WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) has finalised the details of its new insurance scheme, CellPlan, a product it expects to revolutionise the stem cell storage business.
Unveiled in May, WideCells worked on the terms and conditions with Best Doctors, a global leader in expert medical opinion, with the cover to be underwritten by a leading reinsurance company.
While stem cell storage costs a few thousand pounds, the cost of the treatments that use them can run into the hundreds of thousands.
For an average premium of £150 per year, CellPlan will provide insurance for up to €1mln of treatment, travel, accommodation and repatriation costs.
CellPlan is to be based in Porto, Portugal, which gives it access to the wider European stem cell market and from where licences will now be arranged for a rapid roll-out.
João Andrade, WideCell’s chief executive, said: "CellPlan has the potential to revolutionise the stem cell industry and ultimately, to make access to potentially lifesaving treatments much more affordable.
“Our focus is now on securing the necessary licencing needed to roll-out our product, a process which is much quicker in Portugal than in some other markets.
“To support this process, we are delighted to have appointed a number of experienced healthcare and insurance professionals who have the requisite skill set and experience to lodge the necessary licensing applications.
Frank Ahedo, European managing director of Best Doctors, said: "We are seeing a transition in how health insurance is being designed and sold.
“It is no longer being developed in isolation of true customer needs and insurers are no longer shying away from specialised areas of medicine such as stem cell therapy.”