Vitality’s Serious Illness Cover is designed to keep your cover in place for longer. Upon a successful claim, the Life Cover can be ‘drawn down’ upon like a bank account and cover can be retained for the future. This prevents our members from becoming financially vulnerable if an illness recurs or they suffer an unrelated secondary condition. Any Serious Illness Cover plan can be claimed on an unlimited number of times, up to 3 times the level of the initial cover selected. Continuous coverage and multiple claims. 02 Of all Serious Illness Cover claimants in 2020 1 in 11 claimants had claimed previously on their plan. Of all claimants making a secondary claim in 2020 1 in 20 were making their third claim or more. 1 in 11 claimants claimed for the second time or more on their plan. Of these 5% were making their third claim or more. This highlights the need for cover that stays in place. following a claim and provides continuous coverage. Average time in months to secondary claim After making an initial claim, those who went on to make a secondary claim did so on average only 18 months after their first claim. The length of time varied depending on where the primary claim was made. Neurological claims had the quickest recurrence times of only eight months whilst Heart & Artery claims had a longer average recurrence time of 29 months. The short duration between claims highlights the importance of considering multiple claims as part of the initial advice process. Case Study - Priya, 40Serious Illness Cover multiple claim Case Study - Priya, 40Serious Illness Cover multiple claim Priya took out £50,000 of Serious Illness Cover in 2014, for a term of 40 years alongside £100,000 of Protected Life Cover. In 2015 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy of the left breast and radiotherapy. At that time Serious Illness Cover paid out 50% of her cover amount, £25,000. Based on Serious Illness Cover’s unique plan account she still had further £37,500 of Serious Illness Cover remaining. Unfortunately in 2020, a second primary cancer was found on the right breast and she underwent a second mastectomy and two months of chemotherapy. Thankfully she still had Serious Illness Cover in place which paid a further 50%, £18,750. Because Priya chose Serious Illness Cover she was able to claim multiple times on her policy and she still has £28,125 worth of Serious Illness Cover in place to cover her against further illnesses. What’s more, because she had selected Protected Life Cover, her Life Cover amount has remained unaffected, which she has left in full to pass on to her family if the worst were to happen. Case Study - Priya, 40Serious Illness Cover multiple claim