Protection Tomorrow December 2021 | Page 17

EDITION 3 | NOVEMBER 2021
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to critical illness cover , this would make a huge difference to the number of families who would be able to protect their children .
At Guardian , that ’ s what we ’ ve done and we ’ re starting to see it play out in our claims . So far , 100 % of our children ’ s critical illness payouts have been for cover attached to an adult life policy . We ’ re only at the start of our journey but these are encouraging signs . Quite simply , these are claims that wouldn ’ t have been paid if we ’ d followed the market and offered children ’ s cover as part of the parent ’ s own critical illness policy .
Number 2
We think there should be more control over the amount of cover parents can put in place for their children . Having a ‘ default option ’ doesn ’ t really enable parents to think through , and have a meaningful conversation about , what they might need as a family .
Most providers limit the amount to £ 25,000 . We don ’ t believe £ 25,000 always gives a family the financial breathing space they need , especially when you consider that the average ( median ) full-time salary in the UK according to the ONS is £ 31,000 [ 3 ] .
Looking after an ill child can be costly , and we already know the parent may need to take unpaid leave or have to stop work entirely . The family – not the insurance company – needs to decide what amount works for them . In the same way , if a family doesn ’ t need children ’ s cover , they shouldn ’ t have it automatically included in the price .
CHOICE
At Guardian , we allow parents to choose between £ 10,000 and £ 100,000 , to a maximum of their own amount of cover . Adding £ 50,000 of Guardian ’ s Children ’ s Critical Illness Protection costs about £ 10 a month . That ’ s less than a family takeaway ! And when a parent or legal guardian adds children ’ s cover to their policy , they pay just one amount to cover every child in the family plus any new arrivals . Natural , step and adopted children are all included , and every child is covered right through their college years to age 23 . We think this is more in line with today ’ s world , where children remain dependent on their parents for longer .
Number 3
Protection is not just about the money ! It ’ s also about support . Many people are unaware of the range of additional services they ’ re entitled to as part of a critical illness policy . With any critical illness claim , a payout alone is rarely enough . The claimant often needs emotional support or other help . This is just as true for children and their families . By putting children ’ s critical illness cover in place , it helps the family become aware of what ’ s available . Which means they are more likely to turn to their insurer for help if they need it .
It ’ s best demonstrated with a case study . Sadly , last year a Guardian policyholder give birth to a stillborn baby in the later stages of pregnancy . She and her husband had bought dual life , life only policies . They ’ d been planning to start a family , so their adviser had recommended they add on our optional children ’ s critical illness cover . This meant that although they weren ’ t covered for critical illness themselves , their unborn baby was . When the stillbirth happened , the couple received a funeral benefit of £ 10,000 and used our HALO service . They were referred to RedArc , and their personal nurse adviser suggested counselling . We supported the course of sessions , as well as a few more which RedArc felt mum needed .
What ’ s clear is that , for this family , the additional support from RedArc was of huge value . But if the couple had not put in place cover for their unborn child , they would have been unlikely to turn to us for emotional support . We ’ d have been unaware of their needs and they ’ d have gone through this awful experience alone .
At Guardian , we believe in better . We know better proposition design leads to better outcomes . That ’ s why we ’ ve designed our children ’ s critical illness cover as an optional extra with flexibility around the amount of cover . We think children deserve protection and they deserve a bigger place in the protection conversation .
It ’ s time to put the children first .
Sources : 1 . CLIC Sargent , A Strategy for 2020-2025 . 2 . CLIC Sargent , Cancer costs report , September 2016 . 3 . ONS , Average Employee earnings in the UK : 2020 , November 2020 .
Guardian Financial Services Limited is an appointed representative of Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited . All products are provided by Scottish Friendly .