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Home / Critical illness cover / - Multiple Sclerosis
Bakground information
There are currently approximately 85,000 people with MS.
Each year, around 2,500 individuals are newly diagnosed.
MS is the most common neurological disorder among young adults.
People are usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40, but can be older. (Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2002)
Definition
A definite diagnosis by a Consultant Neurologist of Multiple sclerosis which satisfies all of the following criteria:
- there must be current impairment of motor or sensory function, which must have persisted for a continuous period of at least six months; and
- the diagnosis must be confirmed by diagnostic techniques current at the time of the claim.
What does this mean?
MS is an incurable disease of the central nervous system. Nerve fibres are normally covered by a myelin sheath, which protects and insulates them. In MS this sheath degenerates which interrupts the smooth transmission of nerve impulses around the body, leading to lack of co-ordination and sensory impairment.
NEWS
ABI reveals extent of UK insurance fraud
18 October 2007 12:52:17
Fraudulent life insurance and critical illness claims are among those costing the UK's providers £1.6 billion every year, according to new figures.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) revealed that the amount of money claimed by fraudsters has tripled since 2003.
One in 11 claims, totalling around one million throughout the UK, are in some way lacking in genuineness, with 85 per cent of these exaggerating the value of a genuine problem.
"Fraudulent insurance claims cost £1.6 billion, and add £40 a year to the premiums paid by honest customers," said Nick Starling, director of general insurance and health at the ABI.
"But the industry is fighting back. Insurance cheats are more likely to be caught than ever before. And cheats will pay a high price as future insurance and credit will be more expensive and harder to obtain," he continued.
Almost half of all detected fraud was on household insurance, with a typical scam involving individuals deliberately damaging carpets then claiming it was an accident.
Other claims have been more imaginative, with one man claiming "recovery expenses" after a heart attack he suffered following a holiday visit to a brothel.
Earlier this year the ABI called for greater deterrents, such as criminal prosecutions, to discourage fraud.
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
Breast screening 'cuts deaths by half'
09 January 2008 11:45:55
Individuals' life insurance options may be improved if the UK had more efficient cancer screening services, it has emerged.
A new study published in the British Journal of Cancer revealed that deaths from breast cancer in East Anglia have almost been cut in half as a result of such screening.
Researchers' analysis of the national programme in the region indicated that deaths had been reduced by 48 per cent.
Lead investigator Professor Stephen Duffy, Cancer Research UK's professor of cancer screening, pointed out that the results were better than scientists had expected.
"This is the strongest evidence yet that screening programmes like this save lives," he remarked.
"We hope to collect data from other regions in the future, allowing us to compare programmes across the UK, bringing the best practices to areas that aren't performing as well."
This week saw the prime minister announce plans to extend NHS screening programmes, further adding to optimism for life insurance seekers concerned about their likelihood of developing cancer.
The government has already made a commitment to extend breast cancer screening by 2010 so that more women are checked.
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 online
Critical illness: Role of genes in progression of Aids
25 October 2007 13:30:57
Aids sufferers looking at their critical illness cover options may be interested in the latest research showing the effect of gene variations on the condition's progression.
A study at the University of Texas Health Science Centre challenged the established belief that viral load, or the quantity of virus in an HIV-infected patient's blood, is the main indicator of how soon an individual might be diagnosed with full-blown Aids.
Scientists at the university concluded that people with a combination of two specific genes were more likely to display characteristics pointing to progressive HIV disease.
"The genetic variations contribute nearly as much to the extent of inter-individual variability in Aids progression rates as does HIV-1 viral load," lead researcher Sunil Ahuja told the French Press Agency (AFP).
CCR5, one of the genes in question, helps facilitate HIV entry into a cell while the other, CCL3L1, is an immune response gene.
Other genes that have yet to be fully explored by scientists are believed to play a part in Aids' development.
According to UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation, 39.5 million people across the globe were living with HIV or AIDS at the end of 2006.
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 online
18 October 2007 12:52:17
Fraudulent life insurance and critical illness claims are among those costing the UK's providers £1.6 billion every year, according to new figures.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) revealed that the amount of money claimed by fraudsters has tripled since 2003.
One in 11 claims, totalling around one million throughout the UK, are in some way lacking in genuineness, with 85 per cent of these exaggerating the value of a genuine problem.
"Fraudulent insurance claims cost £1.6 billion, and add £40 a year to the premiums paid by honest customers," said Nick Starling, director of general insurance and health at the ABI.
"But the industry is fighting back. Insurance cheats are more likely to be caught than ever before. And cheats will pay a high price as future insurance and credit will be more expensive and harder to obtain," he continued.
Almost half of all detected fraud was on household insurance, with a typical scam involving individuals deliberately damaging carpets then claiming it was an accident.
Other claims have been more imaginative, with one man claiming "recovery expenses" after a heart attack he suffered following a holiday visit to a brothel.
Earlier this year the ABI called for greater deterrents, such as criminal prosecutions, to discourage fraud.
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
09 January 2008 11:45:55
Individuals' life insurance options may be improved if the UK had more efficient cancer screening services, it has emerged.
A new study published in the British Journal of Cancer revealed that deaths from breast cancer in East Anglia have almost been cut in half as a result of such screening.
Researchers' analysis of the national programme in the region indicated that deaths had been reduced by 48 per cent.
Lead investigator Professor Stephen Duffy, Cancer Research UK's professor of cancer screening, pointed out that the results were better than scientists had expected.
"This is the strongest evidence yet that screening programmes like this save lives," he remarked.
"We hope to collect data from other regions in the future, allowing us to compare programmes across the UK, bringing the best practices to areas that aren't performing as well."
This week saw the prime minister announce plans to extend NHS screening programmes, further adding to optimism for life insurance seekers concerned about their likelihood of developing cancer.
The government has already made a commitment to extend breast cancer screening by 2010 so that more women are checked.
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 online
25 October 2007 13:30:57
Aids sufferers looking at their critical illness cover options may be interested in the latest research showing the effect of gene variations on the condition's progression.
A study at the University of Texas Health Science Centre challenged the established belief that viral load, or the quantity of virus in an HIV-infected patient's blood, is the main indicator of how soon an individual might be diagnosed with full-blown Aids.
Scientists at the university concluded that people with a combination of two specific genes were more likely to display characteristics pointing to progressive HIV disease.
"The genetic variations contribute nearly as much to the extent of inter-individual variability in Aids progression rates as does HIV-1 viral load," lead researcher Sunil Ahuja told the French Press Agency (AFP).
CCR5, one of the genes in question, helps facilitate HIV entry into a cell while the other, CCL3L1, is an immune response gene.
Other genes that have yet to be fully explored by scientists are believed to play a part in Aids' development.
According to UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation, 39.5 million people across the globe were living with HIV or AIDS at the end of 2006.
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 online