F&TRC launches child critical illness analysis for advisers
Policy comparison between insurers
Child definitions analysed and age-banded incidence data sourced by medical panel
Finance & Technology Research Centre (F&TRC) has unveiled functionality for child critical illness cover comparison within its Quality Analyser service.
Available to advisers, the tool uses medical professional assessments and data analysis across age, condition and insurers to assess child CI definitions to help indicate which policies are best suited to customers.
Last year saw a number of insurers enhance their child CI offerings - read CIExpert's assessment here - and this update to F&TRC's adviser research hub is geared towards offering better understanding of these changes, which conditions are most likely to affect client's children and which policies offer broadest coverage.
F&TRC's medical panel analysed each insurer's child definitions and scored each one from 0 to 100 based on the chances of a client being able to claim if their child were to be diagnosed with each condition.
Age-banded incidence data which identifies which conditions are more prevalent at different ages of childhood has also been sourced to help advisers compare child CI propositions. By capturing the child's date of birth, gender and the term of the plan, F&TRC is able to assess which conditions are most likely and apply weightings accordingly to provide an overall comparison.
Prevalence of four different conditions during a child's life
|
|
Incidence per 100,000 of the population per year |
||||
|
Condition |
Aged 0-1 |
Aged 1-4 |
Aged 5-9 |
Aged 10-14 |
Aged 15-19 |
|
Heart valve replacement or repair |
40.3 |
5.9 |
5.5 |
4.9 |
4.8 |
|
Hydrocephalus |
43.8 |
4.4 |
3.1 |
3.1 |
2.3 |
|
Crohn's Disease |
0 |
0.51 |
2.7 |
10.1 |
16.1 |
|
Cancer (Stage 1-4) |
13.4 |
14.7 |
8.7 |
9.6 |
12.3 |
Source: www.qualityanalyser.com
Conditions which would only be diagnosed during pregnancy or at birth - such as cerebral palsy or Down's syndrome - have been analysed separately from the general child CI analysis as they are only relevant if a client is expecting or planning to have children in the future.
Evolution
"The child CI market has evolved considerably since it was first introduced in the ‘90s," said Adam Higgs, head of research - adviser services at F&TRC. "Advisers have flagged to us that trying to compare the various options and to know what offering is best for their clients is now incredibly complex. With F&TRC using an age-banded approach to review the child CI conditions available, advisers will be better placed to focus on the cover that is most appropriate for their clients, given the age and gender of their child or children."
Adviser view
Roy McLoughlin, associate director at Cavendish Ware, said: "child CI is continually evolving and this approach to comparing the cover available by F&TRC will be of valuable. Firstly, in having a better understanding of the various conditions covered and then crucially to be able to focus on the conditions that will really matter to my clients. Also, most importantly, establishing the providers who are most likely to pay a claim. The level of detail will enable advisers to ensure we continue to identify the best possible cover for clients in an increasingly complex market."
Further reading
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