Critical illness investigation
The CMI investigates the morbidity experience of critical illness policyholders.
Brief history
The current CMI critical illness investigation started in 1999 with the first data collected in 2000. The first data collected pertained to claims settled during 1998 and 1999. The investigation has continued to collect data since. The 1998 data was significantly lower in volume than subsequent years, so has not been analysed further.
Data and methodology
Critical illness data is collected annually from insurance companies (also termed contributing offices) on both policies in force and claims settled during an investigation year. Starting with the submission of 2006 data, we have also received data submitted in accordance with the 'per policy' format which additionally requires information on other exits and also encompasses the CMI’s life office mortality investigation. Further information on the 'per policy' initiative is available here.
Data are collected for both ‘stand alone’ and ‘full accelerated’ (where the cover includes death as well as critical illness) business. The analysis methodology is described in detail in Working paper 14. It is anticipated that this will be updated to reflect the richer data in ‘per policy’ data submissions.
Results
Contributing offices receive results in respect of the business for which they have submitted data. Aggregate ‘All Office’ results are also produced. Results to date have compared the actual claims experience against that expected using CIBT93, a population-based table which was originally contained in A Critical Review, presented to SIAS in 2000. In July 2008, a new methodology for analysing critical illness experience was presented in Working paper 33. This allows results to be presented for accelerated critical illness that properly match claims to exposure.
Critical illness diagnosis rate tables
The first set of insured lives accelerated critical illness diagnosis rates, based on 1999-2004 data, were presented in Working paper 43. Working paper 50 updated these to 2003-2006 experience and formally presented tables of rates known as AC04. It is anticipated that these will be introduced as a comparison basis in future results. Working paper 52 presented cause-specific diagnosis rates, again based on 2003-2006 data, and Working paper 58 describes supplementary analyses designed to aid understanding of the AC04 Series rates.