Website partners:

July 2015 Aegon: Menu

Aegon offers both personal and business protection and has introduced a number of changes to its multi-benefit propositions for both. The main changes apply to two of the key cover types:

Critical illness cover:

The heart attack definition has been simplified and it is now easier to claim. There is no longer a requirement for specified troponin levels.
There is no longer a need for three months of continuous symptoms for multiple sclerosis.
A new carcinoma in situ of the breast definition has been added, paying 25% of the sum insured up to a maximum of £25,000. This replaces the previous mastectomy definition.

Income protection cover:

The upper age limit for cover has been increased from 65 to 70.
On individual plans the maximum insured benefit is now £150,000 a year (previously it was £130,000).
A new income promise protects customers against a drop in their income after the policy has started.
All standard exclusions have been removed.

In addition, a joint life separation option has been introduced and all Family Income Benefit rates are now guaranteed rather than reviewable.

Up to five main benefits may be included in any one online application, and there is flexibility both at outset and during the policy’s term. Customers can get multi-benefit discounts and plans include both automatic (such as guaranteed insurability, critical illness protection for children and terminal illness cover) and optional additional benefits (including waiver of premium; total permanent disability cover; fixed terms or five yearly renewable cover; guaranteed or reviewable premiums; inflation-linked benefits). There is a useful and simple guide for advisers, which sets out the rules that apply to each type of cover.

Comment: Aegon’s menu plans already included a lot of options and it has now generally widened cover, which should further increase the plan’s appeal. In particular, it has focused not just on the CI and IP elements to improve cover but also on those conditions that are most likely to be a claim. These are useful rather than just cosmetic changes – although as with most insurers, it is hard to know how much more likely a typical customer is to claim, under the new changes.

One minor point – when we looked at Aegon UK’s website at the end of June, the homepage did not mention protection insurance at all. Instead it focused on retirement and investment. You really have to go to the adviser section of the website to see that Aegon also offers protection insurance (under ‘our other products’). This hardly suggests a provider that is committed to protection insurance. Hopefully that will be remedied at the next website update.

Plus points: Improved CI cover; Improved IP cover; Some other changes introduced too; Makes a comprehensive menu plan even more appealing.

Not so plus points: Menu plans are more complex because of all the options; It may be better to select different providers for each type of cover to get the best overall or most cost-effective package; As with all CI plans, more benefits = more complexity on an already hard to fully understand benefit – when all the customer really wants is a guarantee that if they have a critical illness the policy will pay out; The website homepage does not mention protection insurance.

Website: http://www.aegon.co.uk.

Rating (max 10): Innovation: 8. Overall: 8. Gold

Tags: Menu; Aegon