Aviva has launched a short film to help customers understand how critical illness (CI) insurance works, while highlighting some of the main conditions it covers.
Developed with both advisers and customers in mind, the film can be used by advisers to help aid their clients' understanding of CI cover.
In the eight-minute video, Aviva claims philosophy manager Andy Doran explains what critical illness cover is and provides a brief overview of the top ten conditions.
Each condition is described briefly in plain English, to explain why they are included within Aviva's critical illness policies. The top ten conditions are cancer, heart attack, stroke, multiple sclerosis, benign brain tumour, coronary artery by-pass grafts, heart valve replacement or repair, Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease and kidney failure.
The film is also designed to help customers understand what is covered for these individual conditions, so people are better informed about what critical illness cover is there for.
Aviva said this is particularly important for conditions such as cancer and multiple sclerosis which can have different severity levels and therefore different impacts on people's lives.
Louise Colley, protection distribution director for Aviva said: "We know from our claims experience just how invaluable critical illness cover can be, but we're also aware that the vast majority of people think ‘it wont happen to me'. Sadly the reality is very different.
"With the help of this short film, advisers can explain to their clients the benefits of critical illness cover, as well as the main conditions it covers and why. Too many people are confused about this type of insurance and the protection it provides, so this video offers another way to show the importance of protection in a simple, accessible way."
Chris Hulme, specialist protection broker for The Clayton Hulme Partnership adds: "The multitude of conditions covered can be a minefield for clients to understand. Dealing with the core 10 in detail brings home to the client just how important such cover is, not as a want but as an absolute need.
"Aviva's commitment to educate in layman's terms can only help people understand whether a policy will do its job when it's needed. With more than one in three of us expected to meet one of these claimable conditions in our lifetime, this is a must see and must hear for 100% of the population."
The video can be seen HERE
