Has the industry overcomplicated critical illness cover?

When you think about it, critical illness cover is an amazing thing. I was a young, aspirational singleton working for a very large global insurer when I first came across it. It was a long time ago. We were launching this new product – one of not even a small handful on the market at the time – based on an idea already successful in South Africa. I was clearly the target market: young free and single; straight life insurance was not high on my priority list. OK, if I died (which was not going to happen; all young guys are immortal are they not?), my newly acquired mortgage would be paid...