Private healthcare provider Bupa has cut the cost of its insurance premiums for critical illness with immediate effect. Anyone taking out critical illness cover alongside a mortgage will benefit from a reduction in premiums of  7.3%. For customers taking out stand-alone critical illness cover the reduction is around 5.7%.

This would mean, for example, a female non smoker aged 30 next birthday, taking out £75,000 of critical illness cover alongside a 30-year mortgage will now pay £17.91 a month. Previously she would have paid £19.21. The same person taking out stand-alone critical illness cover will now pay £29.94 a month instead of £31.64.

The announcement comes just hours after Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work announced that around 175 million working days are lost each year due to sickness, costing the government some £100 billion in lost productivity, taxes and benefits.