I am concerned that the proposed changes to the ABI heart attack definition will affect sales of critical illness plans. How can I explain the changes to clients?
It is important to recognise the Association of British Insurers' (ABI) purpose is not to change the cover provided by critical illness (CI) policies.
CI policies need to evolve to keep pace with changes in medical practice. The proposed change, which would not affect existing policies, has been brought about by the increased use by doctors of tests to indicate troponin levels in the blood. The results of the tests, which are relatively cheap to carry out, help doctors manage patients' care.
Troponin is a biochemical cardiac marker which is released into the bloodstream when damage to the heart muscle has occurred. Such damage can arise as a result of a heart attack. As there is no underlying presence of troponin in the blood, the rise and fall in the level of troponin is a reliable indicator of the extent of cardiac damage. This, in turn, gives the doctor the information they need to treat the individual.
The current model wording for heart attack requires electrocardiographic changes, a history of typical chest pain and elevation of cardiac enzymes. Typically, all three are used to support a diagnosis of heart attack.
Doctors are increasingly using troponin as it is an accurate indicator of the extent of cardiac damage. The presence of troponin is a valuable additional tool when used with other supporting evidence in helping doctors decide whether a heart attack has taken place.
Your clients should be reassured that CI policies will continue to pay claims when a client has suffered a heart attack. The proposed change, if accepted, will provide clarity for consumers and medical practitioners about how troponin would be used in assessing heart attack claims.
Lynda Cox
