Children’s cover for the modern family

The modern family in the UK today looks very different to how it has in the past, and we believe that children’s critical illness cover needs to reflect that reality.

That’s why we’ve broadened our Children’s Critical Illness Protection, to make it more inclusive and cover not just a policyholder’s own children, but their partner’s as well.

We understand, as well as you do as advisers, that the traditional family model is no longer the norm. This isn’t just anecdotal; the data confirms it.

Beyond the traditional family

The Children’s Commissioner for England found that 10% of families are what are known as ‘blended’, in research conducted with thinktank Policy Exchange back in 2022¹.

The Office for National Statistics, which published the findings of the 2021 census last year, found that there were 781,000 stepfamilies in England and Wales. And that 70% of those families contained dependent children².

Looked at from a different angle, in 2021 over a million dependent children in England and Wales lived in stepfamilies – that’s 8.8% of all dependent children in England and Wales. Those children are 3.5 times more likely to live with cohabiting parents (parents who aren’t married) than those in non-step or traditional families. We have yet to see analysis for Northern Ireland and Scotland but, we can assume a similar pattern in the other 2 home nations.

Given the changing shape of families, we’ve decided to update our definition of an ‘eligible child’ and ‘partner’ on our Children’s Critical Illness Protection to include the policyholder’s partner’s children. It’s a change not driven by, for example, medical advances or changes in practice, but by our assessment that it feels fairer and more aligned to how your client’s families look now.

Feedback from you, advisers, was key in this change. We recognised the potential for complications when one child’s illness triggers financial support, while another, equally dependent on the family unit, doesn’t.

In fact, in 2023, we sponsored research with charity Young Lives v Cancer which showed that at the time, having a child in treatment for cancer added an extra £691 to a family’s monthly outgoings³. There was often a significant hit to income as well, usually through one partner significantly reducing their working hours or stopping work altogether to take care of their child.

That financial strain doesn’t differ between a policyholder’s child or their partner’s child, where both are dependent.

We know that advisers do detailed work around inheritance planning, considering what assets have been brought to a marriage, what responsibilities exist outside of the immediate household, and difficult discussions of who gets what. Yet we think that when it comes to the challenge a sick child might present to a family unit and their finances, taking any worries about which dependent child is covered or not covered off the table can only be a good thing.

And now all the dependent children (that’s natural, step or adopted children and those for whom they have parental responsibility or is a legal guardian) of policyholders will be covered up to age 23 by our Children’s Critical Illness Protection, giving you and them more peace of mind.

Sources

1. childrenscommissioner.gov.uk, Children’s Commissioner for England launches preliminary findings of The Family Review at Policy Exchange, 1 September 2022.
2. ons.gov.uk, Children in families in England and Wales: Census 2021, 5 March 2024.
3. Cancer Costs, Young Lives Vs Cancer research sponsored by Guardian, September 2023.