Zurich is making a series of updates to it’s group critical illness (CI) product’s features and benefits including accepting multiple claims and changes to some condition definitions.
The insurer will now accept eligible claims relating to pulmonary artery graft surgery and structural heart surgery from customers who are on the NHS waiting list.
It will also accept multiple claims for spouses or partners and children – previously cover would cease after a single claim.
While there is no limit on the number of claims over the period of the cover, claims will remain limited to one per condition.
The provider revealed changes to some critical illness condition definitions which it said were aimed at ensuring greater clarity for customers and reflecting evolving medical practices.
These changes include removing requirements to ‘divide the breastbone’ under coronary artery bypass grafts, heart value replacement or repair, open heart surgery or pulmonary artery graft surgery.
There is also a change of CI definition heading from ‘open heart surgery’ to read ‘heart surgery’.
Benign brain tumour and benign spinal cord tumour have been updated to include within the definition ‘undergoing invasive surgery to remove part or all of the tumour’ or ‘undergoing either stereotactic radiosurgery or chemotherapy treatment to destroy tumour cells’.
The insurer announced its entry to the market in October 2024 and added cancer support services from Reframe Cancer last year.
Nick Homer, head of market management for Zurich Corporate Risk, said he was delighted with the group critical illness proposition since launching, adding these enhancements reflected the provider’s desire to respond to evolving needs and the changing clinical environment.
