LONDON - Insurance coverage taken out by many British troops isn't taking care of soldiers who need medical treatment of lasting psychological disorders.

While increasing numbers of British soldiers have developed psychological illnesses as a result of their combat time, the Pax insurance scheme used by many in the British military does not offer coverage such disorders, the Sunday Telegraph said.

That lack of coverage has left thousands of troops ineligible for compensation for combat-related illnesses such as post traumatic stress disorder, the London newspaper said.

A spokesman for Aon Ltd. the insurance company offering the Pax package, said the exclusion of such mental assistance is clearly defined on coverage agreements.

Conservative party spokesman Mark Harper, meanwhile, said the Ministry of Defense should reconsider approving insurance plans that do not benefit the nation's troops.

"If this policy has been given the MOD's seal of approval, they have a duty of care to tell troops exactly what it does and does not cover," he told the newspaper. "If you are a 20-year-old serviceman about to go on operations, you are not going to be interested in whether your policy covers you for a psychological illness."

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