Kevin Carr dons his trench coat and grabs his magnifying glass once again to run the rule over some recent changes.
1 Mr Writer
Zurich has increased its financial evidence limits for customers applying for life and critical illness (CI) insurance. The changes mean that customers now only need to complete financial questionnaires where their sum assured is over £2m for life cover and £800k for CI cover. Verdict: Promising lead
2 Little Britain
British families are enjoying record incomes and falling expenditure, yet are still not protecting their incomes, according to Aviva’s latest Family Finances Report. More families are starting to splash out on luxury items such as holidays, leisure goods and satellite television subscriptions, while growing numbers are saving money.
However, just 36% had life insurance, 11% had CI cover and 13% had private medical insurance (PMI), while just 7% had taken out an income protection (IP) policy.
Meanwhile, Aviva paid 92.8% of IP claims in 2013, latest figures reveal. The insurer paid an average of £35,342 in IP claims per day, with a total payout of £12.9m in the year. Verdict: Promising lead
3 Don’t neglect other types of life cover
The UK offers some of the lowest-cost life insurance in the world, but sales are falling. Whether or not a client needs life cover is a subjective matter. Even if they don’t need it right now, they may well need it in the future and buying now, while cover is cheaper and the policyholder is younger and healthier, may be worth considering.
Put simply: the need for cover often boils down to two factors: debts and dependents. If a client’s children, partner or other relatives depend on someone’s income to cover the bills and the cost of living, then life cover and other protection insurance should always be considered.
However, the usual level term and mortgage protection assurance plans aren’t the only options. Don’t forget about family income benefit, whole of life and relevant life. Verdict: Back to the lab
4 New dates for adviser training
The Protection Review has announced further adviser training with the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA). The new dates include 9 October in Glasgow and 13 November in London.
The independent sessions aim to help advisers and anyone connected with the industry to increase their knowledge and understanding of protection at all levels, and to provide an independent environment in which advisers can learn, question and contribute to an open debate about all aspects of protection insurance.
The training is free for APFA members and £50 for others. Verdict: Promising lead
5 Adviser research system expands product range
F&TRC has added mortgage protection for life and critical illness cover to its Quality Analyser for Protection comparison service, a free tool to help advisers compare products. Verdict: Promised lead
Kevin Carr is CEO of Protection Review and managing director of Carr Consulting & Communications.
