Legal & General updates Critical Illness Cover to reflect changing customer lifestyles and medical advancements

Legal & General has updated its Critical Illness Cover (CIC) product offering to reflect changing lifestyles and family structures in the UK. 

Expanded definitions and new coverage for skin cancer and other severe illnesses have been added to Legal & General’s CI Extra products, as medical advances including early detection mean an increase in treatment for less advanced illnesses,

Greater coverage for children

For Children's CI Extra, the maximum age a child can be covered to is increasing from their 22^nd to their 23^rd birthday, with the policy remaining in place whether or not the child is in full time education. 

This update reflects the fact that many young adults are completing their studies later or taking gap years, while others are choosing to live at home with their parents for longer. Legal & General’s Bank of Family research, for instance, found that 31% of parents and grandparents have welcomed adult family members to live with them to make it easier to save for a deposit¹.

Meanwhile, both Children’s CIC and CI Extra now include coverage for children under the legal guardianship of a policy holder, expanding upon coverage for adopted and stepchildren. This reflects changing family structures in the UK.

Additionally, payments for conditions covered under Children’s CI Extra and Child’s Terminal Illness will increase from 50%/£35k to a maximum of 50%/£40k of the original sum assured.​ 

Broader cancer and severe illness definitions

For CI Extra, Legal & General has also expanded its policies to better reflect the modern medical landscape. More people are receiving treatment for severe illnesses at an earlier stage, and therefore expanding definitions and adding coverage for conditions like skin cancer allows for crucial financial support for these customers.  The updates include:

• Broadening cancer definitions to include some progressive cutaneous lymphoma and sarcomas, while now also including low-grade thyroid cancer
• Cover for skin cancer of a specified severity has also been added, reflecting earlier detection and treatment rates for the condition through medical advances.
• In addition, the definitions for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are now covered under the broader definition of severe bowel disease, which also covers diverticulitis and intestinal ischaemia
• Severe mental health illnesses have now been included
• The insertion of a pacemaker and infective endocarditis has also now been included under additional payment terms

In addition to the above, payments for additional cover conditions under CI Extra policies will increase from 50%/£30k to a maximum of 50%/£35k of the original sum assured.

References

¹ Legal & General Bank of Family Research released August 2023.