A key feature of this enhancement is the age range of up to 60 – this is competitive in comparison to other insurers who offer a similar feature up to age 552 – and recognises that traditional life milestones are often taking place later in life. It’s no longer unusual for people in their 50s to have a number of years left on their mortgage or young families or students to support. Enhanced critical illness definitions – CI Core and Plus We want it to be clearer what people are covered for and at the same time provide broader, improved cover. That’s why for both our CI Core and Plus products we’ve enhanced the definitions of conditions such as Blindness, Parkinson’s Disease and Less Advanced Prostate Cancer. For our CI Plus product we’ve also amended the Accidental Hospitalisation payout from £5,000 to £50,000 or 50% of the sum assured (whichever is lower). Pregnancy complications – CI Plus only We’re adding a new pregnancy complication condition to the Plus product, which will make a payment of £5,000 following a definite diagnosis by consultant obstetrician of one of the following seven conditions: • disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) • eclampsia • ectopic pregnancy • foetal death in utero after at least 20 weeks gestation, • hydatidiform mole • placental abruption • still birth after at least 24 weeks gestation. Every year in the UK, there are around 11,000 hospital admissions for losses due to ectopic pregnancies and 19,000 admissions for molar pregnancies, according to Tommys pregnancy and baby charity3. There were 2,612 stillbirths in 2023 and we’re not on track to achieve the previous government’s ambition of halving the 2010 11 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER stillbirth rate to 2.6 stillbirths per 1,000 total births by 20254. A lump sum payment could provide valuable financial support at an incredibly difficult time, allowing claimants to fund time off work, private counselling or a break to recuperate. NHS waiting lists – CI Core and Plus NHS data shows that as of June 2025, there were around 6.23 million individual patients5 waiting for treatment on the NHS waiting list in England alone. The number of people waiting over 52 weeks stood at around 192,000. Customers can now claim when they are placed on the NHS waiting list for surgery for relevant conditions – they don’t have to wait for the surgery to actually take place. This gives claimants a wider range of options including paying for private surgery to get treatment sooner. You can see a full list of conditions covered here. What it means for advisers and their clients Our newly enhanced Critical Illness Plus policy is a stronger value proposition for potential clients. There for them when they need it most – offering them flexibility to deal with their situation in their own way with less pressure on paying the bills or getting back to work. To find out more, visit our dedicated CI webpage and register for a webinar. 1. From 1 January to 31 December 2024, HSBC Life (UK) paid out claims, accumulated across all its Life and Critical Illness products and distribution channels. 2. Internal market analysis carried out in August 2025 3. www.tommys.org/baby-loss-support/pregnancy-lossstatistics 4. www.gov.uk/register-stillbirth 5. https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhsdelivery-and-workforce/pressures/nhs-backlog-dataanalysis HSBC Life (UK) Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Our Financial Services Register number is 133435 and our registered office is at: 8 Canada Square, London E14 5HQ. Registered in England number 00088695. HSBC Life (UK) Limited is a member of the Association of British Insurers.
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