Top Healthstyles clients automatically approved for coverage
WATERLOO, ON, March 7 – Manulife Financial, one of Canada’s leading insurance companies,
will allow its healthiest life insurance customers to purchase critical illness coverage with no extra medical
exams or questions, the first insurer in Canada to do so.
Under the automatic pre-approval program, new Canadian
customers who are non-smokers, in above-average health, and with no family history of
cancer will automatically qualify for up to $100,000 of Manulife’s industry-leading
Lifecheque critical illness insurance. They can pre-qualify for Manulife’s most
cost-effective version of Lifecheque that offers protection for the four most common
critical conditions – cancer, heart attack, coronary artery disease surgery and stroke.
The program is available to clients between the ages of 18
and 50, and Manulife estimates that between 40 and 50 per cent of its new individual life
insurance customers will qualify for this special pre-approved coverage each year.
“More and more Canadians are realizing that a serious
illness can be very disruptive to a family’s financial situation,” says Paul Rooney,
Senior Vice President, Individual Insurance. “This program gives our new customers a
simple, hassle-free way to obtain a level of financial protection that is not available
through their life insurance policies.”
Sales of critical illness insurance have been climbing
dramatically in Canada during the past several years – making it the single fastest
growing individual insurance product line in the country. At the end of 2001 (the most
recent industry sales data available) sales were up more than 111 per cent from the previous 12-month period.
Critical illness insurance coverage allows people who are
diagnosed with a serious illness to focus on what matters to them most – getting better.
It eases the financial burden of a life-altering illness by providing a lump sum cash
payment upon survival of a waiting period (30 days in most cases) after the diagnosis of
one of several specific critical illnesses. Generally, people choose to finance other
treatments, hire a nurse or caregiver, pay off a mortgage, replace lost income, maintain
RRSP contributions, or take a vacation with the proceeds to help them recover from their illness.
Although cancer, heart attack, stroke and coronary bypass
represent approximately 90 per cent of the critical illness cases in Canada, Manulife also
offers other versions of Lifecheque that cover up to 18 critical conditions, including
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, organ transplant and others. (See
accompanying Fact Sheet.) Under the company’s new pre-approval program, customers can
elect to purchase the more comprehensive Lifecheque plans by answering a few additional
questions about their family history.
Lifecheque became the first stand-alone critical illness
policy available in Canada when it was introduced in 1995. Manulife’s
“Healthstyles” underwriting process already sets life insurance premiums based
on an individual’s health and lifestyle, which gives the company a natural opportunity to
launch a critical illness pre-approval program for its healthiest customers.
“This is a real win-win program,” explains Teresa
Walkey, Product Director for Manulife’s critical illness product. “It helps Manulife
tap into a rapidly growing Canadian market while providing a real benefit to our
customers. Many people don’t realize that if you are under the age of 75, there is a far
greater likelihood of getting ill than dying prematurely. We’re confident that our
customers will want to take advantage of this unique offer to protect themselves without
having to go through additional medical underwriting.”
About Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based
financial services group operating in 15 countries and territories worldwide. Through its
extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners, Manulife Financial
offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management
services. Funds under management by Manulife Financial were Cdn$142.2 billion as at
December 31, 2001. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSE, NYSE and
PSE, and under ‘0945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at
www.manulife.com.
You can find out more about your Healthstyle by visiting
www.healthstyles.com or find out
more about Lifecheque by visiting www.manulife.ca.
March 7, 2002
Manulife Lifecheque Critical Illness Insurance
Critical illness insurance was originally developed in
South Africa in the early 1980s by Dr. Marius Barnard, brother to heart transplant pioneer
Dr. Christiaan Barnard. He noticed his brother’s patients were surviving their operations
and needed financial help as they recovered.
“Critical illness insurance fills a gap not covered by
traditional products,” says Paul Rooney, Manulife Senior Vice President, Individual
Insurance. “That may include helping with the cost of keeping a home or business
during recovery, illness-related travel costs, special medical treatments or other expenses.”
Manulife became a leading provider of critical illness
insurance to Canadians when it acquired Commercial Union of Canada in April 2001.
Manulife offers four different Lifecheque critical illness
plans. Customers can choose from different coverage types and amounts that can range from
$25,000 to $2 million. Depending on the type of plan, a client could receive a lump-sum
payment after a 30-day waiting period or more, depending on the specific condition
covered, if they are diagnosed with any of the following critical illnesses:
- Heart Attack – Coronary Artery Disease requiring surgery
- Stroke – Cancer (Some exceptions apply.)
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Blindness
- Deafness
- Loss of Speech caused by physical disease or injury
- Kidney Failure
- Major Organ Transplant recipient
- Paralysis
- Loss of Limbs
- Coma
- Alzheimer’s Disease before age 75
- Motor Neuron Disease (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease) before age 75
- Occupational HIV Injury
- Parkinson’s Disease before age 75
- Severe Burns
