Impartial reviews on the latest products and how they can impact consumers.
November 2015 Optimal: Group life
Optimal’s new plan provides a choice of just £50,000 or £100,000 life covers for employers with a minimum of three lives to cover, with no upper member limit. The plan is targeted primarily at small and micro employers though. Optimal was formed in late 2013 and is part of Gloucester based Holloway Friendly, best known for being the original provider of Holloway style income protection policies (which it still does). Optimal received approval in January 2014 and started writing group life business in March 2014. A quotation can be provided in just a few seconds and the policy can be…
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November 2015 April UK: iPMI
April International’s new plan is international private medical insurance (iPMI) for people going abroad for a relatively short period of time (up to a year usually). That could include people on short-term work secondment, those on a gap year and others on sabbatical or world trips. Whatever the reason, this plan can cover it. The plan’s main benefits include per certificate period: An overall aggregate benefit limit of £250,000 (or the $ or € equivalent). Full refund for most hospital services (inpatient psychiatric treatment is limited to 15 days). Outpatient (including GP) services limited to £5,000. Osteopathy, chiropractic, homeopathy and…
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November 2015 Aviva: Group life
Aviva now includes what was Friends Life (with, in turn, all its constituent companies) and the insurer has introduced a number of updates to its group risk plans, which comprise: Group Income Protection. A range of deferred periods, benefit levels and payment terms is offered. Maximum basic benefit is £425,000 a year. Group Life. Spouses and partners can also be covered. Maximum benefit is 15 times salary. Group Critical Illness. Pre-existing conditions are automatically excluded. Up to 25% discount is available on a range of UK health clubs. Maximum benefit is £500,000 and spouses/partners can be covered too. Group Cancer…
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November 2015 Scottish Widows: CI
Scottish Widows’ has returned to the intermediary protection insurance space with its Protect range, which offers life cover, with or without critical illness insurance. Term insurance (with a family income benefit option), relevant life cover (not with CI) and whole life cover are available. The insurer has a well set out purpose-built digital platform, giving advisers access to a good range of tools to help them write protection business. Those tools include calculators for each product, and also protection needs, risk analyser and underwriting tools. The latter enables the adviser to get an indicative underwriting decision for some of the…
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October 2015 LV=: Other
LV= has launched a range of business protection insurance plans providing cover against death and most critical illnesses. Three versions are available, covering key person, shareholder and partnership insurance plus loan protection. Plans are targeted at SMEs. The plans offers sums insured that are level, increasing or decreasing. The CI benefits covered mirror those covered by LV= on its individual policies, and include free children’s cover (up to £25K). LV= covers 64 conditions – 44 full payment and 20 partial payment. One and a half times cover is payable for neurological illnesses and cover is doubled on certain accident related…
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