David Sawers | 5th May 2020 – healthinsuranceandprotection.com

Protection specialist LV= has paid out more than £2.5m in coronavirus-related income protection (IP) and death claims to nearly 300 individuals and families.

The provider said that up until the end of last month, it paid out 146 Covid-19-related claims to policyholders with Personal Sick Pay policies, its short waiting period product.

All claims were assessed through a personalised teleclaims service, with payments in the policyholder’s bank account within two days, LV= said.

LV= has also supported members’ families and dependants following 150 death claims that were related to coronavirus.

LV= said it has also put together a package of measures to help customers facing financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic.

The package includes a “payment break” for qualifying existing members, funded through LV’s Member Support Fund. Payment breaks will be offered a month at a time, for up to three months, and members’ cover will remain in place. They will also be able to access services and make a claim on the usual way, in line with the terms and conditions of their policy.

LV= Protection Director Debbie Kennedy said she was “proud” of how the life office is adapting to offer “reassurance and support where it can” and it is “times like these that the strengths of mutuality can come to the fore.”

She said: “We understand the emotional impact of bereavement and are doing all we can to make sure death claims are paid as quickly as possible so that families do not have to worry about the immediate financial impact of bereavement while they are grieving.”

“Insurance should be more than just about providing cover and paying claims. It should also help provide emotional and practical support at times like these. That is why we offer our members and their families additional services such as expert counselling for emotional health issues and legal advice, along with additional financial hardship funding for those members in extreme financial distress.”

The provider has also introduced a series of changes to the way it underwrites income protection, critical illness and life assurance policies, including an increase to non-medical limits by 10% for income protection, personal sick pay and critical illness cover.

LV= said it is also trialling virtual medical screening for life-only applications where the non-medical underwriting limit has been triggered and where “mild” disclosures have been made.

The provider said it is extending its current practices to get customers covered, without medical evidence exams and reports, and “reduce the burden on the NHS”.

LV= pays out more than £2.5m in coronavirus-related IP and death claims

 

Paid life claims reached 99% and mental health most common reason for IP pay-out

Zurich has announced it paid 97% of all retail protection claims last year – a payments total of £235.2m to 2,872 customers and their families – which compared to 95% paid claims in 2016 (£224.6m).

Critical illness

A total of 867 critical illness claims were paid in 2017 (95%), at a cost of £65.2m to the insurer.

Cancer – the most common cause of critical illness pay-outs – alone accounted for 59% of CIC payments and amounted to £40m worth of claims.

Heart attack was the second most common reason for claims (14%), followed by stroke (6%) and multiple sclerosis (3%).

The average CIC claim last year was £75k and 54% were from men with the average claimant being 52 years of age compared to 49 years for women.

Families with children covered by policies received £647k in total from pay-outs.

The small number of declined claims were because a customer had not disclosed key medical information on their application such as lifestyle (smoking or drinking habits) or existing medical issues (3%) or because a condition claimed for was not covered for by the policy (2%).

Life

The total percentage of life claims paid was 99% in 2017, to 1,929 customers (£144.6m).

The 1% of denied claims were due to non-disclosure of important medical information on application forms.

Income protection

For IP, more than £8.8m was paid in claims and there were 76 made and 87% of these were paid.

Ten were claims not paid over the period, including seven where the policy’s criteria were not met, and where three customers returned to work before the policy’s payment period started.

Accounting for 22% of IP claims, mental health was the most common reason for a pay-out, followed by musculoskeletal conditions (18%), cancer (15%) and neurological illnesses (14%) such as multiple sclerosis.

“Research periodically suggests that customers aren’t necessarily confident that these kind of plans will pay out – these figures evidence that the overwhelming proportion of claims are successful” said Peter Hamilton, Zurich’s head of market management. “We know that the likelihood of claims being paid is a key factor in helping customers decide whether or not to buy life insurance including income protection and critical illness.”

Claims publicity

According the Zurich’s internal research, a quarter of people do not have cover because they think it’s too expensive and nearly a third do not think it is relevant, he also pointed out.

