GCO (Grupo Catalana Occidente) includes Multiple Sclerosis and Aemotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in its life insurance cover

"Two new critical illnesses are now covered in the life insurance policies of Seguros Catalana Occidente, Plus Ultra Seguros, Seguros Bilbao and NorteHispana Seguros. These companies will soon merge to become Occident, without this entailing any additional cost for their customers."

The Traditional Business companies of GCO (Grupo Catalana Occidente), Seguros Catalana Occidente, Plus Ultra Seguros, Seguros Bilbao and NorteHispana Seguros, have extended their life insurance cover to include two new critical illnesses: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

According to data from the organisation Esclerosis Múltiple España, MS affects 55,000 people in Spain, and the Ministry of Health reports that 4,000 people are currently diagnosed with ALS. Around 2,700 new cases of MS and ELA are diagnosed every year. Taking this into account, Seguros Catalana Occidente, Plus Ultra Seguros, Seguros Bilbao and NorteHispana Seguros have now included these two diseases in the list of critical illnesses already covered by their life insurance policies, such as cancer, kidney failure, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease, heart attack (myocardial infarction), stroke, coronary artery bypass surgery and major organ transplant. Importantly, this extension to the insurance coverage will not entail any increase in the policy price for people taking out a policy for the first time, or for customers renewing their life insurance policies. In all cases, it is essential that the disease is diagnosed for the first time in order for it to be covered by the Traditional Business companies.

Therefore, all insured persons who wish to take out, or have already taken out, critical illness insurance, in the event of diagnosis of either of these diseases, will receive an advance of between 25% and 75% of the death capital, according to the percentage contracted, up to a maximum of €150,000.

The average age of customers who take out life insurance is 40 years for GCO companies. Around 30% of customers who have taken out this insurance are covered for critical illnesses. With the incorporation of these new diseases in critical illness cover, the GCO Traditional Business companies aim to help lessen the impact of a diagnosis of this type on the family economy.

This improvement to the insurance cover will complete the current offer of life insurance. In addition to traditional cover for death, disability and critical illness, policyholders who hold life insurance receive a wide range of courtesy services, such as telephone legal advice, telephone medical advice, second medical opinion, cardiac rehabilitation, and legal and notarial advice services regarding a living will, as well as digital life management.

Customers can also choose to group their policies in their Customer Account, allowing them to pay their monthly insurance premium with no surcharge. The Customer Account is a guaranteed savings product and, as such, provides yield on savings from the first day.

According to Núria Casasús, Director of Life Insurance Products and Pension Plans of the GCO Traditional Business, "the health and well-being of our customers are two fundamental pillars of the value proposition of the insurance group". In this regard, she stated that "GCO, through Occident, will continue to look after the needs of its policyholders by offering products and services that meet their essential needs, and thus guarantee their well-being."