British Friendly paid 96% of the 5000 income protection claims received over the past five years, newly released figures have revealed.

Bupa Global, the international health insurance arm of Bupa, has launched its first tiered range of international private medical insurance (IPMI) products in the UK.

Exeter Family Friendly has added three benefits to its income protection plans - a GP helpline, private prescription service and automatic medical evidence limits.

A fifth (20%) of the adult population has spent around £20.7 billion on private operations and medical procedures (excluding cosmetic surgery) over the past 10 years - the equivalent of around £2.07 billion a year.

A quarter (25%) of the UK workforce have taken out pet insurance yet only 7% are protecting their income with self-employed people being particularly vulnerable to financial risks, research has found.

VitalityHealth has made changes to its executive team to capitalise on ‘growth opportunities' in the private medical insurance (PMI) market.

LifeSearch has guaranteed its advisers will only recommend ‘own occupation' income protection in a bid to ensure customers will receive a payout if they cannot do their own job as a result of illness.

The ‘upheaval' caused by the Health and Social Care Act, implemented by the Coalition government, has been ‘damaging and distracting' according to a major report.

Anthem, the second biggest health insurer in the USA, has revealed that the personal data of millions of current and former members was breached by hackers.

Thomas Smith spoke to Patrick McIntosh, the chartered financial planner and director at adviser firm KMG, who went to Antarctica to raise awareness of critical illness cover.