“We hope that sharing this information helps to chip away at the commonly held view that insurers don’t pay out,” added Hamilton. “Having cover like this in place means people can maintain their standard of living without having to worry about covering large costs like mortgages while they’re trying to deal with serious illness.

“We’re also keen to highlight the extra support available to customers through their policies such as professional counselling, therapies and advice on everything from sourcing suitable elder care through to money management.”

Article : Covermagazine.co.uk – Adam Saville @AdSaville_COVER 13 April 2018

Defaqto has added pre-paid funeral plans to its Star Ratings

The Star Rating for prepaid funeral plans will help consumers identify where products sit in the market, in terms of the overall quality and comprehensiveness of the features and benefits of the product.

The prepaid funeral plan market currently comprises of almost 100 products and Defaqto has analysed these from 26 product providers.

Many of the products are purchased direct; the Star Rating will help consumers take into account the value of the cover rather than just the cheapest plan.

Defaqto has witnessed the continuing growth and emergence of a burgeoning funeral plan market as a result of the desire for consumers to have arrangements already in place whilst they are still alive and to lock in the cost of their funeral against inflation.

Reflecting this trend, Defaqto has used criteria that differentiate products in terms of their comprehensiveness, portability if a client moves location and the customer experience in areas of the quality of the funeral service and the treatment of third party disbursements.

Over 60 experts independently research, collect and assess nearly 41,000 financial products, of which just over 10,000 are star rated.

Defaqto has given each product an independent Star Rating from 1 to 5 based on an expert assessment of the overall proposition and quality it offers.

Ben Heffer, Insight Analyst for Wealth and Protection at Defaqto, said: “With consumers increasingly focused on price, our Star Ratings help segment the market in respect of the cover offered across a wide range of financial products.

“We have extended our Star Ratings to include prepaid funeral plans as more and more products have come onto the market, which is largely unregulated, yet taps into the consumer interest to plan ahead for their funerals and thereby relieve the burden on their loved ones.

“Funeral inflation is considerably above the ordinary rises in cost of living, so paying for your funeral at today’s prices is an attractive proposition for customers.”

Fiona Murphy – covermagazine.co.uk – 22/05/2017

Vitality has introduced Vitality Active Rewards with Apple Watch Series 2

This latest evolution of Vitality Active Rewards enables Vitality members to get an Apple Watch Series 2 from £69 and then fund the remaining balance by getting active.

Vitality Active Rewards is designed to work seamlessly with Apple Watch Series 2. Members can track their activity via Apple Watch Series 2 to earn Vitality points.

They can also receive notifications to their Apple Watch Series 2 when they unlock Vitality Active Rewards, which include weekly Starbucks drinks and cinema tickets.

Continue reading “Vitality first UK insurer to partner with Apple Watch” →

Are we ready for a longer life?

According to statistics from the Equity Release Council, Equity Release sales in 2015 hit a record high of £1.71 billion. So why is this market growing 29% year on year and is this really the best option for homeowners seeking a lump sum or monthly income ?

Continue reading “Equity Release Sales Hit Record High – Here’s What You Need to Know.” →

 

Recent cost of dying statistics have shown that the average funeral has risen to an all time high with no sign of a significant slow down.

• The rising cost of dying: Average funeral now costs £7,600 and thousands are struggling to afford a fitting send off.
• Study claims cost of funeral, burial and administration is up 7.1%
• Estimated that 100,000 people will struggle to pay for funeral this year
• Rose 80% between 2004 and 2013 and will continue to increase

Continue reading “Funeral costs continue to rise” →

This week Aviva launched it’s latest Relevant Life Plan which can now cover Life and Critical Illness.

Continue reading “Aviva Launches Tax Efficient Critical Illness Policy” →

A survey from British Friendly has show that only 2% of self-employed people surveyed believed Income Protection policies paid out 90% of the time and 45% believed that the main reasons claims were declined was insurers deliberately trying not to pay. This is despite the industry average for accepted Income Protection claims exceeding 90%.

Continue reading “Survey concerns over Income Protection policies paying out seem unjustified” →