[BB Critical Illness Insurance] 4 products compared: multiple claim limits. Is ADHD covered?

In the past, many whole-of-life critical illness insurance plans required newborn babies to be at least 15 days old before they could be insured, on the basis that babies may have congenital conditions and therefore would not be covered or compensated. In fact, congenital diseases in a foetus are quite common; they often remain latent for many years before later developing into critical illnesses. As this entails considerable risk, policies generally do not provide cover for such conditions.

However, at least four whole-of-life critical illness insurance plans in the market have now lowered the insurable age for babies to the 22nd week of the mother’s pregnancy, meaning the child is covered from birth¹, greatly easing mothers’ concerns. These are AIA友邦愛伴航–首護摯寶 (the 友邦愛伴航 children’s version), Generali忠意跨越無限保, Manulife宏利守護無間危疾保-保寶未來 (the 宏利守護無間危疾保 children’s version), and YFLife萬通首選健康愛護保 (the children’s version of 首選健康加護保). The Generali忠意跨越無限保 mentioned in this article includes the supplementary benefit “Payer Benefit”. This time, we focus on comparing multi-critical illness protection from early childhood through the entire life cycle, assuming a basic sum insured of US$150,000.

If a child is insured while still in the womb, the four critical illness insurance plans provide cover from birth for illnesses caused by specific congenital conditions, although the types of congenital conditions covered vary by product. As for specified critical illness cover, if the insured is unfortunately diagnosed with a covered illness within 90 days of birth, 20% of the basic sum insured will be paid (US$30,000); if the illness is diagnosed after 90 days from birth, 100% (US$150,000) will be paid. Regarding the death benefit, if death occurs within 180 days of birth, 20% of the death benefit will be paid. If the unfortunate event happens after 180 days, 100% of the basic sum insured will be paid. The actual compensation will also depend on the terms of the individual plan.

Table 1: Comparison of childhood illness cover under four products

The four products differ in their child illness cover, and we focus on ADHD, Tourette syndrome and autism, which are of greater concern to parents. At present, critical illness insurance still covers ADHD to a relatively limited extent, and some insurers may even decline cover due to the higher risk. Among the four policies compared here, Generali Cross the Infinite Protection and YF Life First Choice Health Protection cover attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The former provides compensation of 20% of the basic sum insured with no cap, while the latter provides compensation of 30% of the basic sum insured, subject to a cap of US$12,500.

ADHD has become increasingly common in recent years. Epidemiological data show that around 6 in every 100 children have ADHD, with a higher prevalence among boys. It may lead to social difficulties, emotional problems or low self-image, affecting daily life. Although ADHD is not as life-threatening as other critical illnesses, it has a significant impact on a child’s growth and development. Medical data indicate that 65% of patients continue to have symptoms into adulthood, and it may also affect their ability to work.

Tourette syndrome and autism are also critical illnesses that may appear in early childhood. Only Generali Cross the Infinite Protection and YF Life First Choice Health Protection cover Tourette syndrome, while all four critical illness plans provide cover for autism. As for the additional child cancer benefit, Generali Cross the Infinite Protection states that if the insured is first diagnosed with cancer before age 22, a one-off additional payment of 40% of the basic sum insured (US$60,000) will be made, making it unique among the four products.

Some childhood illnesses may only be detected in adulthood, which shows that the higher the age limit for child illness cover, the better. The child illness cover age limit of Manulife’s My Choice Health Protection Plan is 25, the highest among the four companies. This is followed by Generali’s Beyond Infinite Protection at 22, while AIA’s Go Avenger – First Care Guardian and Manulife’s Infinite Care Critical Illness Protector (Future Gift) provide cover up to age 18.¹

As for additional cover, AIA’s Go Avenger – First Care Guardian, Generali’s Beyond Infinite Protection and Manulife’s Infinite Care Critical Illness Protector (Future Gift) all provide an additional 50% to 60% increase in cover (US$75,000 to US$90,000) in addition to the original 100% basic sum insured (US$150,000) during the first 10 policy years. Manulife’s My Choice Health Protection Plan does not offer this.¹

Parents buy critical illness insurance to protect their children, but if they themselves are unfortunately affected and are unable to pay the critical illness insurance premiums, the insured person may not be able to receive cover. Therefore, AIA’s Go Avenger – First Care Guardian, Generali’s Beyond Infinite Protection and Manulife’s My Choice Health Protection Plan all offer “payer benefit”. If the policyholder dies unexpectedly, the insured person may have the premium waived until age 25. Generali and Manulife also state that if the policyholder becomes totally disabled and remains so for at least 6 months, the child may also be exempted from premium payments.

Table 2: Comparison of lifetime critical illness cover of 4 products

In terms of whole-life critical illness protection, Generali’s Cross-Generational Protection clearly states that the early critical illness benefit will not advance the original sum insured. For example, after claiming 20% of the sum insured (US$30,000) for an early or non-severe illness, the policyholder may still claim 100% (US$150,000) later upon a first critical illness, whereas other products would see the benefit reduced.

In addition, given the rapid progress of medical technology, critical illness survival periods are becoming longer, while some critical illnesses have a high recurrence rate, making multiple claims increasingly important. For the three major critical illnesses - cancer, stroke and heart disease - Generali’s Cross-Generational Protection offers unlimited claims; AIA’s LoveLife – Baby Protection Plan and Manulife’s Critical Illness Protection (BOW TIE Future) have limits on the number of claims for the three major critical illnesses.

Taking the cancer treatment period as an example, subject to the waiting period terms, Generali’s Cross-Generational Protection can make unlimited claims for life, up to the age of 100; YF Life’s Choice Health Care Protection Plan can pay up to 680% of the basic sum insured (US$1,020,000), while Manulife and AIA can each pay up to 600% of the basic sum insured (US$900,000), up to the age of 85.

Table 3: Comparison of premiums for 4 critical illness insurance plans (US$)

(Insuring a child during the 22nd week of pregnancy, for a 35-year-old non-smoking pregnant woman, with a 25-year premium payment period and a basic sum insured of US$150,000)

Finally, comparing the premiums, among the four products, using a 35-year-old non-smoking pregnant woman as the policyholder and a 25-year premium payment period as an example, the annual premium for the critical illness insurance ranges from US$1,542 to US$1,875, with the cheapest and most expensive differing by more than 20%.

It is worth noting that the above critical illness insurance terms only apply to babies soon to be born, and are limited to mothers aged 18 to 45. During pregnancy, the insured person is the pregnant woman. In the event of miscarriage, stillbirth, a doctor’s recommendation to terminate the pregnancy, or the death of the pregnant woman and unborn baby, 105% of the total premiums paid will be payable as compensation. After the child is born, the insured person becomes the baby, but parents must submit the child’s birth certificate to the insurer within the specified period, and the annual premium will remain unchanged.

In summary, different critical illness insurance plans each have their own features. Mothers can compare the value for money of the above critical illness insurance products to provide full-cycle critical illness protection for their children or soon-to-be-born children. Finally, if mothers would like to know more, they may wish to consult a professional insurance adviser for further information.

Notes:

1. Subject to the coverage scope, details and terms of each plan.
2. The above policies are subject to a waiting period clause. In general, the date of the next critical illness diagnosis must be at least one year after the previous diagnosis, and must be unrelated to all previous critical illnesses.
3. The premium information above was updated on 17 October 2022 and does not include the levy collected by the Insurance Authority.
4. Last updated: 17 October 2022.

This English version of this article has been generated by machine translation powered by AI. It is provided solely for reference purposes. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between this translation and the original Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.