Friends Life to launch Global Treatment cover
Insurer introducing policy add-on to help you get treatment overseas.
Friends Life is launching a new protection policy add-on called Global Treatment.
The added benefit, which is being run in association with Best Doctors, will make it easier for patients and their children to get appropriate treatment abroad without having to dig into savings or raise thousands of pounds from generous donors.
What is Global Treatment?
If you or your children are diagnosed with a serious illness, you may want to pursue treatment overseas if a hospital there is renowned for a particular specialism. Global Treatment is an add-on for various Friends Life protection policies, which will cover the costs of pursuing that treatment abroad.
Treatments which are covered include:
- All cancers (including pre-malignant cancers)
- Neurosurgery
- Coronary artery by-pass surgery
- Heart valve replacement or repair
- Bone marrow transplant
- Liver donor organ transplant
Not only will 100% of your treatment be covered, you’ll also get travel and accommodation for you and a companion. If your children need treatment they’re entitled to two adult companions on the policy. To help you along you’ll receive an allowance of £100 a day allowance per night of your hospital stay.
Multiple treatments are covered up to the value of £1 million per insured person, per year or £2 million per insured person in their lifetime.
Care costs of up to £50,000, which aren't covered by the NHS, will be provided upon your return.
All of this comes in at £4 a month for an individual policy and £8 for a joint policy. No other insurer offers something like this. Just bear in mind that you'll have to take out Protect+ and Global Treatment through a financial advisor.
Who can get it?
It’s open to anyone taking out a Friends Life Protect+ policy which includes life cover, critical illness cover and income protection. Unfortunately, it won’t be available to existing users at this stage.
You don't need to wait for an allotted period of time before you claim; you can call from the moment Global Treatment gets added to your Protect+ policy.
If you've disclosed a pre-existing medical condition and it has been included in the risk assessment, there won't be a problem if you make a claim if you've already been accepted. However, if you're making a claim for your child then pre-existing conditions will be taken into consideration to ensure that people don't apply when their child is already ill.
Take a look at private medical insurance policies with lovemoney.com
The claims process
If you’re experiencing adverse symptoms, you just have to phone Global Treatment to make your claim.
From here, your medical records will be collected remotely and Best Doctors will create a summary of your case.
You will then be issued with a comprehensive report listing treatment options, follow-up questions and international centres that offer appropriate treatments for your ailment.
If you have a heart condition, for example, you could go to a range of locations to get treatment. The USA, France, Turkey, Thailand and Japan are renowned for treating heart problems.
But if you want to stay nearer to your loved ones, there’s also the option to be treated locally.
Claims are based on a fast-track model so that the most urgent conditions can be treated within around seven days of the initial phone call.
Take a look at private medical insurance policies with lovemoney.com
More on household money:
Prescription and dental charges to rise
TalkTalk offers 12 months free unlimited broadband
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature