* Six suggestions for improving the industry following key debate
* Call for an increase in education and communication
* ABI-led protection website one of the key recommendations
Industry protection experts have made some key recommendations on how to increase the appeal of critical illness products for consumers.
Following this month's Future of Critical Illness summit, hosted by protection providers Bright Grey and Scottish Provident, a White Paper on how the industry can improve its critical illness offering is now available based on the suggestions made by the panel. The key call to actions include:
* Educate consumers as to the value of taking out critical illness policies
* Simplify the conditions that are covered and explain the likelihood of being able to claim
* Increased communication with charities, such as the Macmillan Cancer Charity, in order to raise awareness of the financial support that the product offers
* Greater use of social media to complement publicity that television campaigns will generate
* Production of a centralised protection information website, perhaps hosted by the ABI
* Selling of an additional smaller sum assured critical illness policy alongside a life policy
Commenting at the Future of Critical Illness debate, Roger Edwards, proposition director of Bright Grey and Scottish Provident, said: "Perhaps life insurance has been reducing in price so much that the choice people make in a recessionary environment is ‘I will go for the very cheap life insurance as opposed to the perceived very expensive critical illness'. Perhaps it should be routine to add £20,000 worth of critical illness cover to every life cover, to make it more affordable in the current economic climate."
Commenting at the debate, Neil McCarthy, sales and marketing director, Direct Life & Pension Services, said: ""Consumers have a lot of priorities and they see protection in a much broader spectrum - from PMI cover, death cover, mortgage cover, to compulsory motor insurance for example. To a consumer, critical illness is just one part of the spectrum. They need to understand better the perceived value in critical illness."
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