Life Insurance should be pretty simple.

You want to make sure the people you care about have some financial protection if you’re no longer around. So you go online to find some cover.

Then it gets complicated.

Term Life Insurance. Over 50s Life Insurance. Guaranteed Acceptance. How much cover? How long for? Medical questions. And what happens if you’ve had health problems or struggled to get Life Insurance before?

You’re looking for Life Insurance. You shouldn’t need to become an expert in it first.

That’s exactly why we’ve built SaveOnLife the way we have.

Start with what you actually want to protect

Before worrying about what type of Life Insurance you need, there’s a much simpler question.

What do you want the money to do?

Maybe you’ve got a mortgage and want to make sure your family can stay in their home.

Maybe you’ve got young children and want to leave enough behind to help support them while they’re growing up.

Perhaps the mortgage is already paid off and you just want to leave your family a lump sum or some money towards funeral costs.

Or maybe you’ve tried to get Life Insurance before, had problems because of your health and aren’t really sure what’s available to you anymore.

Those are very different reasons for wanting cover.

So why would everyone start with the same policy?

What is Term Life Insurance?

This is the type of Life Insurance most people probably think of first.

You choose how much cover you want and how long you want it to last — perhaps 10, 20 or 30 years.

If you die during that period and have a valid claim, the policy pays out according to its terms.

It can make sense when you’ve got something substantial to protect. A mortgage, for example, or children who’ll be financially dependent on you for years to come.

Say you’re 40, you’ve still got £180,000 left on your mortgage and two young children. You might want a significant amount of cover for the next 20 years.

Once those 20 years are up, the policy ends.

The amount you’ll pay depends on things like your age, health, lifestyle, how much cover you want and how long you want it for.

Pretty straightforward.

What about Over 50s Life Insurance?

As the name suggests, Over 50s Life Insurance is designed for people aged 50 and over.

It’s generally used for smaller amounts of lifelong cover. You might want to leave some money to your family, help towards funeral costs or simply make sure there’s a lump sum there when you die.

The application can also be much simpler than traditional Life Insurance, with some plans not requiring medical questions.

But here’s something that’s really important:

Being over 50 doesn’t automatically mean you need an Over 50s plan.

If you’re 52, in good health, have a mortgage and need £150,000 of cover, Term Life Insurance might be worth looking at too.

If you’re 72, your mortgage is long gone and you just want to leave £10,000 behind, your needs are completely different.

Both people are over 50.

That doesn’t mean they should automatically buy the same type of insurance.

And what is Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance?

Guaranteed Acceptance is different again.

It means you can get Life Insurance without your health deciding whether or not you’re accepted, provided you meet the basic eligibility requirements.

So if you’ve had health problems or you’ve struggled to get Life Insurance before, there’s still a way to get covered.

There is a trade-off, though.

Guaranteed Acceptance policies come with exclusions and restrictions. These can include limits on what will be paid in certain circumstances, particularly during an initial period after taking out the policy.

So it’s important to understand exactly what you’re buying.

And just because Guaranteed Acceptance is available doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the first option you should choose.

You might be able to get better or more suitable cover elsewhere.

The trick is knowing where to look.

Had trouble getting Life Insurance before?

Don’t give up.

This is something we’re particularly good at.

Different Life Insurance companies look at health conditions differently. One insurer saying no doesn’t necessarily mean they all will.

And sometimes the answer isn’t sitting on a comparison website waiting to be found.

Our Life Insurance experts deal with people who’ve struggled to get covered before and can look beyond the policies available through a normal online quote.

They have access to policies and options that simply aren’t available to buy anywhere online and know which insurers may take a different view of particular circumstances.

So if our online journey can’t find the answer, that doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t one.

Sometimes technology can do the job.

Sometimes you need someone who knows where else to look.

We’ve got both.

So how are you supposed to know which one you need?

That’s the problem.

Most Life Insurance websites start by asking you what product you want.

Term Life Insurance?

Over 50s?

Guaranteed Acceptance?

But what if you don’t know?

That’s why SaveOnLife starts somewhere else.

We start with you.

What do you want to protect?

Why do you want the cover?

How much might you actually need?

Then we’ll ask you a few quick questions about you and your circumstances.

We use those answers to help work out which types of Life Insurance could suit what you’re trying to achieve and which policies you’re more likely to qualify for.

So instead of making you search separately for Term Life Insurance, Over 50s Life Insurance and Guaranteed Acceptance, we’ve brought them together into one smart online journey.

Why show you quotes you’re never likely to get?

This is another thing that never made much sense to us.

A huge list of cheap Life Insurance quotes might look impressive.

But if your health or circumstances mean you’re unlikely to qualify for half of them, what’s the point?

That’s why we ask some questions first.

We’d rather use what you tell us to help narrow things down and show you options that could actually work for you.

It takes a little bit of the guesswork out of buying Life Insurance.

And hopefully saves you some time too.

Online when it works. Real people when you need them.

We like technology.

We’ve built quite a lot of it.

But we also know there are times when an online journey isn’t the best way to find Life Insurance.

Health conditions can be complicated. Previous applications can be complicated. Sometimes people’s lives are just complicated.

That’s where our team comes in.

If the online journey works for you, great.

If it doesn’t, or you’d simply rather speak to someone, our experienced Life Insurance advisers can help.

They can look at your circumstances, explore options that aren’t available online and help you work out what might be possible.

We’re not trying to force everyone down the same route.

We’re trying to help you find the route that works for you.

So, what type of Life Insurance do I need?

It depends.

And that’s kind of the point.

Term Life Insurance could make sense if you’ve got a mortgage, young family or need a larger amount of protection for a set number of years.

Over 50s Life Insurance could suit you if you’re looking for a smaller amount of lifelong cover and want a straightforward application.

Guaranteed Acceptance means there’s a way to get Life Insurance even if your health has made getting traditional cover difficult, although exclusions and restrictions apply.

And if things are a bit more complicated, our Life Insurance experts can look beyond what’s available online.

You don’t need to work all of that out before you start.

Tell us what you’re trying to protect. Answer a few quick questions.

We’ll help you work out where to go from there.

Ready to see what your options are?

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”.

https://www.healthinsuranceandprotection.com/protection/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” →