Launched at the Corporate Adviser Group Risk Forum yesterday, the product pays out if the eligible scheme member is diagnosed with cancer and survives for at least 14 days from the date of diagnosis.
Friends has targeted the product, which will be available from January, around cancer because of the high levels of concern amongst employees about contracting the disease, which is predicted to impact nearly one in two individuals at some point in their life by 2020. Friends Life head of group protection proposition Anna Spender cited research that showed the public rate fear of contracting cancer more highly than financial instability and knife crime.
The cover has a pre-existing condition exclusion that means an employee will not be able to claim if before entry to the scheme he or she was diagnosed with any form of cancer or cancer in situ.
Spender said: “The cover is simple, easy to set up and administer. It’s accessible – providing benefits to members who may not have that cover otherwise, and it’s affordable. As cover is simply for cancer, it is more affordable than group critical illness cover and allows more employers the ability to provide a whole of workforce solution.”
