It said text stating “See T&Cs for limits and exclusions” was not sufficient to stop the impression given that all types of treatments were covered by the plan.
When looking at the second ad, the ASA said listeners would have been likely to interpret the phrase “What’s the catch? There isn’t one” to mean there were no significant restrictions or limitations.
However, as of February 19, 2024, surgical treatments were only available after two years of membership.
The ASA said: “We considered that would be likely to be viewed by consumers as being a ‘catch’ and was also material information likely to influence a consumer’s decision to join Benenden Healthcare. Because that information was omitted from the ad and the ad stated that there were no catches, when that was not the case, we concluded that it was misleading.”
The ASA said the ads must not appear again in these forms and Beneden was told to ensure that future ads did not mislead consumers or omit material information regarding their healthcare plan, including significant restrictions or exclusions relating to treatment options.
amy.austin@ft.com
