Friends Life : offers the most comprehensive cancer cover in the critical illness market

Important note: The information in this section is intended for use by journalists only and customers should not use it to make financial decisions. Please remember that information in past press releases may no longer be current

Friends Life has announced its latest round of critical illness enhancements which now means it offers the most comprehensive cancer cover on the market.

Among the enhancements Friends Life has:

• simplified the main cancer definition
• created a new 'less advanced cancer' additional payment definition covering 20 specific types of cancer
• increased and standardised payment for all additional payments to 25% of benefit or £25,000 (whichever is lower)
• created an option to add Global Treatment, in association with Best Doctors, for an additional £4 a month

Mark Anders, Director of Sales for Individual Protection at Friends Life, said:

"The new enhancements we have made to our critical illness proposition mean our customers can be even more confident that their policy will support them financially across a very broad range of significant illnesses. After all, that is what we are here for - supporting customers when they or their children have health problems. I think we now have the strongest critical illness proposition on the market. When adding these cancer related enhancements to our unique benefits such as the Global Treatment option, child specific illnesses and fracture cover we are offering something very few other providers can compete with."

Friends Life has also added a severe hearing loss additional payment to complement the main deafness definition.

Mark Anders added: "A severe loss of hearing can have a huge impact on someone's life and so our new additional payment definition is designed to support customers whose hearing loss is severe, but not significant enough to claim on the main benefit.

"These enhancements make critical illness cover an even more attractive proposition to customers. Cancer is the most claimed for condition on critical illness policies so it's really important that we cover people for as many different forms of it as possible. We've made the definitions easier to understand and now offer additional payments for 20 conditions where cancers are less advanced. It means we'll be able to help our customers when they need it most."

Global Treatment is an additional option to the Friends Life Protect+ range. Global Treatment is the first protection option of its kind in the UK and is exclusive to Friends Life. You can find out more here.

-ENDS-

For more information please contact:

Ref: N0233

Notes to Editors

Friends Life provides pensions, investments and insurance for over five million customers. Our key business lines are corporate benefits, protection and retirement income.

Friends Life is the brand name of Friends Life Group Limited.

Our heritage dates back to 1810, with Friends Provident being founded in 1832 to help alleviate the hardship of Quaker families facing misfortune.

Other brands in the Friends Life group include:

• Friends Provident International, which provides life assurance, pensions and investment products to Asia, Middle East, Europe, UK and other selected markets.
• fpb AG, a wholly owned distribution partner in Germany.
• Sesame Bankhall Group, which was formed in 2009, combining an IFA network, support service provider and mortgage club, to create a large distributor of professional support services to financial advisers.

Important

This news service is for information purposes only and does not provide any form of advice, recommendation or financial promotion. Any opinions expressed by third parties are those of the third party concerned and not of Friends Life Group Limited. Friends Life Group Limited does not accept liability for any errors or omissions or for loss incurred because of reliance on information or opinions given.

The content of the news items set out above are accurate only as of the date of issue and Friends Life Group Limited does not undertake any obligation to update them.

Useful links:

www.friendslifegroup.com/media-centre.aspx
www.flickr.com/photos/friendsimages
www.twitter.com/FriendsLifeTalk.

To follow Friends Life twitter page on your mobile, simply text "follow FriendsLifeTalk" to 86444 (UK only)

Friends Life is a business name of certain companies in the Friends Life group including the following

Friends Life and Pensions Limited Company number 475201
Friends Life Limited Company number 4096141
Friends Life FPLMA Limited Company number 00004599

Each of the above companies is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority

Friends Life Marketing Limited Company number 5059179
Friends Life Investment Solutions Limited Company number 6389025
Friends Life Services Limited Company number 3424940

Each of the above companies is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Friends Life Management Services Limited Company number 983330 is an appointed representative of Friends Life Services Limited, Friends Life and Pensions Limited and Friends Life Limited.

Friends Life The Blue Line Limited Company number 3146254 is an appointed representative of Friends Life Marketing Limited.

Suntrust Limited Company number 1460956 is not authorised or regulated by either the Prudential Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority.

Each company is an incorporated company limited by shares and registered in England and Wales with a registered office at Pixham End, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1QA

Telephone calls may be recorded. Friends Life is a registered trade mark of the Friends Life group www.friendslifegroup.com.

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