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Home / Critical illness cover / - Deafness
Background information
In total, over 8 million people are deaf or hard of hearing.
Of these, 673,000 are severely or profoundly deaf, relying on lipreading and requiring a textphone or video phone.
(RNID, 2002)
Definition
Total permanent and irreversible loss of all hearing in both ears.
What does this mean?
Loss of hearing may be caused by illness, for example a stroke, or by a serious accident. The loss must be total, permanent and irreversible. Therefore a claim would not be paid if the loss was only partial or was a temporary condition.
NEWS
Life insurance costs fall
10 July 2007 10:44:11
New research indicates that the average cost of life insurance premiums has dropped in recent months.
A study by Sainsbury's Bank surveyed 38 different customer profiles and found the price of premiums for over 70 per cent of risk profiles fell in the six months leading up to March this year.
However, life cover premiums for people aged 25 and under were found to have risen slightly in the same period.
There was surprising news for smokers, with the news that the average cost of UK life insurance for a smoker fell by two per cent in the period in question.
It is thought that many smokers could see a significant drop in their life insurance premiums if they manage to kick the habit in light of the recent smoking ban.
British women looking to purchase life insurance were also met with a two per cent average price drop for their premiums.
The overriding conclusion from the research was that consumers should shop around for their life cover, with massive price differences between providers.
The 25 per cent of companies with the most expensive premiums charged around 66 per cent more for their life cover than the 25 per cent who offered the best value life cover.
Worrying rise in hypertension
17 August 2007 16:15:36
Life cover and critical illness insurance will become crucial products for UK consumers, as the risk of heart attack rises due to increasing incidence of high blood pressure, reports the Lancet medical journal.
With hypertension known to cause heart disease, stroke and renal failure, the Lancet has warned that relaxed attitudes are jeopardising the lives of millions of people.
"Lifestyle factors such as physical inactivity, a salt-rich diet with high processed and fatty foods, and alcohol and tobacco use are at the heart of this increased disease burden which is spreading at an alarming rate from developed countries to emerging economies, such as India and China," the journal's editorial stated.
Some 972 million people worldwide were estimated to suffer from high blood pressure in the year 2000; this figure is expected to spiral to 1.56 billion by 2015.
The Lancet added that many people mistakenly believe that hypertension is an easily resolved situation and complacently reduce their intake of medication once they notice a fall in their blood pressure levels.
Judy O'Sullivan, cardiac nurse for the British Heart Foundation, commented: "Unfortunately people are often unaware of having high blood pressure until it is picked up during a routine assessment."
Test could spot Alzheimer's 'years before symptoms appear'
15 October 2007 12:38:39
Families of Alzheimer's sufferers with critical illness cover may be interested in a new blood test that could predict whether they will develop the disease.
Scientists claim the test may be able to detect the condition two to six years before symptoms appear.
In trials it had 90 per cent agreement with clinical diagnoses, working by identifying changes in a small number of proteins in blood plasma that were discovered to be linked to changes in the brain that come with Alzheimer's.
"The brain structures of a person with Alzheimer's disease can begin changing years before symptoms appear," commented Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research for the Alzheimer's Society, who called for more research to be done on the blood test.
"Early diagnosis is essential if we are ever to develop treatments that can change the course or halt the progression of dementia rather than just treat the symptoms.
"In the future a blood test could be the key to stopping this devastating disease in its tracks before it starts to rob people of their lives," she concluded.
There are currently 700,000 people in the UK with some form of dementia, costing the UK over £17 billion a year.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice
10 July 2007 10:44:11
New research indicates that the average cost of life insurance premiums has dropped in recent months.
A study by Sainsbury's Bank surveyed 38 different customer profiles and found the price of premiums for over 70 per cent of risk profiles fell in the six months leading up to March this year.
However, life cover premiums for people aged 25 and under were found to have risen slightly in the same period.
There was surprising news for smokers, with the news that the average cost of UK life insurance for a smoker fell by two per cent in the period in question.
It is thought that many smokers could see a significant drop in their life insurance premiums if they manage to kick the habit in light of the recent smoking ban.
British women looking to purchase life insurance were also met with a two per cent average price drop for their premiums.
The overriding conclusion from the research was that consumers should shop around for their life cover, with massive price differences between providers.
The 25 per cent of companies with the most expensive premiums charged around 66 per cent more for their life cover than the 25 per cent who offered the best value life cover.
17 August 2007 16:15:36
Life cover and critical illness insurance will become crucial products for UK consumers, as the risk of heart attack rises due to increasing incidence of high blood pressure, reports the Lancet medical journal.
With hypertension known to cause heart disease, stroke and renal failure, the Lancet has warned that relaxed attitudes are jeopardising the lives of millions of people.
"Lifestyle factors such as physical inactivity, a salt-rich diet with high processed and fatty foods, and alcohol and tobacco use are at the heart of this increased disease burden which is spreading at an alarming rate from developed countries to emerging economies, such as India and China," the journal's editorial stated.
Some 972 million people worldwide were estimated to suffer from high blood pressure in the year 2000; this figure is expected to spiral to 1.56 billion by 2015.
The Lancet added that many people mistakenly believe that hypertension is an easily resolved situation and complacently reduce their intake of medication once they notice a fall in their blood pressure levels.
Judy O'Sullivan, cardiac nurse for the British Heart Foundation, commented: "Unfortunately people are often unaware of having high blood pressure until it is picked up during a routine assessment."
15 October 2007 12:38:39
Families of Alzheimer's sufferers with critical illness cover may be interested in a new blood test that could predict whether they will develop the disease.
Scientists claim the test may be able to detect the condition two to six years before symptoms appear.
In trials it had 90 per cent agreement with clinical diagnoses, working by identifying changes in a small number of proteins in blood plasma that were discovered to be linked to changes in the brain that come with Alzheimer's.
"The brain structures of a person with Alzheimer's disease can begin changing years before symptoms appear," commented Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research for the Alzheimer's Society, who called for more research to be done on the blood test.
"Early diagnosis is essential if we are ever to develop treatments that can change the course or halt the progression of dementia rather than just treat the symptoms.
"In the future a blood test could be the key to stopping this devastating disease in its tracks before it starts to rob people of their lives," she concluded.
There are currently 700,000 people in the UK with some form of dementia, costing the UK over £17 billion a year.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice