According to Royal London’s latest financial results, it paid 99 per cent of protection claims, which is in line with figures from last year at 99.4 per cent.
The company added that it had reached an agreement to buy Aegon UK’s individual protection book of over 400,00 policies and completed the acquisition of Responsible Group in January.
Royal London said that its acquisition of Aegon UK’s individual protection business would strengthen its position in the UK protection market, and its policies are expected to transfer in 2024.
Royal London’s operating profit before tax stood at £249m, which is up from £210m in 2022.
Responsible Group tie-up will ‘deliver innovative later life solutions’
Royal London said that the acquisition of the remaining stake of Responsible Group would “enable us to deliver innovative later life solutions and scale the provision of later life lending in what we believe will be a growing market”.
“The transaction strengthens our support for advisers and customers as they look for solutions in funding later life needs. The market offers customers additional choices at retirement, especially those who have property wealth but insufficient pension savings to support their desired standard of living,” it noted.
The company said it offered a “great opportunity to broaden the solutions available to our customers to support them in retirement”.
“Later life lending is complex by nature and requires specialist advice, but we are keen to make it a more accessible option for those who would benefit from accessing the equity in their home to support their desired standard of living.”
Royal London protection portal reaches 205,000 customers
The company said that its protection portal, My Royal London, has around 205,000 protection customers registered. The portal was launched in 2022.
Royal London said that, with ongoing cost-of-living challenges persisting, the information shared through the portal helped customers understand options if they are considering cancelling their policies.
The company said that it had added the capability to set up policies under trust digitally, which helped more customers “ensure their claims will be paid more quickly and to the right beneficiaries”.
Royal London said that critical illness definitions had been broadened driven by customer insight. This offers “clarity and easier and quicker payments at claim”.
The firm said that a range of improvements had been introduced to “allow immediate decisions to be offered as often as possible”.
“This ensures the decision remains fair to customers and improves the ability to offer terms against more applications,” it noted.
Royal London said that its support services for advisers have been “enhanced, particularly in relation to enabling their support teams to access our adviser dashboard, helping them work more efficiently”.
