more employees or equity partners, anywhere in the world. Voluntary group critical illness is specifically designed for use with flex schemes, providing flexible payment options and benefit choices.

Both products cover eleven core illnesses and can be extended to include a wider range of 24 illnesses for a small additional contribution. We pay out a lump sum of up to four times the employee’s salary, to a maximum of £500,000, on diagnosis of one of those illnesses so long as the member survives for at least 28 days. We also cover the employee’s children aged between six months and 18 years (or 21 years if in full-time education) up to a maximum of £20,000, at no extra charge.

If you choose to include the employee’s spouse or partner in the cover, we pay out a sum of up to £75,000 (£100,000 for flex schemes), if they're diagnosed with one of the specified illnesses.