Friends Life has made improvements to its group critical illness proposition.

Changes include enhanced definitions over and above ABI model definitions, enhanced products terms, greater flexibility for flexible benefit clients and enhancements to Best Doctors including a new microsite to help employers communicate the benefits to the scheme members.

Cardiac arrest has been added to the Standard Cover along with enhanced definitions for cancer, major organ transplant, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and stroke. The Comprehensive Cover product has enhanced definitions for aorta graft surgery, blindness, coma, HIV infection and third degree burns. The Friends Life comprehensive product now has 16 conditions that are better than the Association of British Insurer’s (ABI) model definitions.

Enhancements have also been introduced to the product terms and conditions including increasing the maximum benefit to the lower of 5 times salary or £500,000. For children’s cover, the maximum age has been extended from 18 to 21 for those in full time education.

Increased features for flexible benefit schemes now allow members unlimited benefit increases during the selection window and at standard lifestyle events.

Best Doctors is available to all Friends Life Group Critical Illness Cover scheme members and their dependants at any time and not just at the claims stage. An employer microsite toolkit that hosts all of the information regarding the services of Best Doctors in one place has also been introduced.

There are two new additions to the existing Best Doctors InterConsultation service. ‘Ask The Expert’ is for those situations that do not require a full collection of medical records. It offers a streamlined process that provides access to a world-leading specialist for the specified condition, within a few days.

‘Ask Best Doctors’ gives access to Best Doctors’ expertise and knowledge for all members including use of an exclusive online Multimedia Library hosting on-demand videos with detailed explanations about medical conditions, treatments and testing.

“These enhancements reinforce the quality of Friends Life’s Group Critical Illness offering,’ said David Williams, director of group protection at Friends Life.

“Our critical illness product is an attractive benefit option for employers to offer their staff, providing members with access to expert medical opinion and a potential financial benefit when they are at their most vulnerable through illness.”