Friends Life has announced the launch of Global Treatment, in association with Best Doctors. It is an additional option to its Protect+ range.
Global Treatment gives customers access to the medical experts and treatments around the world, for themselves and their children. Covering a range of serious illnesses, including all cancers, Global Treatment will pay and arrange for people to get from their front door to a hospital they choose.
Mark Anders, director of sales at Friends Life, said: “Global Treatment revolutionises the protection insurance industry and is a unique optional benefit in the UK. It provides peace of mind that comes from knowing you are in the best hands. If a customer or their children were diagnosed with a serious illness, Global Treatment can open the doors to more options, giving them access to treatment at world-renowned hospitals by leading medical experts.
“If a customer is diagnosed with cancer and the best possible treatment is in New York, Zurich or Sydney, for example, Global Treatment will cover the costs. All they have to do is concentrate on getting better.”
Each insured person has unlimited use of Global Treatment, up to a maximum benefit entitlement of £1 million per insured person, per year. They can be treated multiple times with coverage of up to £2 million per insured person in their lifetime.
On return to the UK, it covers the cost of necessary medication if they are not available on the NHS (up to the value of £50,000).
Global Treatment covers cancer, neurosurgery, coronary artery by-pass surgery, heart valve replacement or repair, bone marrow and live donor organ transplant.
Frank Ahedo, managing director at Best Doctors, which is supplying the medical expertise for Global Treatment, said: “Best Doctors has been providing people in the UK with a Second Medical Opinion service for over 10 years. Global Treatment now builds upon the value of this service, taking it to the next level by providing and paying for treatment and expenses. As well as giving advice to people, we can now get them in front of some of the most skilled doctors at centres of medical excellence around the world. I’m very proud that Best Doctors will be working alongside Friends Life to deliver this fantastic additional benefit.”
Global Treatment is available to anyone taking out a Friends Life Protect+ policy (life cover, critical illness cover or income protection). Through those policies, customers can already access Best Doctors ‘Second Opinion’ service**. The results of this service will allow Friends Life customers to make informed decisions regarding treatment options and should the decision be to travel to a leading international hospital Global Treatment will make that possible.
Anders added: “All too often you hear heart-breaking stories of families desperately trying to raise thousands of pounds to send a loved one abroad so they can get treatment for a serious illness. In many cases, Global Treatment can be the solution by providing the access and the opportunity to receive the very latest treatment.
“We are the only UK protection insurer to offer this benefit and we’re able to do it for just an additional £4 a month, making it a fantastic proposition for customers and their children. Our propositions are designed around the real needs of real people and what they may face whilst coping with a serious illness. Global Treatment is just another example of how we deliver for our customers.”