Onus on insurers to make CI changes work - Defaqto

Defaqto believes the onus is on insurers to make the new ABI critical illness (CI) statement of best practice a success.

It also expects the next two years to see some "interesting developments" as providers implement the changes before the end of 2012 deadline.

The ABI introduced the latest statement of best practice last week following a prolonged period of research and consultation with consumers and industry groups.

Its primary aim was to clarify the definitions surrounding total and permanent disability (TPD), although a complete name change was eventually scrapped after poor industry feedback.

Ben Heffer, protection analyst at Defaqto, applauded the changes and acknowledged the work involved.

"It is important for providers to develop products that meet people's needs, and to make it easy for advisers to sell their products," he said.

"The ABI has worked hard to come up with the new definitions for total and permanent disability to help providers in this area. The key is how quickly insurers adopt these measures - they have until 2012 to do so - and therefore the next couple of years should see some interesting developments.

"However, the role of advisers is as important as ever to ensure that their clients are clear about what their policy does and does not cover - and the educational material, to be delivered later, will help IFAs with this," he added.

Defaqto has also produced a breakdown of what the statement of best practice will mean to IFAs.