Fewer than half of advisers believe they are knowledgeable about children’s critical illness (CI) insurance and one in three say the product line is not easy to understand.
The figures came from research conducted by CI Expert at the start of the year which asked how knowledgeable advisers thought they were on the subject, particularly about product differences.
Only 47% said they were knowledgeable, with 40% have some or limited knowledge and more than one in ten (13%) admitting they had little to no knowledge.
When asked how easy it was to understand different children’s CI options only 38% of the 260 advisers said it was easy to understand.
Almost a third (31%) said it was not easy to understand with the same figure saying it was fairly understandable.
Complex market to navigate
CI Expert said it was not too surprising that fewer than half the respondents considered themselves sufficiently clued-up on the subject.
“There are numerous variations in children’s CI cover in the market, with most offering different payment levels, age ranges and some covering all adult conditions and some not, so it can be a hard and complex market for advisers to navigate,” it said.
It added that a number of insurers now offer pregnancy complications as a condition providing a fixed sum, and over half (55%) of advisers stated that this was an important feature of children’s CI, with 29% unsure and 16% considering it unimportant.
Furthermore, three-quarters (75%) of advisers’ stated that it was important to them that children’s CI continued until the child is aged 23 rather than ending on their 18th birthday.
Just 8% said it was not important with 17% unsure.
‘Advisers being overwhelmed’
Naomi Greatorex, director of Heath Protection Solutions agreed that children’s critical illness cover has become increasingly complicated, and confusing for advisers.
“This is an area of protection that has become too complex, as insurers look at ways to differentiate themselves,” she said.
“I have supported a child CI claim recently, so fully understand the true value of this benefit, and the difference the payment can make to a family.
“However, we now have a situation where the vast number of options can lead to both advisers and consumers being overwhelmed.”
Alan Lakey, director of CIExpert, said children’s CI cover has taken on far greater importance in recent years and is viewed as a major component and differentiator for CI plan selection.
“This is reflected in the CIExpert system where advisers are including children in around 85% of comparisons,” he said.
“However, it’s a minefield for an adviser to navigate alone as there are many features and policy details that differ between insurers, a concern that is evident from the findings of our Adviser Watch.
“Given that only one in two advisers consider themselves to be knowledgeable when it comes to children’s CI and just over one in three find it easy to understand the differences between insurers’ offerings in this field it is clear that it’s an area where advisers need assistance.”