Friends Life launches workplace cancer benefit

Friends Life has launched an employer-funded cancer-specific insurance policy.

Friends life

The insurer is making the group risk product available to employers looking to insure 100 or more employees.

The benefit will be pay a fixed lump-sum benefit of £25,000 to any employee who is diagnosed with a cancer covered by the plan.

It is payable on diagnosis of the cancer, as defined in the policy cover, provided the member survives for at least 14 days post diagnosis. 

The policy will not, however, cover employees for any pre-existing cancers. 

Members of the scheme will also benefit from added value services that include:

  • A cancer support service that offers access to support advisers.
  • Bupa Healthline.
  • Best Doctors.

Friends Life’s launch comes as more than 70% of critical illness claims across the industry are related to cancer, according to research by Group Risk Development (Grid) in May 2014.

Friends Life research of more than 2,000 employees also found that more than half (51%) of respondents wanted their employer to care for them more.

Anna Spender, head of group protection at Friends Life, said: “Almost 70% of critical illness claims across the industry are related to cancer, and while cancer incidence rates are increasing, so are survival rates.

“Given the research from Macmillan and an ageing work population, the prevalence of cancer in the workplace is likely to rise. so we wanted to do something that would really benefit employees.

“Group Cancer Cover has been designed to be affordable and simple, providing a level of benefit to help with the additional costs that people face while going through cancer treatment.

“It means employers with budget constraints that may have little in the way of workplace benefits can take advantage of it and offer their staff valuable cover.”

Macmillan Cancer Support predicts that there will be more than 2.5 million people in the UK living with cancer in 2015.