Skandia abandons Critical Illness market

From the end of September Skandia will no longer sell Critical Illness (CI) policies.

The insurer, which only sells individual CI, says it is "simplifying" its customer offering and aligning itself for a post Retail Distribution Review climate, thus closing a number of lines.

Other life cover products, including level term, rolling term, and Guaranteed Whole of Life remain open.

Alex Jones, Skandia spokesman, says: "The ongoing focus for the whole business is the continuing development of our Skandia Investment Solutions (SIS) platform. Critical Illness is not core to us and is highly competitive and resource heavy. So we are refocusing from that onto our platform.

"We are looking at the whole of the Skandia Life product range as we move towards the RDR, but while there is identifiable demand we will keep them open."

A statement from the provider adds: "Skandia will maintain a high level of service for existing customers who will still be able to top up their investments and make increments in line with the terms and conditions of their policies."