Health Insurance Claims News
Consumers 'confused about permanent health insurance'
Accident and Injury Claims news2nd February 2010
Consumers are struggling to claim for even the most basic serious injuries or illnesses because of unclear permanent health insurance policies.A study by Alan Lakey, an expert at Highclere Financial Services in Hertfordshire, revealed huge variations in the policies sold by some of the UK's biggest insurers including Axa, Bupa and Aviva, the Guardian reported.
Mr Lakey suggested that this had led to confusion among customers about what they can actually claim for when they suffer long-term sickness or injury and require income protection.
The research found that rather than simply paying out when claimants cannot return to employment, many insurance companies require them to be unable to perform certain "daily living" tasks. Mr Lakey noted that 20 different activities are used across insurers, but that the criteria at each firm is different.
Ron Wheatcroft, co-author of a recent paper on the issue for the insurer Swiss Re, told the newspaper: "There is a big gap between what we say it is and what consumers are trying ¬to grasp."
According to thisismoney.co.uk, every year in the UK more than 670,000 men aged between 40 and 64 are absent from work for more than six months because of long-term illness.
Posted by Samantha Harding
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