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Private medical insurance companies will now have to provide detailed explanations of their cancer cover after the Association of British Insurers (ABI) introduced new guidelines.

Nick Starling, the ABI’s director of general insurance and health, explained that "for the first time, companies will be required to provide a more detailed explanation of their cancer cover".

"This is because cancer is a complex disease that does not always fit into the standard categories of ‘acute’ or ‘chronic’ illnesses. We hope that the new definitions will improve people’s understanding of private medical insurance and encourage more people to take it out," he added.

"The ABI has been working with member companies, and organisations such as Cancerbackup, to create clearer definitions of medical terms.

Joanne Rule, chief executive of the charity Cancerbackup, has been working with the ABI on the new guidelines and welcomed the announcement.

"Common definitions will bring much needed clarity to people purchasing private medical insurance and allow them to make better informed decisions about the kind of cover they want, and the treatments which would be covered if they were diagnosed with cancer," she said.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 5th, 2007 at 3:07 pm and is filed under Industry.