On face value the concept of reviewable definitions seems to go to the heart of providers' concerns ...
On face value the concept of reviewable definitions seems to go to the heart of providers' concerns in managing CI risk. Factors affecting the risk profile of CI include medical advancements, which make yesterday's life-threatening condition today's out- patient day case. The resultant increase in preventative treatments, including invasive surgery, produces a fundamental shift in the underlying pricing basis of the risk being covered.
The ability to revise or indeed remove definitions to reflect these changes may therefore appear most desirable to providers. The challenge comes however, in determining why this would be a good product for consumers or represent best advice for IFAs. Why would consumers or advisers select a product where the cover can be scaled back in the future? Particularly if the more traditional forms of cover continue to remain as alternatives, which seems likely for the foreseeable future.
With CI, the cover is specific and changes may well alter the scope of the policy from the consumer's perspective. Knowing exactly which events are covered is one of the main attractions of CI.
While some argue that reviewable definitions provide the customer with the comfort of 'always relevant cover' ' a product that pays out for events that are deemed critical at the point of claim ' it is difficult to see how this is practical within the confines of CI. The fact remains that no matter how you dress reviewable definitions up; they are a solution for the insurer and not the customer.
