Guardian has unveiled a host of improvements to both its adult and children’s critical illness cover.
They now make a full payment for 12 conditions and £50,000 for two additional payment conditions when placed on an NHS waiting list for surgery.
This replaces the previous Surgery Cover where an advance payment of up to £50,000 was paid if any one of eight conditions resulted in being placed on a UK waiting list.
Guardian has also added two new 100% conditions as well as a new additional payment condition. As before, all changes are backdated to existing policyholders.
| NHS Waiting List Cover | Aorta Graft Surgery
Benign Brain Tumour Cardiac Arrest Cardiomyopathy Coronary Angioplasty Coronary Artery Bypass Heart Valve Replacement/Repair
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Lobectomy
Major Organ Transplant Open-heart Surgery Peripheral Vascular Disease Pneumonectomy Pulmonary Artery Surgery Total Colectomy
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| Cancer | Non-invasive pituitary cancer not requiring surgery or radiotherapy has been excluded from the cancer definition, although this has very little impact.
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| Major Organ Transplant | Now includes transplantation of an artificial device.
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| Lobectomy | A new additional payment condition requiring removal of a lobe of the lung.
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| Necrotising Fasciitis | This is a new full payment condition where both a definite diagnosis and removal of necrotic tissue, together with intravenous treatment is the claim requirement.
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| Removal of Urinary Bladder | This is a new full payment condition with Guardian being the only company to offer it as a full payment condition.
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| Total Perm Disability | Guardian has introduced a drug/alcohol abuse exclusion to the mental health portion of the claim wording.
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CIExpert Verdict
Alan Lakey, director at CIExpert, said: “In 2018 Guardian launched with a fresh and innovative ethos of offering an extremely high-quality plan with simplified claim wordings and a promise to backdate upgrades, ensuring that existing policyholders would not lose out or be susceptible to rebroking.
“Having NHS waiting list cover for 14 conditions ensures an earlier payment at a time when an influx of money is needed.
“Our Critical Thinking 2024 research highlighted that claimants are more likely to pay for private healthcare than repay their mortgage, a fact that underpins the value of advanced payments for heart surgery and other waiting list conditions.”
